Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones, Bobby Cannavale (l. to r.) in The Lifespan of a Fact.

Photo by Peter Cunningham

The Lifespan of a Fact

Jim Fingal (Daniel Radcliffe) has a small job: to fact check articles for one of the best magazines in the country. Jim Fingal’s boss (Cherry Jones) has given him a big assignment: apply his skill to a groundbreaking piece by legendary author John D’Agata (Bobby Cannavale). And now, Jim Fingal has a huge problem: John made up some of his article. Well, a lot of his article. OK, actually, maybe the majority of it? What starts professional quickly becomes profane as one question rises to the surface: Can Jim Fingal ever just shut the fact up? A new play by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell.

THEATRE:

Studio 54

OPENING NIGHT:

Oct. 18, 2018

FINAL PERFORMANCE:

Jan. 13, 2018

Authors:

Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell

Trivia

The play is based is a 2012 book co-written by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, who are two of the three characters in the play. The book, also called The Lifespan of a Fact, includes D’Agata’s 2003 essay “What Happens There,” with Fingal’s actual comments and correspondence with D’Agata from when he was fact-checking the essay for a magazine.

The director (Leigh Silverman) and the production’s entire design team—sets (Mimi Lien), costumes (Linda Cho), lighting (Jen Schriever), sound (Palmer Hefferan) and projections (Lucy Mackinnon)—was female, believed to be a first in Broadway history.

History

This was a world-premiere production.