David Esbjornson will stage the new work about Charles Darwin, by the author the stage adaptation of The Cider House Rules and The Rise and Rose of Daniel Rocket. Off-Broadway performances begin Nov. 14 toward an opening of Dec. 5.
The troupe will also include Bianca Amato (Broadway's The Coast of Utopia), Peter Maloney (Atlantic's The Voysey Inheritance, The Room) and Paris Rose Yates (The Public Theater's King Lear).
In Trumpery, according to Atlantic production notes, "It is 1858. Charles Darwin (Michael 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 (Manoel 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."
Countryman appeared in Broadway's Night Must Fall, Holiday, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, A Few Good Men, Off-Broadway's House and Garden, Nine Armenians, All in the Timing and The Common Pursuit.
Cristofer is the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright known for penning The Shadow Box, and screenplays to "Falling in Love" and "The Witches of Eastwick." As an actor, he has performed in over a hundred plays at Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, Roundabout Theater and many others. Felciano was Tony-nominated for playing Tobias in the recent Sweeney Todd.
Huff appeared in Broadway's Take Me Out and Off-Broadway's The Little Dog Laughed.
Parnell's acclaimed stage adaptation of John Irving's The Cider House Rules (produced by the Atlantic) was honored with an award by the American Theatre Critics Association.
The design team features scenic design by Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto, costume design by 15-time Tony Award nominee Jane Greenwood, lighting design by James Ingalls and sound design by Obadiah Eaves.
The limited engagement of Trumpery will continue to Dec. 30, playing Tuesday through Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM & 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM.
Atlantic Theater Company Main Stage at the Linda Gross Theater is at 336 W. 20th Street (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues). Tickets for main stage productions are $55 and available by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or visiting www.ticketcentral.com.
For more information, visit www.atlantictheater.org.
