Bay Area Premiere of THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT Comes to Aurora Theatre Company

Aurora Theatre Company will end its 32nd season with the Bay Area 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. Aurora alums Elijah Alexander (The Real Thing) and Carrie Paff (The Real Thing, This Is How It Goes, A Delicate Balance) are joined on stage by Hernán Angulo in this comedic Broadway hit that will have audiences reexamining their assumptions about fact and fiction. Jessica Holt directs.

THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT will be presented in person on Aurora’s mainstage from June 21-July 21 (Opening Night: Wednesday, June 26). 

Aurora will also offer a week of streaming THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT performances for audiences to enjoy in their homes. Streaming performances will run concurrently with in-person performances from July 16-21. 

Artistic Director Josh Costello said: “I'm so pleased to welcome Elijah Alexander and Carrie Paff back to Aurora. Our audiences loved them in 2017’s The Real Thing, and I know that they, along with Hernán Angulo, are the perfect cast to bring this comedy to life on our mainstage.

“Theatre is all about telling stories that reveal deeper truths; about ourselves, our history, our world. Whether those stories are factually accurate has little bearing on the truth they may reveal. Such is the dilemma that celebrated essayist John D’Agata and entry-level fact-checker Jim Fingal fell into around ‘What Happens There,’ D’Agata’s essay about a teen suicide in Las Vegas. John’s essay beautifully explored truths about his community and our society, but Jim quickly discovered that John changed the facts to better suit the deeper story he wanted to tell. 

“Fortunately for us, the stage adaptation compresses the timeline – playing fast and loose with the facts – to make for a compelling night of theatre. I’m so pleased to share it with our audience.”

SYNOPSIS: An intern at a top magazine is given the assignment of a lifetime – fact-checking a masterpiece by a legendary essayist. What the no-nonsense editor means as a simple task becomes a hilarious misadventure when it becomes clear that most of the facts in the essay are embellished, adjusted, or just made up. The essay is brilliant, but has the essayist undermined his own work or revealed a deeper truth by playing fast and loose to make his point? Facts battle with truth when the intern bucks his instructions and confronts the essayist in this Broadway hit.

Post-show discussions for THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT will be led by Aurora staff or members of the Creative Team, and hosted after the show on the following days: Friday, June 28; Tuesday, July 2; Friday, July 5; Wednesday, July 10; Thursday, July 18.

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