In his return to playwriting, celebrated film and television writer Aaron Sorkin’s signature style lends itself to the story of the invention that changed the American way of life. In 1929, two ambitious visionaries race against each other to invent a device called “television.” Separated by two thousand miles, each knows that if he stops working, even for a moment, the other will gain the edge. Who will unlock the key to the greatest innovation of the 20th century: the ruthless media mogul, or the self-taught Idaho farm boy? The answer comes to compelling life in the regional premiere of this “firecracker of a play” (The Chicago Sun-Times).

The 1st Stage Theatre production of “The Farnsworth Invention” by Aaron Sorkin features Sam Ludwig as Philo T. Farnsworth, Jonathan Lee Taylor as David Sarnoff and an ensemble including Frank Britton (returning following his Broadway World Award winning performance in “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train”), Edward Christian, Katrina Clark, Michael Crowley, Gary DuBreuil, Amanda Forstrom, Jeremy Keith Hunter, Liz Mamana, Tendo Nsubuga, Matthew Sparacino, Caroline Wolfson and Jacob Yeh. 1st Stage Artistic Director, Alex Levy directs the production.

The design team includes: scenic design by Kathryn Kawecki, costume design by Danielle Preston, lighting design by Robbie Hayes, sound design and original composition by Ethan Balis, movement by Amanda Forstrom, properties design by Cindy Jacobs and dialects by Jane Margulies Kalbfeld.

“The Farnsworth Invention” will run at 1st Stage Theatre (1524 Spring Hill Rd., McLean) from Feb. 15 – Mar. 11 with show times as follows: Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.