Displaying items by tag: Michelle Moe
As Journalist Wrestles With Fact and Truth, 'Lifespan of a Fact' Skips the Emotion of a Tragic Story
Based on a book by two authors and giving playwriting credit to three authors, "The Lifespan of a Fact" speaks in a notably singular voice. Now in its Chicago premiere at TimeLine Theatre, the play takes a celebrated freelance writer, his editor at an esteemed magazine, and a newbie factchecker through a weekend clash over an essay. As the trio speeds towards a Monday morning deadline to get copy to a printing press in Kankakee, IL, they wrestle with the difference between fact and truth.
It is a fact that in 2002, a 16-year-old leaped to his death from the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas. In response, John D’Agata wrote an essay and Jim Fingal, hired to check the facts, did just that until the piece came apart at the seams. That led to a book about their process, The Lifespan of a Fact, and then playwrights Jeremey Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell fashioned a 90-minute drama by the same title that opened on Broadway in 2018.
Here in a Chicago, Michelle Moe directs PJ Powers as John who insists he is an essayist, not a journalist; Alex Benito Rodriguez as Jim, the recent Harvard graduate who challenges John’s loose relationship with facts; and Juliet Hart as Emily, the pragmatic editor trying to avoid lawsuits. As the publishing deadline approaches, all three actors cling to their viewpoints while imbuing their characters with a generous amount of charm.
A script with such complex authorship might have been a muddle but it is not. "The Lifespan of a Fact" is sharp, focused and funny. Objecting to John’s use of the phrase “traffic jam,” Jim draws a diagram of the number of cars that John claimed to be at an intersection. Later John describes the numerically precise young man as “poison to the creative process.” What the script does not do, however, is go beyond its consideration of media ethics and into its characters’ interior lives.
This makes it hard to connect with them emotionally. Briefly, though, the script edges into vulnerability with John, currently living in his late mother’s Las Vegas home. Its fusty, dated, floral décor seems miles from the Vegas Strip. It’s a house for which John bought an armchair with dimensions that didn’t match the catalog description at all points – and which, therefore, was tough for his mother to navigate with her walker. It’s also a house from which she was transported to a hospital by ambulance, her time of death no more exact than the armchair measurements.
John reveals that his mother had volunteered for a suicide hotline and that, after her passing, he worked a hotline shift, taking calls from people anguishing in Las Vegas’ dark corners. For a moment, the tone shifts from intellectual debate to deep feelings for a mother who tried to help others. Emotions, John hints, motivated him to seek the truth, not the facts, about the 16-year-old who threw himself off the Stratosphere Tower.
Had the play brought its characters to this level of authenticity, the loss of a young life might have felt truly tragic. It might have brought us closer to its public and personal meaning, and the conflict between the people onstage might have been far more disturbing. "The Lifespan of a Fact" is playing through December 23 at TimeLine Theatre.
Delightful Send-up of 1930s Musicals, 'Dames at Sea' Nearly Sunk by Bad Sound
18 November 2024 in Theatre in ReviewOverall Citadel Theatre’s ‘Dames at Sea’ has a smashingly great cast of singers and dancers, perfect for a musical comedy…
'Blue' Holds Mirror to Race in America
18 November 2024 in Theatre in ReviewWhen Francesca Zambello, director of The Glimmerglass Festival, commissioned an opera about race in America, the country was reeling from…
Review: 'Falsettos' at Court Theatre
17 November 2024 in Theatre in ReviewEven 40 years later, the AIDS crisis continues to shape American life. Long before Hollywood brought AIDS stories to the…
Disney's The Little Mermaid at Drury Lane: An Inspiring and Delightful Production Celebrating Girls' Unique Voices
16 November 2024 in Theatre in ReviewI thoroughly enjoyed Drury Lane's enchanting stage production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid from start to finish. While few are…
Pegasus Theatre Chicago Announces Dates, Plays and Playwrights for the 38th ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL, Jan. 5 - 26, 2025
15 November 2024 in Upcoming TheatrePegasus Theatre Chicago is proud to announce the authors and plays being presented at the 38th Annual Young Playwrights Festival, January 5 - 26,…
A Christmas Cabaret: A Magical Night with Thee Ricky Harris!
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Moving, Engaging 'Every Brilliant Thing' Shines at Writers Theatre
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Northlight to produce world premiere adaptation of Little Women
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Music Theater Works Announces its LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL Cast and Creative Teams, Dec. 19 - Jan. 19
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Lookingglass Announces Cast and Creative Team for the World Premiere of CIRCUS QUIXOTE, Jan. 30 - March 30, 2025
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BrightSide Theatre to present JEKYLL AND HYDE IN CONCERT January 17-26, 2025. Full cast announced!
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Hell in a Handbag's Rudolph THE RED-HOSED REINDEER Returns December 13, 2024 – January 5, 2025 at Center on Halsted
12 November 2024 in Upcoming TheatreHell in a Handbag Productions is pleased to open its 2024/25 Season with the 25th anniversary edition of Artistic Director David Cerda's* holiday classic Rudolph…
A Humorous Homage to History: The Marriage of Figaro Dazzles at The Lyric Opera
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Do You Want To See Some Magic: Frozen The Broadway Musical at Paramount
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Irving Berlin's Magnificent White Christmas at Marriott Theatre: A Joyous and Heartfelt Celebration for Everyone
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Sixth performance added! Steppenwolf Theatre Celebrates the Holidays with Jane Lynch's A Swingin' Little Christmas
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THE JOFFREY BALLET CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS WITH RETURN OF CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON'S CHICAGO-SET THE NUTCRACKER
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Lifeline Theatre presents “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol” for the holiday season, Nov 29 – Dec 22
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Shucked coming to CIBC Theatre in January
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Blood and Brilliance: Invictus Theatre’s ‘Macbeth’ Stands Tall in Chicago Theatre
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A Spell-Binding Reinvention: "Leroy and Lucy" at Steppenwolf
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The Babes with Blades are a DREAM! A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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Chicago Tap Allstars' Holiday Performance WINTER WONDERLAND Returns for One Performance Only - Saturday, Dec. 14
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Steppenwolf Theatre's LEROY AND LUCY - October 24 – December 15, 2024 - World Premiere!
30 October 2024 in Upcoming TheatreSteppenwolf Theatre Company, the nation's premier ensemble theater company, is pleased to continue its 49th season with the world premiere of Ngozi…
'Into the Woods' an Exciting Musical Fairytale Mashup at Chopin Theater
29 October 2024 in Theatre in ReviewI’ll admit it: I knew little about “Into the Woods” before seeing the new production at Chicago’s Chopin Theatre. I’m…
Botanical Bedlam: Music Theatre Works' Little Shop of Horrors Thrills with Campy Delight!
29 October 2024 in Theatre in ReviewMusic Theatre Works’ Little Shop of Horrors, featuring music by Howard Ashman and a book and lyrics by Alan Menken,…
Review: Giordano Dance's 'Soaring' at Harris Theater - Recommended!
29 October 2024 in Dance in ReviewI’m actually not a dance critic. I don’t know enough about dance; I‘m not fluent in the language of dance;…
IDENTITY PERFORMING ARTS Presents Fall Concert “Embrace”
28 October 2024 in Upcoming DanceIDENTITY PERFORMING ARTS Presents Fall Concert “Embrace” World Premiere in Chicago for Two Performances Location: Ann Barzel Theater Visceral Dance Center,…
American Blues Theater to produce 23rd Annual It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!
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CHICAGO TAP THEATRE PROUDLY ANNOUNCES ITS 2024-2025 SEASON
28 October 2024 in Upcoming DanceChicago Tap Theatre (CTT) has recently returned from a successful European Tour and is pleased to announce its 2024-2025 season and…
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'Blue' Holds Mirror to Race in America
Written by Betsy SchmittWhen Francesca Zambello, director of The Glimmerglass Festival, commissioned an opera about race in America, the country was reeling from a spate of police shootings of young African-American men in Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. By the time the… -
Review: 'Falsettos' at Court Theatre
Written by John AccroccoEven 40 years later, the AIDS crisis continues to shape American life. Long before Hollywood brought AIDS stories to the cultural mainstream, the theatre was a safe place for actors and writers to explore their fears and sense of injustice… -
Delightful Send-up of 1930s Musicals, 'Dames at Sea' Nearly Sunk by Bad Sound
Written by Bill EslerOverall Citadel Theatre’s ‘Dames at Sea’ has a smashingly great cast of singers and dancers, perfect for a musical comedy satirizing the over-the-top 1930s movies and Broadway revues that were light on plot and heavy on costumes, dance routine, and… -
Disney's The Little Mermaid at Drury Lane: An Inspiring and Delightful Production Celebrating Girls' Unique Voices
Written by Kimberly KatzI thoroughly enjoyed Drury Lane's enchanting stage production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid from start to finish. While few are overly familiar with Hans Christian Andersen’s original, darker tale of ill-fated romance, the Disney animated film and this stage adaptation,…
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