As the curtain rises, an illuminated mathematical expression dominates the scene. “Do you see that theorem?” the narrator asks. “In 1637, Pierre de Fermat . . . wrote it down in the margin of a book. Then he added this tantalizing note.” A spotlight suddenly reveals a bearded, bewigged, flashily dressed Fermat, who promptly sings,
“I have discovered a truly marvelous proof, a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is not large enough to contain.”