A Can of Worms

The Lifespan of a Fact

Buddha said that three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.  And so it goes in TimeLine Theatre’s exciting new production. Loosely based upon a book by the same title, written by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, the play deals with the accuracy or truthfulness of a certain magazine article, also loosely based upon real events. D’Agata and Fingal also happen to be the two main characters in this comic three-hander. The third character is Emily Penrose, the  Senior Editor of a fictional, New York-based periodical. As the play opens she’s interviewing Jim, one of her topnotch interns, looking for a fact-checker for D’Agata’s article—correction, “essay,” as John would continually correct Jim Fingal. Little did Ms. Penrose know the can of worms she was opening.

In the summer of 2002, a teenager named Levi Presley committed suicide in Las Vegas, the same city in which John D’Agata lives. Harpers commissioned him to write an essay about this tragic event, but pulled it when they found he’d taken too many liberties with the facts. Emily Penrose picks up the piece for her magazine, but she’s aware of its problems with depicting the full truth. The well-respected writer believes that taking liberties with what actually happened only deepens the central truth of the essay.  D’Agata says that style, rhythm and creative description, based upon the facts, are what makes a good essay. 

Emily entrusts Jim Fingal with the task of sorting out some of the inaccuracies in D’Agata’s essay. He only has the weekend to accomplish this task. But her young, eager-to-please intern falls down a rabbit hole of obsessive fact-checking. After he documents hundreds of pages of discrepancies surrounding the young boy’s suicide, Jim decides to fly out to John’s house in Las Vegas. There, face-to-face with John, Fingal tries to persuade D’Agata to make the necessary corrections. With the press deadline drawing near, and neither Jim nor John willing to budge, Emily finds she must fly to Vegas to intervene. John and Jim represent two polar opposites, while Emily remains the center of reason and gravity.

The play, written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, is adapted from the nonfiction book by D’Agata and Fingal. This comic drama is skillfully directed by TimeLine company member, Mechelle Moe. She’s done a sensational job of creating a clear focus while maintaining the play’s breakneck pace. However, when the play demands it, Ms. Moe slows down the rhythm so that theatergoers can absorb a particularly meaningful moment. The production is staged upon Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s beautiful, inventively artistic scenic design. The first few scenes are set in the magazine’s stylish Manhattan office. And then, before our eyes, the set folds up and becomes John’s Las Vegas digs. Anthony Churchill and Vija Lapp’s projections help depict the two locales, while Brandon Wardell’s finely appointed lighting adds color and focus to the story.  

Mechelle Moe’s cast is excellent. Artistic director PJ Powers beautifully portrays John D’Agata. He plays the role with the appropriate confidence and swagger of a seasoned writer whose work has earned him the respect of his peers. Juliet Hart, a founding member of TimeLine Theatre, and the Director of the company’s Living History Education Program, is strong as Emily Penrose. As the magazine’s guiding Senior Editor, she occasionally reveals the character’s maternal side as she deals with the two men. And making his auspicious TimeLine debut, Alex Benito Rodriguez is absolutely fantastic as Jim Fingal. This gifted young actor is the real dynamo that drives this production. Recently enjoyed in both “Botticelli in the Fire,” at First Floor Theatre, and Remy Bumppo’s “Anna in the Tropics,” Mr. Rodriguez again proves that he’s an accomplished young actor to watch.

 In an world where we’ve been told that the media presents “alternative facts,” when truth and accuracy prompt us to make judgments about what’s real, this is an important play. Exploring today through the lens of the past is TimeLine Theatre’s mission. Through the play’s sharp dialogue, unexpected comedy and realistic characters who are polar opposites, this entertaining one-act play debates the importance of  truth versus the freedom of writing fiction.             

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented November 1-December 23 by TimeLine Theatre Company, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available at the door, by calling 773-281-8463 or by going to www.timelinetheatre.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.