Parnell's 'Trumpery' World Premiere Tonight at Atlantic

Atlantic Theater Company's world premiere production of Peter Parnell's play Trumpery, directed by David Esbjornson, begins preview performances tonight, Wednesday, November 14.

Trumpery will officially open on Wednesday, December 5th for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 30, 2007 Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street).

"It is 1858. Charles Darwin (Cristofer) struggles to finish 'The Origin of Species,' and give the world his theory of natural selection, while coping with family illness and his own loss of faith. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, an unknown explorer named Wallace (Felciano) is about to come up with the exact same theory. Both vibrantly comic and deeply moving, Trumpery examines what it means to live in a Darwinian universe from the point of view of the man who discovered the idea," describe press notes.

Trumpery features Bianca Amato (The Coast of Utopia), Michael Countryman (Night Must Fall, Atlantic's The Bald Soprano), Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning actor, playwright and screenwriter Michael Cristofer  (The Public's Romeo and Juliet, The Shadow Box),  Timothy Deenihan (Susan & God), Tony Award nominee Manoel Felciano (Sweeney Todd), Neal Huff (Take Me Out, HBO's "The Wire"), Peter Maloney (Atlantic's The Voysey Inheritance), Jack Tartaglia (The Public's A Midsummer Night's Dream), Paris Rose Yates (The Public's King Lear).

Playwright Peter Parnell returns to Atlantic Theater Company, which produced the New York debut production of his acclaimed stage adaptation of John Irving's The Cider House Rules, winner of the American Theatre Critics Association Award.

The design team for Trumpery features scenic design by Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto, costume design by fifteen-time Tony Award nominee Jane Greenwood, lighting design by James Ingalls and sound design by Obadiah Eaves.

Trumpery will play Tuesday through Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2PM & 8PM and Sundays at 3PM.

Atlantic Theater Company Main Stage at the Linda Gross Theater is located at 336 West 20th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues).  Tickets for main stage productions are $55 and available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 (www.ticketcentral.com).

Photos: Manoel Felciano (by Ben Strothmann); Neal Huff (by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd)