Daniel Radcliffe, star of the popular Harry Potter film franchise, not to mention a handful of Broadway outings (Equus, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Cripple of Inishmaan), will return to the Great White Way in The Lifespan of a Fact. This will be the first time Radcliffe will originate a role on Broadway. The new play by Jeremy Kracken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell will have a strictly-limited engagement at Studio 54 this fall.
Joining Radcliffe in the production is Tony-winner Cherry Jones (The Heiress, Doubt) and Tony-nominee Bobby Cannavale (The Motherfucker with the Hat, Mauritius). The production will begin previews on September 20, 2018, toward an opening Night October 18, 2018. The play will be directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman.
The new play is based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal. “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?”
The Lifespan of a Fact is inspired by John D’Agata’s essay, “What Happens There,” 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 non-fiction.
Though it is being performed at Studio 54, this production of The Lifespan of a Fact is not a Roundabout Theatre Company production.
Beginning Friday, June 22, tickets will be on sale to the general public.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.