The world premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact, a new play by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell, opens on Broadway at Studio 54 October 18. The debut production is directed by Leigh Silverman and stars Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, and Daniel Radcliffe.
In The Lifespan of a Fact, Jim, a determined young fact checker (Radcliffe) is tasked with checking a groundbreaking piece by the unorthodox author John D’Agata (Cannavale). Together with Jim's demanding editor, Emily (Jones), they take on the high-stakes world of publishing and debate the nature of truth in literary nonfiction.
The play is based on D’Agata’s piece “What Happens There,” an essay written about the Las Vegas suicide of teenager Levi Presley. Jim Fingal, assigned to fact check the piece, ignited a seven-year debate on the blurred lines of what passes for truth in literary nonfiction.
The Lifespan of a Fact began performances September 20 and is scheduled to play a 16-week limited engagement.
The creative team includes Mimi Lien (scenic design), Linda Cho (costume design), Jen Schriever (lighting design), Palmer Hefferan (original music and sound design), and Lucy Mackinnon (projection design).
The Lifespan of a Fact is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Norman and Deanna Twain, Will Trice, Barbara H. Freitag, Suzanne Grant, Gold/Ross Productions, Jamie deRoy, Jennifer Manocherian, Barbara Manocherian, ManGol Productions, Carl Moellenberg/Wendy Federman, Ken Greiner, Van Kaplan, Dominick LaRuffa Jr., Marc David Levine, WitzEnd Productions, Eric Falkenstein/Brian Moreland, Caiola Productions, Remmel T. Dickinson, Jayne Baron Sherman, and Jacob Soroken Porter.
