Do the math.

This play is about math - but not just in subject, in theme as well.  Of course, more obviously the play is about math because it is about Jaime Escalante teaching his students Advanced Calculus.  But it is also about the math and numbers of the students' lives in the play.  It is about the number of years of hard work and hard labor their parents did so that their kids could have opportunities that they themselves did not have.  It is about the number of students who will never graduate from a school like Garfield High School.  It is about the number of hours the students will have to work in order to succeed in their challenging math class - on top of the hours that they devote to activities like working in their parents' restaurant.  Escalante wants his students to understand his math - and the students want him to understand theirs.  Escalante wants the students to respect him and they want him to respect them.  Throughout the course of the play, as I am sure was the case in the real life story the play is inspired by, Escalante and the students learn to respect and trust each other.  By showing the students that he trusts them enough to do better they become more inclined to do better - better for him but  more importantly better for themselves.  Come see how the numbers play out in this exciting production at Pomona College.