The Farnsworth Invention

In the race to invent television, no one has a monopoly on the truth

Comments (0) By Lee Williams Thursday, Jun 4 2009

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Idiot box, boob tube, babysitter, best friend, however you regard your television, you should give a shout-out to boy genius Philo T. Farnsworth. He's the guy who created the electronics behind TV. The West Wingcreator Aaron Sorkin's historical play The Farnsworth Invention looks at the conflict between Farnsworth and David Sarnoff, a Russian-born RCA broadcasting visionary who saw the future of the invention. In the work, the fight over who gets the TV patent credit plays out as multiple narrators give conflicting versions of the truth. The New York Timescalls the play "a fast-moving sequence of reflex-stimulating information, and emotion-bites." 7:30 Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Through June 28. The Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For information, call 713-220-5700 or visit www.alleytheatre.org. $21 to $67.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: June 10. Continues through June 28, 2009