Review Roundup: THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT at Asolo Rep - What Did the Critics Think?

Asolo Rep continues its winter repertory season with the recent Broadway sizzling hit dramedy THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT, by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell. Directed by Asolo Rep Associate Artistic Director Celine Rosenthal, THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT previews January 22 and 23, opens January 24 and runs through March 19 in rotating repertory in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

At a high-end, struggling magazine, millennial fact-checker, Jim, is eager to prove he has what it takes to his demanding editor, Emily. His first assignment: to fact check a groundbreaking essay by a famous author that offers a glimmer of hope to the publication's future, reeling from dwindling circulation and shrinking ad sales. But as he dives into the article, he discovers that the essay is riddled with inaccuracy after inaccuracy, and so begins the heated battle between truth and fact and right and wrong.

Let's see what the critics are saying...

Jay Handelman, Herald-Tribune: The storytelling is enhanced by an impressive stage design by Brian Prather and projections by Alex Basco Koch, who allows us to see the characters writing and sending emails on windows and walls in Emily's magazine office or inside John's Las Vegas home. Emily Auciello's sound design brings out the key strokes and Andrew F. Griffin's lighting heightens the mood and brings out the late night colors of the Las Vegas skyline. As effective and natural as the designs are, they serve as a background to a story that draws you in, revs you up at times and really gets you thinking about the power of words and the importance of the truth.

Kay Kipling, Sarasota Magazine: Performing on a set designed by Brian Prather, with projection designs by Alex Basco Koch that both present the backdrops of New York and Vegas and show us computer screens as emails are typed, the cast is excellent. Speedy is absolutely right as the nerdish (but not dispassionate) Jim, but Arnold and Weygandt get to the centers of their roles as well; Emily is tough, efficient and still believes in the importance of stories, and John is a bit arrogant, sure, but also world-weary and intense about his art. You'll find yourself bouncing back and forth as to which side you're on as Jim and John thrash things out-and that's a good thing.