Playing with Truth

Renaldo Piniella and Jennifer Van Dyck in “The Lifespan of a Fact.” Production Photo courtesy of Sharon Playhouse
Saving the best for last, Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, Conn., is closing its first season under the new leadership of Artistic Director Carl Andress and Managing Director Rod Christensen with its most confident production. Electrically paced by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, the Tony-Award nominated director of Broadway's "Ragtime" revival, "The Lifespan of a Fact" by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell sizzles with tension. If you're going to be scrolling through a streaming service on Friday night, scouting for a series to grab your attention and keep you glued, head to Sharon's Olsen Theater.
To lay the foreground, allow me a bit of personal color, in-line with spirit of the play's focus on writers injecting themselves in the story. There's an unintentionally hilarious line that opens the fairly forgettable 2010 romantic comedy "Letters To Juliet" that has nevertheless lodged in my brain since I first heard it. On a work call while strolling through sunny Central Park, a young Amanda Seyfried introduces herself by beaming, "I'm a fact checker [at The New Yorker], actually. It is a bit like being a detective." Has anyone ever expressed such a wide-eyed sentiment? Except that "The Lifespan of a Fact," a drama indeed about a magazine fact checker, really is a detective story, one that opens with a report on a dead body. A murder hasn't taken place, but a suicide. A young Nevada man, 16-year-old Levi Presley, has jumped to his death from the observation balcony of a Las Vegas tourist hotel, and a (reportedly) remarkable 15-page essay on this tragedy has landed on the desk of a prestige magazine, ready for print — it just needs a quick fact check. Easy right?
The assignment is handed to Jim Fingal (Renaldo Piniella), an intern and recent Harvard graduate, by editor Emily Penrose (Jennifer Van Dyck), with both actors and characters playing out artificial performances that belie the depth of their conviction. Jim is a smarmy charmer, willing to brown nose his way to a paid position, while Emily preemptively basks in the publishing glory she views on the horizon. Played across two sets with only three actors, it's Jonathan Walker's excellently grounded turn as the gruff but deeply humane writer, John D'Agata, that turns the play into a more slippery and complicated creature. Bringing out the prickly fury that simmers beneath the initial facades of Piniella and Van Dyck's character work, Walker anchors the production as a man accused of burying a life in an effort to immortalize a death.
Like any good detective story, I have purposefully concealed a piece of important information, just in case you haven't put the pieces together. The play is an adaptation of a 2012 book co-authored by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal, who really did dispute over the questionable truths and literary licenses taken in an essay initially submitted to Harper's Magazine and later to The Believer about Levi Presley, a real teenage boy who scaled two fences on the 109th floor of the Stratosphere Tower and leaped to his death on a Saturday night in July 2002. Published in 2012, "The Lifespan of A Fact," the original essay by creative non-fiction essayist D'Agata, a writer the late David Foster Wallace described as possessing the candor of David Shields and the aesthetic weight of Annie Dillard, is printed alongside his combative conversations with Believer intern, Fingal.
"Hi, John. I'm the intern who's been assigned to fact-check your article," their correspondence began, as it does in the play. "I was hoping you could clarify how you determined that there are thirty-four strip clubs in the city while the source you're using says thirty-one." But that's the thing about a detective story, isn't it? Pull one thread, and you never know what could unravel.
PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains FFA Ag Fair brought a crowd to the high school on Church Street Saturday, Oct. 11.
Kicking off the day was the annual tractor pull, attracting a dedicated crowd that sat in bleachers and folding chairs for hours watching Allison-Chalmers, International Harvesters and John Deeres compete to pull the heaviest weights.
A large collection of food was on offer from the Pine Plains FFA and each one of the classes in the Pine Plains Central School District. The football team was selling pickles.
Stissing Mountain High School Principal Christopher Boyd enjoyed a dip in the dunk tank to raise money for the Pine Plains teachers’ union-sponsored scholarship.
Stissing Mountain High School Principal Christopher Boyd got dunked several times during his half-hour shift in the dunk tank. Proceeds from the throws benefitted the Photo by Nathan Miller
The Rev. AJ Stack, center right, blessing a chicken at the pet blessing event at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia on Saturday, Oct. 4.
AMENIA — After serving more than five years as Priest-in-Charge of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Amenia, the Rev. AJ Stack announced Tuesday, Oct. 7, that he will resign from the church and Food of Life/Comida de Vida pantry. His last day at his current post will be Sunday, Nov. 2, the conclusion of the Feast of All Saints.
The news was shared in two emails from Stack — one to Food of Life pantry subscribers and volunteers, and another to parish members.
“I write tonight with difficult news, and I wanted you to hear it from me as soon as the Vestry and I had a chance to meet,” he wrote. “After much prayer and careful discernment, I have submitted my resignation to the Vestry as Priest-in-Charge of St. Thomas, and therefore as Executive Director of Food of Life/Comida de Vida.”
Stack provided few details about his departure. At time of publication, he had not announced his next steps but said the decision was “not sudden,” and followed careful consideration over a period of months. He will not be leaving the area or the diocese.
An announcement about his path forward and the transition process is expected soon. In the meantime, Stack said he remains “fully present” at the church, and the food pantry services will continue without interruption.
Stack expressed gratitude for the community and the growth of St. Thomas’ mission during his tenure. “Together we have welcomed new neighbors and strengthened our outreach in meaningful ways,” he said. “I trust that good work will continue.”
He joined St. Thomas in March 2020 and guided the church and community through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a recent interview with The News about the food pantry, Stack estimated that it serves 653 individuals from 156 households each week, highlighting a significant contribution to the community.
The announcement was met with messages of reassurance from pantry volunteers. Jolly Stewart, a Vestry member and volunteer, wrote to the community with words of reassurance following the announcement. “I have complete faith in the strength of the parish of St. Thomas,” she wrote. “Our history shows how we have done this time and again, each time becoming more than what we were before. We can, without a doubt, do this now.”
MILLERTON — Ten candidates for office in the Nov. 4 election will answer questions from Dutchess County voters at a candidate forum on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Annex at the NorthEast-Millerton Library located at 28 Century Blvd.
The forum, which is sponsored by the library, will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Candidates for local and county offices will answer questions from residents in attendance or from residents who have submitted questions in advance.
“We’re excited to keep the tradition of the candidate forum going,” said Rhiannon Leo-Jameson, director of the library. “Some years we can’t always get candidates together.”
This year’s forum will include:
Rachele Grieco Cole, a Democrat, and Chris Mayville, a Republican, who both are running uncontested for the North East Town Council;
Casey McCabe, a Democrat, also running uncontested for North East Justice.
Among Dutchess County races:
Tracy MacKenzie, who is endorsed by Republicans and Democrats, is running uncontested for Dutchess County Family Court Judge;
Kara Gerry, a Democrat, and Ned McLoughlin, a Republican, are in a contest for a Dutchess County Court judgeship currently held by McLoughlin.
Chris Drago, D-19, and Tonya Pulver, a Republican, are competing to represent Dutchess County’s19th District seat currently held by Drago.
Democratic incumbent Dan Aymar-Blair and Will Truitt, the Republican chair of the county legislature, are competing for the Dutchess County Comptroller position currently held by Aymar-Blair.
Leo-Jameson is encouraging questions for the candidates to be submitted in advance, which will not be revealed to candidates beforehand. Dutchess County residents may pose questions during the forum. To submit a question on the library’s website, go to the calendar at nemillertonlibrary.org and find the link in the Oct. 24calendar entries.
The format calls for opening statements from the candidates, followed by questions from residents, and candidates will be able to stay after the forum to answer questions personally.
The residence at 35 Amenia Union Road in Sharon was damaged after being struck by the Jeep Grand Cherokee around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11.
SHARON, Conn. — Emergency crews were called Saturday, Oct. 11, to Amenia Union Road in Sharon for a report of a vehicle into a building with entrapment.
Connecticut State Police reported Charles Teti, 62, was driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee northbound on Amenia Union Road when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle veered across the southbound land and exited the roadway where it struck a tree and home. Airbags deployed.
Teti and front seat passenger Aidan Cassidy, 63, sustained serious injuries. Teti was airlifted to Hartford Hospital and Cassidy was transported by ambulance to Sharon Hospital for treatment.
Back seat passenger Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on scene. Cassidy-Teti was a senior at Kent School. He played on the football and tennis teams.
The residence that was struck is located at 35 Amenia Union Road.
The case remains under open investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Trooper Lukas Gryniuk at Troop B 860-626-1821.