TimeLine Theatre's Chicago Premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact NOVEMBER 1-DECEMBER 23, 2023

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The Lifespan of a Fact

TimeLine Theatre is thrilled to present the Chicago premiere of  The Lifespan of a Fact, a comedic showdown between truth and fact, based on true events, November 1 – December 23, 2023.

Fact-checker Jim Fingal (Alex Benito Rodriguez, from left), editor Emily Penrose (Juliet Hart), and writer John D’Agata (PJ Powers) become locked in a battle between truth and fact in the gripping and fast-paced comedic showdown that is TimeLine Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, directed by Mechelle Moe. It runs November 9 – December 23, 2023 (previews 11/1 – 11/8) at TimeLine’s home at 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Tickets: timelinetheatre.com or  (773) 281-8463 x6. Photo by Peyton Robinson.

The original 2018 Broadway production was praised as “a smart and engaging exploration of the nature of truth and the role of the media in society” by the Chicago Tribune, and “a tightly written and expertly crafted play that keeps the audience riveted from start to finish” by The New York Times.   TimeLine Theatre's Chicago premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact begins previews on November 1. Performances run through December 23 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the TimeLine Box Office at (773) 281-8463 x6.

Alex Benito Rodriguez plays the role originated on Broadway by Daniel Radcliffe, a fact checker on deadline, caught between a fact-challenged writer and his demanding editor

TimeLine Theatre’s Chicago premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact, November 1 – December 23, 2023, will star (from left) TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers as essayist John D’Agata, TimeLine Company Member Juliet Hart as editor Emily Penrose, and Alex Benito Rodriguez as fact checker Jim Fingal.

Casting has been revealed for TimeLine Theatre Company’s The Lifespan of a Fact, a comedic showdown between truth and fact, set in the world of non-fiction publishing, based on true events, running November 1 – December 23, 2023. TimeLine Company Member Mechelle Moe (she/her) has already been announced as director of the Chicago premiere of the acclaimed play by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal. Alex Benito Rodriguez plays fact-checker Jim Fingal, who is locked in a battle between truth and fact with his editor and a writer in TimeLine Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact.  Today, TimeLine confirmed Artistic Director PJ Powers (he/him) and founding Company Member Juliet Hart (she/her) will return to the stage for The Lifespan of a Fact. Powers last appeared at TimeLine in 2015 in The Apple Family Plays, also alongside Hart, whose most recent TimeLine credits include A Disappearing Number (2017) and Oslo (2019). Both are founding Company Members, favorites with TimeLine audiences, with dozens of credits over the past 26 seasons both on stage and behind-the-scenes. Alex Benito Rodriguez (he/him), making his TimeLine debut, rounds out the play’s three-person cast. Rodriguez was Jeff Award-nominated in 2022 for Actor in a Principal Role in First Floor Theatre’s Botticelli in the Fire. In The Lifespan of a Fact, Rodriguez plays Jim Fingal, an eager young intern at a high-profile magazine hoping to impress his demanding editor-in-chief, Emily Penrose (Hart). When assigned the job of fact-checking an essay about the city of Las Vegas by legendary writer John D’Agata (Powers), Jim discovers a huge problem: many of the essay’s details were made up. As the publication deadline looms, a battle between truth and fact ensues in a gripping and fast-paced comedy of ethics. The Lifespan of a Fact opened on Broadway in 2018 starring Daniel Radcliffe as Jim Fingal, Bobby Cannavale as John D’Agata, and Cherry Jones as Emily Penrose. The play was praised as “a smart and engaging exploration of the nature of truth and the role of the media in society” by the Chicago Tribune,and “a tightly written and expertly crafted play that keeps the audience riveted from start to finish” by The New York Times.  The book on which the play is based, The Lifespan of a Fact, was co-authored by Jim Fingal and John D’Agata, and is a deep dive into real-life Fingal’s fact-checking of D’Agata essay “What Happens There.” The book also received critical attention from NPR, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. It was subsequently named a “Top 10 Most Crucial Book” by Slate, a “Best Book of the Year” by The Huffington Post, and an Editor’s Choice by The New York Times Book Review.  TimeLine’s production team for The Lifespan of a Fact includes Jeffrey D. Kmiec (Scenic Designer, he/him), Kotryna Hilco (Costume Designer, she/her), Brandon Wardell (Lighting Designer, he/him), Rowan Doe(Properties Designer, they/them), Anthony Churchill (Co-Projections Designer, he/him) and Vija Lapp (Co-Projections Designer, she/her), Andrew Hansen (Sound Designer, he/him), Micah Figueroa (Fight and Intimacy Choreographer, he/him), Maren Robinson (Co-Dramaturg, she/her), Bryar Barborka (Co-Dramaturg, they/them), Dina Spoerl (Dramaturgical Display Designer, she/her) and Olivia Sullam (Stage Manager, she/they). “I’m absolutely thrilled to dive into the themes of this play with such an incredible ensemble and production team,” said director Mechelle Moe. “In our space and time in the world now, what is our relationship to truth and facts? How do we uphold them, champion them, question them? What is the impact to society when misinformation allows truth and facts to be compromised and manipulated to serve a purpose/agenda? And are facts, indeed, the final measure of truth? With this topical comedy, we’ll delve into all these questions, and hopefully share some laughs along the way!” “We’re elated to bring this hilarious, poignant, and conversation-starting play to TimeLine, and I can’t wait to return to the stage in our longtime home on Wellington Avenue—a special place that’s held countless memories for more than two decades,” said Artistic Director PJ Powers. “This play calls out with a bold red pen that facts matter, while also acknowledging the sometimes-fuzzy distinction between artistic license and journalism, each with its own set of responsibilities for storytelling and/or reporting. And as people’s sources for news—and truth—become more varied, the debate between John D’Agata and Jim Fingal is sure to resonate with Chicago audiences who experience this provocative show.” The Lifespan of a Fact reunites on stage TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers and founding Company Member Juliet Hart.  Juliet Hart plays magazine editor Emily Penrose, who mediates a battle pitting truth against fact between an arrogant writer and a meticulous fact checker in TimeLine Theatre Company’s The Lifespan of a Fact.  

BUYING TICKETS Save on tickets to The Lifespan of a Fact plus enjoy ultimate flexibility during TimeLine’s entire 2023-24 season with a TimeLine FlexPass. Four options, priced from $119 to $275, are now on sale via timelinetheatre.com/subscribe or the TimeLine Box Office at  (773) 281-8463 x6. Previews begin November 1. Press Night is Wednesday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is November 9. Performances run through December 23 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the TimeLine Box Office at (773) 281-8463 x6. Preview tickets are $35. Single tickets to regular performances start at $52 (all evening performances) and $67 (all matinee performances). Student discount is 35% off regular price with valid ID. TimeLine is also a member of TCG’s Blue Star Theatre Program and is offering $25 tickets to U.S. military personnel, veterans, first responders, and their spouses and family. Ticket buyers ages 18-35 may join TimeLine’s free MyLine program to obtain access to discounted tickets, special events and more. Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are also available. Visit timelinetheatre.com/discounts for more about available discounts. LOCATION/TRANSPORTATION/PARKING The Lifespan of a Fact will take place at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood, near the corner of Wellington and Broadway, inside the former Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ building, now Chabad East Lakeview. TimeLine is served by multiple CTA trains and buses. There are multiple paid parking options nearby, plus limited free and metered street parking. Visit timelinetheatre.com/timeline-theatre for details and available discounts. TimeLine Company Member Mechelle Moe directs this acclaimed play by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell,based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal. Alex Benito Rodriguez plays fact-checker Jim Fingal in TimeLine Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact.  Alex Benito Rodriguez plays Jim Fingal, a young intern at a high-profile magazine eager to impress his editor-in-chief, Emily Penrose (Juliet Hart). When Emily assigns Jim the job of fact-checking an essay about the city of Las Vegas by legendary writer John D’Agata (PJ Powers), Jim discovers a huge problem: many of the essay’s details were made up. As the publication deadline looms, a battle between truth and fact becomes a gripping and fast-paced comedy of ethics. The book on which the play is based was co-authored by Jim Fingal and John D’Agata, and is a deep dive into real-life Fingal’s fact-checking of D’Agata's essay “What Happens There.”  Magazine editor Emily Penrose (Juliet Hart, from left), fact-checker Jim Fingal (Alex Benito Rodriguez), and writer John D’Agata (PJ Powers) become locked in a battle between truth and fact in TimeLine Theatre Company’s The Lifespan of a Fact.

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Previews are Wednesday, November 1 through Friday, November 3 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, November 4 at 4 p.m.; Sunday, November 5 at 2 p.m.; and Tuesday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. Press Night is Wednesday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m. Regular performances continue through December 23: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. Exception: No 4 p.m. show Saturday, November 11, and no performances Wednesday and Thursday, November 22 and 23 (Thanksgiving). Added matinees are Tuesday, November 21 at 2 p.m., Friday, November 24 at 4 p.m., and Thursday, December 21 at 2 p.m. PJ Powers plays writer John D’Agata, who becomes locked in a battle between truth and fact with his editor and a meticulous fact checker, in TimeLine Theatre Company’s The Lifespan of a Fact. DISCUSSIONS   Post-Show Discussions: A brief, informal post-show discussion hosted by a TimeLine Company Member and featuring the dramaturg and members of the production team on Wednesday, November 15; Sunday, November 19; Thursday, November 30; and Sunday, December 17.   Pre-Show Discussions: Starting one hour before the performance, a 25-minute introductory conversation hosted by a TimeLine Company Member and the dramaturg on Sunday, November 26, and Wednesday, December 6.   Company Member Discussion: A post-show discussion with the collaborative team of artists who choose TimeLine’s programming and guide the company’s mission on Sunday, December 3.   Sunday Scholars Panel Discussion: A one-hour panel discussion featuring experts on the themes and issues of the play alongside a member of the production team in a moderated discussion, following the performance on Sunday, December 10.   All discussions are free and open to the public. For details, visit timelinetheatre.com. ACCESSIBILITY Distanced Performance: The performance on Friday, November 17 will have a capacity cap and seating chart so that patrons can sit with additional space allocated between parties. Mask-wearing is also required at this performance. Captioned Performances: Open-captioned performances with a text display of words and sounds heard during performances are Friday, December 8, and Saturday, December 9 at 4 p.m.  Audio-Described Performance: On Friday, December 15, the performance will feature narration about visual elements of the production around the dialogue, available for individual patrons via headphones.   TimeLine Theatre is accessible to people with disabilities. Two wheelchair lifts provide access from street level to the theatre space and to lower-level restrooms. Audience members using wheelchairs or who need to avoid stairs, and others with special seating or accessibility needs, should contact the TimeLine Box Office in advance to confirm arrangements. HEALTH AND SAFETY Mask-wearing is no longer required at TimeLine performances. Exception: One scheduled Distanced Performance for each production. Anyone is welcome to attend the Distanced Performance, but due to very limited capacity, we ask that immunocompromised patrons be given the first chance to reserve.  While masking is no longer required at most performances, TimeLine supports an individual’s choice to mask and will continue to make good quality masks available upon request. Protocols are subject to change based on current public health recommendations; for the most current information, visit timelinetheatre.com/health-and-safety. UPCOMING PERFORMANCES In addition to The Lifespan of a Fact, TimeLine’s 2023-24 subscription season includes three more riveting plays that link past, present and future:   Playing now, the critically acclaimed Chicago premiere of Stefano Massini’s Tony Award-winning The Lehman Trilogy, the quintessential story of western capitalism rendered through the lens of a single immigrant family, adapted by Ben Power, co-directed by TimeLine Associate Artistic Director Nick Bowling and Vanessa Stalling. Performances have been extended due to popular demand though November 26 at Broadway In Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse, 175 E. Chestnut St.  The Chicago premiere of Notes from the Field by Anna Deavere Smith, directed by Mikael Burke, an innovative documentary piece that shines a spotlight on the stories of those caught in America’s school-to-prison pipeline. Previews start January 31, 2024. Press opening is Wednesday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through March 24. The world premiere of Black Sunday by Dolores Díaz, developed through TimeLine’s Playwrights Collective and directed by Sandra Marquez, a startling look at conflicts of climate change, race, and gender in the days leading up to an infamous dust storm in 1930s Texas. Previews start May 8, 2024. Press opening is Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m. Performances run through June 30. Save on tickets and enjoy ultimate flexibility during TimeLine’s 2023-24 season with a TimeLine FlexPass. Four options, priced from $119 to $275, are now on sale. For more information and to purchase, call (773) 281-8463 x6 or visit timelinetheatre.com. Note: The Lifespan of a Fact, Notes from the Field and Black Sunday will be presented at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.

ABOUT TIMELINE THEATRE COMPANY

TimeLine Theatre Company, recipient of the prestigious 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, was founded in April 1997 with a mission to present stories inspired by history that connect with today's social and political issues. Currently celebrating its 27th season, TimeLine has presented 88 productions, including 13 world premieres and 39 Chicago premieres, and launched the Living History Education Program and TimeLine South summer arts program, which bring the company's mission to life for students in Chicago Public Schools and beyond. Recipient of the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and the Richard Goodman Strategic Planning Award from the Association for Strategic Planning, TimeLine has received 60 Jeff Awards, including an award for Outstanding Production 11 times. The company has long been bursting at the seams of its current leased home located at 615 W. Wellington Avenue in Chicago’s Lakeview East neighborhood, where the theatre has been in residence since 1999. The company is currently working to develop its new home, located at 5035 North Broadway in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Plans feature an intimate black box theater seating up to 250 audience members, expanded area for the immersive lobby experiences that are a TimeLine hallmark, new opportunities for education and engagement, room to allow audience members to arrive early and stay late for theatergoing experiences that extend far beyond the stage, and more. TimeLine is led by Artistic Director PJ Powers, Executive Director Mica Cole, and Board President John Sterling. TimeLine Company members are Tyla Abercrumbie, Will Allan, Nick Bowling, Janet Ulrich Brooks, Behzad Dabu, Charles Andrew Gardner, Lara Goetsch, Juliet Hart, Anish Jethmalani, Mildred Marie Langford, Mechelle Moe, David Parkes, Ron OJ Parson, PJ Powers, and Maren Robinson. Major corporate, government and foundation donors providing season support via TimeLine’s Annual Fund include: Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation; Crown Family Philanthropies; Joseph & Bessie Feinberg Foundation; Laughing Acres Family Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity, and the Arts at Prince; Polk Bros. Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; Van Dam Charitable Foundation; and Walder Foundation. TimeLine also acknowledges the support of a CityArts Grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events and a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. For more information, visit timelinetheatre.com or Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (@TimeLineTheatre). BIOGRAPHIES

Juliet Hart (Emily Penrose) is a founding Company Member of TimeLine, where she has appeared in Oslo, A Disappearing Number, The Apple Family Plays: That Hopey Changey Thing and Sorry (Jeff Award-nomination - Ensemble), 33 Variations (Jeff Award – Production, Play, Midsize), To Master the Art, All My Sons, Weekend, Harmless, Martin Furey’s Shot, It’s All True(Jeff Award nomination – Supporting Actress), and many others. Other Chicago credits include work with Chicago Shakespeare, Prop Thtr, Zebra Crossing and Collaboraction. Recent television credits include Chicago Fire and Proven Innocent. Film credits include One Year Later, written and directed by Chicago’s own Lucia Mauro. Hart also serves as Director of TimeLine’s Living History Education Program, where she finds inspiration every day working with CPS students and teachers. She holds an MFA degree in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. 

PJ Powers (John D’Agata) was a co-founder of TimeLine in 1997 and became Artistic Director in 1999. Since then, he has overseen the production of more than 80 plays, including 13 world premieres and more than 39 Chicago premieres. During his tenure, TimeLine has garnered 60 Jeff Awards, including 11 for Outstanding Production, as well as awards for excellence in arts management, including the 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Powers was instrumental in establishing TimeLine’s home on Wellington Avenue in 1999; expanding the company’s programming to include productions in numerous other venues, including the Broadway Playhouse; creating the TimePieces play reading series and First Draft Festival of new work; launching the Living History Education Program in Chicago Public Schools under the direction of TimeLine co-founder Juliet Hart; and planning for TimeLine’s new home in Uptown. As an actor, he has appeared in 18 productions at TimeLine, including The Apple Family Plays: That Hopey Changey Thing, The Front Page, The Farnsworth Invention, Fiorello! and Hauptmann. He also has appeared at Writers, Northlight, and Shattered Globe, among others. A graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, Powers has served on the Board of Directors for the League of Chicago Theatres, was awarded the Meier Achievement Award for mid-career artists, and received a Goldman Sachs Senior Fellowship at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.He directed the one-night-only Chicago premiere of J.T. Rogers’ One Giant Leap: The Apollo 11 Moon Landing at the Broadway Playhouse. 

Alex Benito Rodriguez (Jim Fingal) is making his TimeLine debut with The Lifespan of a Fact. Chicago theatre credits include Anna in the Tropics (u/s, Remy Bumppo) and Botticelli in the Fire (First Floor Theatre, Non-Equity Jeff Award nomination – Actor in a Principal Role). Since 2016, Rodriguez has been a member of Wender Collective (FKA Walkabout Theater Company). Rooted in radical collaboration and laboratory-style physical theatre making, Wender creates and produces new works nationally and internationally. He appeared in their production of The Brink in venues around the world, including Steppenwolf Theatre, Links Hall Chicago, Dartmouth College, Krakow Poland, and The Theatre Olympics in India. In addition to his work on stage, Rodriguez has appeared in student films, commercials, short films, and NBC's Chicago Fire.​ He holds a BFA degree in Acting from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MFA degree in Acting from FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. For more, visit alexbenitorodriguez.com. 

Mechelle Moe (Director) is a Company Member at TimeLine, where her credits include directing Rutherford and Son, Cardboard Piano, and In the Next Room or the vibrator play. She also has appeared on stage in many TimeLine productions, including Boy, The Apple Family Plays, My Kind of Town, The Front Page, The Children’s Hour, Not Enough Air, and Paradise Lost. Other directing credits include Milk Like Sugar, The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed Love Suicide, and columbinus. Moe is a Jeff Award recipient for Actress in Principal Role for her performance in Machinal (The Hypocrites) and received a Jeff Award nomination for Actress in Principal Role for Stage Door (Griffin). She is an artistic associate of Griffin Theater. Moe graduated with honors from the University of Illinois Chicago with both a bachelor’s degree in Theater as well as Anthropology. 

Gordon Farrell (Playwright) trained as a playwright at the Yale School of Drama, receiving an MFA in 1986 and going on to work with major Hollywood studios, initially as a story analyst for Warner Brothers and Columbia Pictures, and eventually as a screenwriter. He has written for hire and sold screenplays to Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, MGM, and ITC. Farrell’s first independent screenplay, Girls Who Smoke, premiered in 2011. It went on to be an official selection at more than a dozen film festivals, receiving the Audience Choice Award at Seattle’s Post Alley Film Festival. As a playwright, from 2009 to 2013, Farrell worked with dozens of women on New York’s Lower East Side who wanted to tell their personal stories on stage. The series of monologue plays that grew out of it was called In the Red Room/Every Woman Dances for Someone. His other plays have been produced in San Francisco, and at Alleyway Theatre, the Yale School of Drama, and New York’s Primary Stages. He is the author of The Power of the Playwright’s Vision, published by Heinemann Press in 2001. It has been translated internationally and become a standard playwriting text at colleges and universities in North America, Europe, and Asia. 

Jeremy Kareken (Playwright) is a playwright living in New York and Baltimore. His short plays Hot Rod, Big Train, and 80 Cards have been performed around the country and internationally. He served as a speech writer and policy analyst for two presidential campaigns. 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 David Murrell for their horror-comedy script about haunted breast implants—THESE! Conquered the Earth. In 2018, PlayPenn shortlisted Kareken’s new political satire about an illiterate king, The Red Wool. Born and raised in Rochester, New York, 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, Kareken occasionally acts and for 18 years served as the researcher for Bravo TV’s Inside the Actors Studio. 

David Murrell (Playwright) was born and raised in New York City. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the University of Chicago, currently lives in Queens, and has written a sea chest’s worth of TV and film treatments and spec scripts. Access Theater (NYC) and the Cleveland Public Theatre each produced his play Ductwork, and the Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference selected his and Jeremy Kareken’s feature screenplay about haunted breast implants, THESE! Conquered the Earth. In 2019, the Outer Critics Circle co-awarded Murrell its John Gassner Playwriting Award for The Lifespan of a Fact.