Tag: The Lifespan of a Fact

“THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT” INDELIBLY CURRENT AND NOT TO BE MISSED NOW PLAYING AT THE GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY!

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The Lifespan of a Fact

By Tom Hauck

August 2019, former vice-president Joe Biden, the Democratic front-runner for the 2020 presidential election, told a campaign rally audience a deeply moving story about how he had pinned a medal on the chest of a Navy captain who had valiantly tried to rescue a wounded comrade who had fallen to the bottom of a deep ravine. The soldier had died, and the Navy captain told Biden he didn’t want the medal. “He died,” the captain insisted. “He died!”

Reporters quickly discovered that most of the facts in Biden’s story were incorrect. The story seemed to be a mishmash of several events—a little from one, a little more from another.

When asked about these divergent facts, Biden replied, “(Details) matter in terms of whether you’re trying to mislead people. And I wasn’t trying to mislead anybody…. The fact is, the point I was trying to make, I’d make again. The valor and honor of these warriors are as significant as any warriors we’ve ever had in the history of the United States of America. That was my point.”

Watching the stunning regional premiere of “The Lifespan of a Fact” at the Gloucester Stage Company, the viewer cannot avoid thinking about the real-life implications of this brilliant new play. Written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell, and directed by Sam Weisman, this tightly constructed, no-nonsense story quickly takes off when hardboiled magazine editor Emily Penrose (Lindsay Crouse) asks intern fact checker Jim Fingal (Derek Speedy) to do a routine fact check on an essay submitted by star writer John D’agata (Mickey Solis). Trouble arrives when Fingal takes the job seriously and produces a long list of errors. While some of D’agata’s literary inventions are trivial, others appear to have real consequences.

With surprising integrity, the script offers each character the opportunity to sincerely defend their point of view. Like Joe Biden, D’agata insists his job is to convey the essence of the human drama, and individual details should be subservient to that purpose. Fingal is appalled that the writer is stubbornly cavalier about altering the building blocks of the story—the “facts.” Meanwhile, editor Penrose has a looming deadline, and she needs this important piece to be hammered into shape and sent to the printer.

The three actors are superb. Lindsay Crouse needs no introduction to Gloucester audiences, and her laser-focused performance confirms why during her career she’s earned a boatload of honors including an Academy Award nomination. Recent Harvard graduate Derek Speedy proves he’s got the right stuff for a successful career onstage, and Mickey Solis does an amazing job of playing along with the viewer’s initial assumption that he’s nothing but a pompous “artiste,” and then gradually revealing he’s got a good heart and really believes in the power of stories to transform lives.

Playing now through September 22, this poignant and darkly comic drama is both topical and timeless. Reserve your seats by calling 978-281-4433 or visiting https://gloucesterstage.com/.

REGIONAL PREMIERE: THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT OPENS IN GLOUCESTER AT THE GLOUCESTER STAGE COMAPNY

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Robert Walsh, Artistic Director   Christopher Griffith, Interim Managing Director

From: Heidi J. Dallin, Media Relations Director Phone: 978-281-4099/978-283-6688 Email: hjdallin@hotmail.com

FIRST REGIONAL PRODUCTION OF RECENT BROADWAY HIT:

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

OPENS AT GLOUCESTER STAGE

Gloucester Stage Company continues its 40th Anniversary Season of professional theater with the regional premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact from August 30 through September 22 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA.Gloucester Stage is the first theater in the country to produce the critically-acclaimed The Lifespan of a Fact since the play’s SRO smash hit world premiere Broadway run featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones, and Bobby Cannavale closed in January 2019. Written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell, based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, The Lifespan of a Fact is the ultimate showdown between truth and fiction. A determined young fact checker is about to stir up trouble. His demanding editor has given him a big new assignment: a groundbreaking piece by an unorthodox author. Together, they take on the high-stakes world of publishing in this new play about the comedy of conflict. Directed by Sam Weisman, The Lifespan of a Fact cast features GSC veterans Mickey Solis as John, the author; and Lindsay Crouse as Emily, his editor; and GSC newcomer Derek Speedy as Jim, the fact checker. The Lifespan of a Fact runs from August 30 through September 22. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA.

The Lifespan of a Fact reunites director Sam Weisman, actor Mickey Solis and Academy Award nominee and Gloucester resident actress Lindsay Crouse after their celebrated collaboration in GSC’s 2017 New England premiere of Lucy Prebble’s, The Effect. Prior to 2017 Crouse and Weisman worked together in the 1995 feature film Bye-Bye-Love which was directed by Weisman and starred Crouse.

Director Sam Weisman made his GSC directing debut with 2017’s critically acclaimed The Effect. He has directed film, television, and theatre including the feature films, George of the Jungle (which received a British Academy Award nomination for Best Children’s Movie); The Out-of-Towners (starring Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, and John Cleese); D2: The Mighty Ducks, andDickie Roberts (starring David Spade, produced by Adam Sandler). He also was Co-Producer of the feature film, DAD (starring Jack Lemmon, Olympia Dukakis, and Ted Danson). Mr. Weisman has directed or produced over 200 television episodes, for such shows as Family Ties, Moonlighting, L.A. Law, Seventh Heaven (Pilot Episode), Law and Order, Monk, In Plain Sight, and The Bernie Mac Show. His television work has received three Emmy Nominations, multiple Humanitas Awards, two Golden Globe Nominations, and a Golden Globe Award. His pilot of the critically acclaimed series, Brooklyn Bridge, was honored by TV GUIDE as one of the best television episodes of all time. Mr. Weisman’s theatre work has received much recognition, including multiple Drama-Logue and LA Weekly Awards, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Best Director honors for the West Coast premieres of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal (starring Ian McShane and Penny Fuller) and Simon Gray’s The Common Pursuit(featuring Nathan Lane). Other West Coast theatre credits include James Lapine’s Table Settings, and an acclaimed production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child (starring Ralph Waite and Nan Martin) at South Coast Repertory Theatre. At The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, he directed Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, and the world premiere of John Kolvenbach’s Gizmo Love. Recent work includes developing several feature film projects, such as The Miracle of St. Anthony, a Walden Media film based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same name. In addition, he is the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of THE SING OFF, NBC Television’s a cappella singing competition.

Lindsay Crouse is an award-winning veteran of stage and screen. In the New York theater she spent seven years with the Circle Repertory Company, winning critics’ praise for her portrayal of Ophelia in Hamlet and Viola in Twelfth Night, and garnering an Obie Award for David Mamet’s Reunion. On Broadway she won a Theater World Award for her performance as Ruth in Pinter’sThe Homecoming. For the last decade Ms. Crouse has played a wide range of characters at Gloucester Stage. She joined the cast of the riotous trilogy, The Norman Conquests, by Alan Ayckbourn, sharing with them Boston’s IRNE award for Best Ensemble, and she received an IRNE nomination for her performance as Lettice in Peter Schaffer’s madcap comedy, Lettice and Lovage.  On the dramatic side she played the doctor in the searing duet, Going to St. Ives, received raves for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst, and won the IRNE Award for Best Actress for her performance as Daisy in Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy directed by Benny Sato Ambush. Most recently, she appeared on the GSC stage in the IRNE Award winning Best Production of Dancing in Lughnasa in 2018. On television she played three different characters on Law & Order, and spent a season on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the infamous Maggie Walsh. She was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Performer in the Children’s Special, Mother and Daughter, and for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album, “The Complete Shakespeare Sonnets. Some of Lindsay’s best known feature films include All The President’s Men, House of Games, The Verdict, The Insider, Mr. Brooks, Slapshot, Prince of the City, Daniel, and Places in the Heart, for which she received an Academy Award nomination.A longtime Gloucester resident, Ms. Crouse began spending her summers in Gloucester as a child and is now a Gloucester resident. Her parents began summering in Gloucester in the late 1940’s as an escape from New York City. Lindsay’s father playwright Russel Crouse found inspiration on Cape Ann. He often worked here with his longtime partner and collaborator Howard Lindsay. Their partnership of over 28 years is one of the longest in theater history and responsible for such hits as The Sound of Music, Anything Goes, Life With Father and the Pulitzer Prize winning The State of the Union among others.

Mickey Solis’ New York and Off Broadway credits include the American premiere of Ivan Viripaev’s Illusions at the Baryshnikov Arts Center; An Orestia with Classic Stage Company; God of Carnage at Engeman Theater; White People at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Night Over Taos at INTAR, directed by Estelle Parsons; The Master and Margarita at the Fisher Center; Beckett at 100(at the 92nd St. Y with Alvin Epstein and Bill Camp); Error of Their Ways at HERE Arts Center; and Private Moments in Central Park directed by David Levine for Creative Time. Regionally he has worked at the Yale Repertory; American Repertory Theater; Dangerous Ground (Brooklyn); Triad Stage; Appalachian Summer Festival; New College Theater; Moscow Art Theater; Epic Theater; Shakespeare on the Sound and Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.

Derek Speedy is recent graduate of Harvard University where he was a four-year cast member of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. His credits include: Dogfight (Eddie Birdlace); Assassins (John Hinckley Jr.); Polaroid Stories (Orpheus); Into the Woods (The Baker) andPericles (Antiochus/Pandar). He received his training at  Harvard University, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Stagedoor Manor.

Playwright Jeremy Kareken’s short plays Hot Rod, Big Train, and 80 Cards have been performed around the country and internationally. His awards include the Sewanee Conference’s Dakin Fellowship for Farblondjet, and Guthrie/Playwrights Center’s Two-Headed Challenge for The Sweet Sweet Motherhood.  The Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference selected Kareken and fellowLifespan playwright David Murrell for their horror-comedy script about haunted breast implants – THESE! Conquered the Earth! In 2018, PlayPenn shortlisted Jeremy’s new political satire about an illiterate king, The Red Wool.  Born and raised in Rochester, NY, and a graduate of the University of Chicago, he has taught at NYU, NYIT, The Actors Studio Drama School, and currently teaches at the Acting Studio – New York. A lifetime member of The Actors Studio, Mr. Kareken occasionally acts and is the researcher for Bravo TV’s Inside the Actors Studio.

Playwright David Murrell’s theater credits include Ductwork (Access Theater, Cleveland Public Theatre); E.T.D and [Untitled Organic Winery Project].  His screenplays include Breed Ambassador; Chomper; The Cold Spot; Girl Gets Razor; Mission: Uncomfortable; A Radio Picture; THESE! Conquered the Earth!  (Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference) and Walking Kane. Mr. Murrell’s teleplays include:Dayton Ladies; Down River; and Space Station Malibu.  Mr. Murrell was born and raised on Staten Island and graduated from the University of Chicago.  The Lifespan of a Fact is his first Broadway play.

Playwright Gordon Farrell received an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama in 1986. His plays include With More Than Voices  produced off-off Broadway; Navigators, directed by Arthur Sherman at Primary Stages; and Alice Again, A Tin Star Over Tombstone, and The Voice of America all at Alleyway Theater.  Mr. Farrell worked as a screenwriter at Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers and MGM, writing for producers as varied as Robert Simonds, Bruce Berman, and the late Norman Twain, with whom he developed several screenplays, including one based on the life and literary struggles of J.R.R. Tolkien; an adaptation of Richard Russo’s darkly comic novel, Straight Man; and their final collaboration, The Lifespan of a Fact.  Teaching in NYU’s Dramatic Writing Department for over 25 years, Mr. Farrell’s students include Annie Baker, Lucas Hnath, Christopher Shinn, Jessica Goldberg, Marco Rameriz, Madeleine George, and Chisa Hutchinson, among others. His book, The Power of the Playwright’s Vision, was published by Heinemann Press in 2001 and is now a standard playwriting text in the U.S., England, and Canada.

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES:

AUGUST 30- SEPTEMBER 22

Wednesdays – Saturdays: 7:30 pm;

Saturdays – Sundays: 2:00 pm

PLACE:

Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

SINGLE TICKET PRICES: Single Ticket prices are $15 to $48 with discounts available for Preview Performances, Senior Citizens, Military Families, and College Students and those under 18 years of age. For detailed ticket information visitwww.gloucesterstage.com

PAY WHAT YOU WISH: SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2 PM: Gloucester Stage is committed to inclusion and diversity, including socio-economic status. Pay What You Wish performances are the first Saturday Matinee (2pm) of each production, allowing access to the arts for all. No one is turned away for lack of funds and donations can be made before or after the show.

CAPE ANN NIGHTS: FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 7:30 PM; SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2 PM & 7:30 PM; WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, SEPTEMBER 11 & SEPTEMBER 18, 7:30 PM: Enriching our local community is key to our mission impact. Residents of Cape Ann can purchase $25 tickets at Preview Performances and every Wednesday of each production. Limit of 2 (two) per household. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office 978.281.4433, with a valid address.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: SUNDAY: SEPTEMBER 8 & SEPTEMBER 15: Following the 2 pm performances on Sunday, SEPTEMBER 8 and Sunday, SEPTEMBER 15, audiences are invited to free post-show discussions with the artists from The Lifespan of a Fact.

ABOUT THE COMPANY: Gloucester Stage is a professional non-profit theater providing a unique, intimate experience as audiences are never more than five rows from the stage. Located in a century-old repurposed brick warehouse on the waterfront of Cape Ann, the organization is led by Artistic Director Robert Walsh and Interim Managing Director Christopher Griffith. Entering the company’s 40th Season in 2019, GSC benefits from a loyal audience searching for intellectually stimulating and socially relevant stories.

For further information, call the Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433

or visit www.gloucesterstage.com

 

 

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Gloucester Stage Secures First Regional Production of

Recent Broadway Hit

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

Gloucester Stage Artistic Director Robert Walsh and Interim Managing Director Chris Griffith recently announced that the non-profit theater’s 40th anniversary season will include regional premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact from August 30 through September 22.  Gloucester Stage will be the first theater in the country to produce the critically-acclaimed The Lifespan of a Fact since the play’s SRO smash hit world premiere Broadway run featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones, and Bobby Cannavale closed in January 2019. Written by Jeremy Karekan, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell, based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, The Lifespan of a Fact is the ultimate showdown between truth and fiction. A determined young fact checker is about to stir up trouble. His demanding editor has given him a big new assignment: a groundbreaking piece by an unorthodox author. Together, they take on the high-stakes world of publishing in this new play about the comedy of conflict. The Lifespan of a Fact reunites director Sam Weisman, actor Mickey Solis and Academy Award nominee and Gloucester resident actress Lindsay Crouse after their celebrated collaboration in GSC’s 2017 New England premiere of Lucy Prebble’s, The Effect. Prior to 2017 Crouse and Weisman worked together in the 1995 feature film Bye-Bye-Love which was directed by Weisman and starred Crouse.

Artistic Director Walsh on why GSC wanted to produce The Lifespan of a Fact, “I couldn’t be more excited to reunite Lindsay Crouse, Sam Weisman & Mickey Solis for this incredibly topical play! The opportunity to share such a timely and provocative story with our Boston & New England audiences is truly a joy for us.” Interim Managing Director Griffith on securing this important new work for the theater’s 40th Anniversary Season,” This is a defining year for Gloucester Stage, and a play of this caliber, direct from Broadway, is the shining example of where we’re headed in the next 40 years. We’re grateful to Jeffrey Richards Associates and Dramatists Play Service for allowing a small, tenacious stage company on the North Shore the opportunity to present this brilliant new show, but more so to our audience who are hungry for socially relevant and stimulating stories like Lifespan.”

Lindsay Crouse is an award-winning veteran of stage and screen.  In the New York theater she spent seven years with the Circle Repertory Company, winning critics’ praise for her portrayal of Ophelia in Hamletand Viola in Twelfth Night, and garnering an Obie Award for David Mamet’s Reunion.  On Broadway she won a Theater World Award for her performance as Ruth in Pinter’s The Homecoming. For the last decade Ms. Crouse has played a wide range of characters at Gloucester Stage. She joined the cast of the riotous trilogy, The Norman Conquests, by Alan Ayckbourn, sharing with them Boston’s IRNE award for Best Ensemble, and she received an IRNE nomination for her performance as Lettice in Peter Schaffer’s madcap comedy, Lettice and Lovage.  On the dramatic side she played the doctor in the searing duet, Going to St. Ives, received raves for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in The Belle ofAmherst, and won the IRNE Award for Best Actress for her performance as Daisy in Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisydirected by Benny Sato Ambush. On television she played three different characters on Law & Order, and spent a season on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the infamous Maggie Walsh. She was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Performer in the Children’s Special, Mother and Daughter, and for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album, “The Complete Shakespeare Sonnets. Some of Lindsay’s best known feature films include All The President’s Men, House of Games, The Verdict, The Insider, Mr. Brooks, Slapshot, Prince of the City, Daniel, and Places in the Heart, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. A longtime Gloucester resident, Ms. Crouse began spending her summers in Gloucester as a child and is now a Gloucester resident. Her parents began summering in Gloucester in the late 1940’s as an escape from New York City. Lindsay’s father playwright Russel Crouse found inspiration on Cape Ann. He often worked here with his longtime partner and collaborator Howard Lindsay. Their partnership of over 28 years is one of the longest in theater history and responsible for such hits as The Sound of Music, Anything Goes, Life With Father and the Pulitzer Prize winning The State of the Union among others.

Director Sam Weisman made his GSC directing debut with 2017’s The Effect.  He has directed directorial film, television, and theatre including the feature films, George of the Jungle (which received a British Academy Award nomination for Best Children’s Movie); The Out-of-Towners (starring Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, and John Cleese); D2: The Mighty Ducks, and Dickie Roberts (starring David Spade, produced by Adam Sandler). He also was Co-Producer of the feature film, DAD (starring Jack Lemmon, Olympia Dukakis, and Ted Danson). Mr. Weisman has directed or produced over 200 television episodes, for such shows as Family Ties, Moonlighting, L.A. Law, Seventh Heaven (Pilot Episode), Law and Order, Monk, In Plain Sight, and The Bernie Mac Show. His television work has received three Emmy Nominations, multiple Humanitas Awards, two Golden Globe Nominations, and a Golden Globe Award. His Pilot of the critically acclaimed series, Brooklyn Bridge, was honored by TV GUIDE as one of the best television episodes of all time.
Mr. Weisman’s theatre work has received much recognition, including multiple Drama-Logue and LA Weekly Awards, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Best Director honors for the West Coast premieres of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal (starring Ian McShane and Penny Fuller) and Simon Gray’s The Common Pursuit (featuring Nathan Lane). Other West Coast theatre credits include James Lapine’s Table Settings, and an acclaimed production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child (starring Ralph Waite and Nan Martin) at South Coast Repertory Theatre. At The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, he directed Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, and the world premiere of John Kolvenbach’s Gizmo Love. Recent work includes developing several feature film projects, such as The Miracle of St. Anthony, a Walden Media film based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same name. In addition, he is the co- creator and Executive Producer of THE SING OFF, NBC Television’s a cappella singing competition.

Mickey Solis’ New York and Off Broadway credits include the American premiere of Ivan Viripaev’s Illusionsat the Baryshnikov Arts Center; An Orestia with Classic Stage Company; God of Carnage at Engeman Theater; White People at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Night Over Taos at INTAR, directed by Estelle Parsons; The Master and Margaritaat the Fisher Center; Beckett at 100 (at the 92nd St. Y with Alvin Epstein and Bill Camp; Error of Their Ways at HERE Arts Center; and Private Moments in Central Park directed by David Levine for Creative Time. Regionally he has worked at the Yale Repertory; American Repertory Theater; Dangerous Ground (Brooklyn); Triad Stage; Appalachian Summer Festival; New College Theater; Moscow Art Theater; Epic Theater; Shakespeare on the Sound; Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.

The New England Premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact runs from August 30 through September 22 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Following the 2 pm performances on Sunday, September 8; and Sunday, September 15, audiences are invited to free post-show discussions with the artists from The Lifespan of a Fact. Single ticket prices are $15 to $48 with discounts available for Preview Performances, Cape Ann Residents, Senior Citizens and Patrons 18 years old and under. In addition to regular reserved tickets, Pay What You Wish tickets are available for the Saturday, August 31 matinee at 2 pm. Pay What You Wish tickets can only be purchased day of show at the door. All performances are held at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. For more information about Gloucester Stage, or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.com

Photos:
Academy Award nominee and Gloucester resident Lindsay Crouse, Actor
Mickey Solis, Actor
Sam Weisman, Director
Sam Weisman and Mickey Solis at Gloucester Stage  Photo by Gary Ng
All photos by Gloucester Stage for unlimited use