Based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, The Lifespan of a Fact explores the story of Jim Fingal, a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact checker for a prominent but sinking New York magazine, and John D’Agata, a talented writer with a transcendent essay about the suicide of a teenage boy—an essay that could save the magazine from collapse. When Jim is assigned by editor Emily Penrose to fact check D’Agata’s essay, the three come head to head in a comedic yet gripping battle over facts versus truth. The play is based on John D’Agata’s real-life essay “What Happens There,” a piece written 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.