Patrick WebbIn a lighter moment, David Sweeney’s character, right, teases his daughter, played by Toddy Adams, about the gift of a bottle of champagne in a scene from “Proof” at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse.

The Coaster Theatre has a challenge: to make mathematics interesting.

The troupe hopes to accomplish that with its production of “Proof,” which opens Sunday and runs through Feb. 18.

“Proof” features Toddy Adams as Catherine, a student who has curtailed her studies to look after her father, a former mathematics genius whose mind has degenerated.

The action switches back and forth in time before and after his death and calls into question his mental competency. The adult themes have prompted theater managers to indicate the play may not be suitable for children under 14.

The father is played by David Sweeney. The two other characters are Catherine’s estranged sister, played by Cyndi Fisher, and Hal, a high-performing mathematics student whose relationship with Catherine develops as they sift through baffling entries in her late father’s notebooks. He is played by Jacob Merwin.

‘Relief’While touching on the borderline between genius and instability, the title’s multiple meanings include a puzzle involving prime numbers — and also how it came about.

The Coaster staged “Proof” in 2006, and that year’s cast members signed the back of the set, which has been repurposed for this production.

The play by David Auburn won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001 and the Tony Award for best play, with best actress honors going to Mary-Louise Parker. A British stage production featured Gwyneth Paltrow, who appeared in the 2005 movie with Anthony Hopkins.

“No pressure!” said Mick Alderman, the play’s director, who was at the helm for the Coaster Theatre’s production of “Sleuth” before Christmas. “I don’t typically do two shows that close. ‘Sleuth’ had a lot of technical challenges that we had to overcome. This has few, if any. It is a great relief to concentrate on working with the actors.”

‘Drawn’Adams, originally from Colorado, moved to the North Coast about three years ago and has been immersed in a half-dozen shows.

She believes her character’s reactions to her father’s mental decline — and how she copes with questions after his death — will resonate with audiences.

“I was very drawn to this character of Catherine because, in part, I understand the process of grief and wanted to portray that in a very real way,” she said. “It’s a very gritty, emotional experience dealing with deep loss. I am hoping to show the audience that it’s OK to feel that things are not OK, and it is OK to work through them, even though it’s not easy.”

Alderman echoed the belief that themes explored in the production will entertain in a thoughtful manner. He hinted that a twist at the end will delight, too.

“If you are interested in theater that makes you think and feel then this is your show,” he said. “It’s not a musical. It’s not a comedy, although there are some comic elements.

“There’s something in it that almost everyone will relate to.”