**** Recommended It’s summer, and that means Canterbury Summer Theatre is back for their 56th season, Murder and More in 2024. Their opening show is a fast-moving comedy/drama, The Lifespan of a Fact, an intense clash between two very strong personalities, an acclaimed writer and an intern fact-checker. This is a very well-done, solid production with a strong cast. 4 Spotlights
The Lifespan of a Fact is based on the 2012 nonfiction bestseller by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal – who are actually two of the characters in this play which was written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. The play, starring Daniel Radcliffe, premiered on Broadway in 2018. It had its first Chicago production at TimeLine just this past winter. The Canterbury production was directed by CST Associate Artistic Director, David Graham.
John D’Agata (J. Cole Becton) has submitted an article to an important national magazine. In the magazine’s New York offices, editor Emily Penrose thinks this article could be one that people talk about for years but she knows that John sometimes fudges his facts, so she’s assigned a brand-new Harvard grad/intern, Jim Fingal (Noah Bryant) to fact check his work.
First meeting – Emily stresses the need for speed since she needs it done by Monday morning. Jim assures her that he has the weekend free and can definitely get it done.
Second meeting – Jim needs a few minutes but Emily’s doing three things at once. When she asks what he needs, he says he has questions – about the very first sentence! Emily’s not thrilled about Jim’s spreadsheets either. He leaves, assuring her he can get it done.
Next meeting – Jim arrives at John’s home in Las Vegas announcing he has questions about the facts in the article. John informs him it’s not an article, it’s an essay. Jim asks questions, tells John about the facts he’s found. John says it’s more about the rhythm of the story – even when the facts don’t fit his narrative.
Next meeting – Emily arrives in Las Vegas, the fireworks start! The three of them have some truly impressive shouting matches.
I was actually surprised by my reaction to the play – I’m usually relatively dispassionate because I’m paying attention to the work. In this case, the actors totally drew me in, so much so that I leaned forward in my seat, itching to knock some sense into John’s head! Excellent work!
By the way, Canterbury Summer Theatre is a summer stock theater which means they produce several shows in a limited amount of time with a resident cast. While one show is on stage, the actors are rehearsing the next.
After The Lifespan of a Fact, CST continues the summer season with three musicals: Love Is a Many Splintered Thing, June 19th through 29th; Starting Here, Starting Now, July 3rd through 13th (no show July 4th); and Country Is: The Music of Main Street in Concert, July 17th through 27th. The season will conclude with mystery/drama, Murder at the Howard Johnson’s, August 1st through 3rd (no Wednesday show, Saturday show is matinee only).
Artistic Director Ray Scott Crawford is in his 43rd season with CST, his 39th as AD. During the rest of the year, he is Program Director of Theatre at Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana. Associate Artistic Director David Graham, now based in Michigan City, is in his 35th summer at Canterbury. Music Director/Associate Director John Berst returns for his 5th season.
CST’s resident company includes: J. Cole Becton (Actor); Landon Brewer (Actor), student at Dobbins conservatory of Theatre and Dance; Noah Bryant (Actor), student at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Robin Eaken (Lighting Designer, Lighting Technician), recent graduate of Ohio State University; Elena Farley (Choreographer/Actor), student at Boston Conservatory; Kaylee Herr (Stage Manager/Choreographer/Technician), student at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana; Peyton Kistler (Scenic Designer/Technical Director), student at Ball State University; Julia Parr (Costumer), student at Bossier Parish Community College; Cherilyn Percy (Actor/Costume Assistant), student at Roosevelt University: Chicago College of Performing Arts; Tony Pethtel (Carpenter/Technician), student at Aurora University; Angel Purl (Actor), Associate Degree from College of the Mainland; Emily (Garnett) Vires, (Associate Director/Stage Manager), graduate of Ball State University.
The Lifespan of a Fact runs through June 15th at Canterbury Summer Theatre, 807 Franklin Street, Michigan City. Plenty of street parking is available.
Running time is one hour, 10 minutes, no intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 2:00 pm, Thursday through Saturday at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20, $18 for seniors. FYI (219) 874-4269 or www.canterburytheatre.org.