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Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones & Bobby Cannavale

Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones & Bobby Cannavale will return to Broadway in The Lifespan of a Fact

The world premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact begins performances at Studio 54 on September 20, 2018.

Tom Millward
Tom Millward

Daniel Radcliffe, two-time Tony Award winner Cherry Jones and two-time Tony Award nominee Bobby Cannavale will all officially return to Broadway this fall to star in the world premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact, directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman.

The new play is written by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell and is based on the book by John D'Agata & Jim Fingal. Previews begin at Broadway's Studio 54 on September 20, 2018, ahead of an official opening on October 18 and a strictly limited 16-week engagament.

Synopsis: "Jim Fingal (Daniel Radcliffe) has a small job: to fact check articles for one of the best magazines in the country. Jim Fingal's boss Emily (Cherry Jones) has given him a big assignment: apply his skill to a groundbreaking piece by legendary author John D'Agata (Bobby Cannavale). And now, Jim Fingal has a huge problem: John made up some of his article. Well, a lot of his article. OK, actually, maybe the majority of it? What starts professional quickly becomes profane as one question rises to the surface: Can Jim Fingal ever just shut the fact up? The Lifespan of a Fact is based on the stirring true story of John D'Agata's essay, "What Happens There," about the Las Vegas suicide of teenager Levi Presley. Jim Fingal, assigned to fact check the piece, ignited a seven-year debate on the blurred lines of what passes for truth in literary nonfiction."

Additional casting and creative team information will be announced at a later date.

The Lifespan of a Fact is produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Richards, Norman and Deanna Twain, Will Trice, Barbara Freitag, Eric Falkenstein, Carl Moellenberg/Wendy Federman, Ken Greiner, Van Kaplan, and Caiola Productions.

Daniel Radcliffe shot to fame, of course, as the title character in the "Harry Potter" movie franchise. He made his Broadway debut as Alan Strang in the 2008 revival of Equus and returned to Broadway to star as J. Pierrepont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in 2011 and as Billy Claven in The Cripple of Inishmaan in 2014, earning Drama Desk Award nominations for all three performances. He was last seen on the New York stage in 2016, making his off-Broadway debut in the Public Theater's production of Privacy. His West End credits include EquusThe Cripple of Inishmaan, and the Old Vic's 2017 revival of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead.

Cherry Jones won Tony Awards for her performances in Doubt in 2005 and The Heiress in 1995. She also earned Tony nominations for The Glass Menagerie (2014), A Moon for the Misbegotten (2000), and Our Country's Good (1991). Her other Broadway credits include Mrs. Warren's ProfessionFaith HealerImaginary FriendsMajor BarbaraThe Night of the Iguana, Angels in AmericaMacbeth and Stepping Out.

Bobby Cannavale earned his Tony Award nominations for The Motherf*cker with the Hat in 2011 and Mauritius in 2008. He has since appeared on the Great White Way as Richard Roma in the 2012 revival of Glengarry Glen Ross and as Charlie Castle in the 2013 revival of The Big Knife.

(Photos courtesy of Polk & Co.)

Originally published on

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