A simple fact-finding assignment pits Gen Z against Gen X and accuracy against truth in The Lifespan Of A Fact, the very funny—and very discussion-prompting—latest from the Fountain Theatre.

Not that there’s anything at all amusing about the essay which seasoned magazine editor Emily Penrose (Inger Tudor) has assigned a fresh-out-of-Harvard Jim Fingal (Jonah Robinson) to fact check: an award-winning writer’s attempt to make sense of a 16-year-old’s suicide jump off the observation deck of a high-rise Las Vegas hotel.

Given essayist John D’Agata’s (Ron Bottitta) propensity for taking “little liberties” with minor details like names, dates, and numbers, Emily assigns Jim the task of verifying said details and of making sure that “if someone is mentioned in the essay, that person actually exists”

Troubles begin to arise with Jim’s concerns about the numerous factual errors he’s discovered in the first paragraph alone, so many of them in fact that Emily suggests Jim email the man himself to clear up any questions he might have.

This, unfortunately, is more easily said than done.

“Check a few dates and get it back to her, she’ll say ‘fine’ and everyone will be happy,” is John’s nonchalant reply. “She knows I’m not beholden to every detail.”

After all, the essayist continues, if liberties get taken with minutiae, it’s to “deepen the central truth of the piece,” and if John wrote that there were 34 strip clubs rather than a more accurate 31, it’s because the number 34 gives the sentence a better rhythm, and Jim should simply leave it at that.

Instead, the young man hops a plane to Vegas for a face-to-face.

Thus begins an odd-couple comedy that pits a smart-mouthed young whippersnapper against a crotchety literary lion much as Neil Simon pitted mismatched roommates Felix and Oscar back in the 1960s, except that playwrights Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell (that’s how they’re billed) have more than just laughs on their mind.

John D’Agata and Jim Fingel are real people, and though certain liberties have been taken with their story, The Lifetime Of A Fact is based on the book the feuding duo wrote about (as the back cover blurb puts it) “seven years of arguments, negotiations, and revisions as D’Agata and Fingal struggled to navigate the boundaries of literary nonfiction.”

“I’m not interested in accuracy,” John tells Emily. “I’m interested in truth,” and if “the wrong facts get in the way of the story,” then facts be damned, he’s got a story to write.

How about that for a conversation starter?

Along that way to post-performance discussion either outside the theater or on the drive home, Fountain audiences get treated to a multitude of laughs (and some tense, emotion-packed dramatic moments as well), all of this under the assured directorial hand of Simon Levy.

Bottitta delivers yet another memorable star turn as a man so set in his ways and so convinced of the rightness of his literary mission that he’s not about to let some inexperienced upstart dictate what he should and should not write.

Talented newcomer Robinson proves himself more than capable of giving Bottitta as good as he gets, and their verbal combat ignites abundant comedic, dramatic sparks.

Tudor completes the stellar trio to razor-edged perfection as a woman caught in the middle, both figuratively and quite literally in the play’s stunning fade to black.

Set designer Joel Daavid, lighting designer Alison Brummer, costume designer Michael Mullen, prop designer Joyce Hutter, and especially video designer Nicholas Santiago join creative forces give The Lifespan Of A Fact the caliber set you’d likely see on a major regional theater stage, albeit with reduced dimensions, and Marc Antonio Pritchett’s sound design is every bit as terrific as the rest of the design team’s work.

The Lifetime Of A Fact’s West Coast Premiere at the Fountain is produced by Stephen Sachs and James Bennett. Hannah Raymond is production stage manager and Gina DeLuca is assistant stage manager. Scott Tuomey is technical director. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

A poster outside the theater describes The Lifespan Of A Fact as “based on a true-ish story,” but there’s nothing at all “-ish” about the Fountain’s latest. I found it both compelling and entertaining, and trust me. This is both accurate and true.

The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles.
www.FountainTheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
March 6, 2023
Photos: Jenny Graham

Tags: Fountain Theatre, Gordon Farrell, Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell, Jim Fingal, John D'Agata, Los Angeles Theater Review