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." ***

At left (from top): Michael Cristofer and Michael Countryman; playwright Peter Parnell; Manoel Felciano and Neal Huff; Peter Maloney; Paris Rose Yates and director David Esbjornson; Bianca Amato and Jack Tartaglia; Ana Reeder and Kellie Overbey; Keith Bunin; Andrew D. Hamingson and Michael Mayer; Kevin Geer; Camryn Manheim and casting director Will Cantler; Isiah Whitlock, Jr.

Below: The cast of Trumpery takes its opening-night bow.

photos by Aubrey Reuben