Atlantic's 'Trumpery' Stars Felciano & Cristofer; Opens 12/5

Atlantic Theater Company is proud to announce the second production of its 2007-2008 season, the world premiere production of Peter Parnell's play Trumpery, directed by David Esbjornson.

Trumpery  will begin previews Wednesday, November 14 for an official opening on Wednesday, December 5 and a limited engagement through Sunday, December 30, 2007 Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street).  

Trumpery will feature Bianca Amato (Broadway's The Coast of Utopia), Michael Countryman (Broadway's Night Must Fall, Atlantic's The Bald Soprano), Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning actor, playwright and screenwriter Michael Cristofer (The Public Theater's Romeo and Juliet, The Shadow Box , The Witches of Eastwick ), Tony Award nominee Manoel Felciano (Broadway's Sweeney Todd ), Neal Huff (Broadway's Take Me Out, HBO's "The Wire"), Peter Maloney (Atlantic's The Voysey Inheritance, The Room) and Paris Rose Yates (The Public Theater'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. His plays include Sorrows of Stephen, The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket, Romance Language, Hyde in Hollywood, Flaubert's Latest, An Imaginary Life and QED. David Esbjornson directed the Tony Awardwinning production of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? and Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan on Broadway. He is the Artistic Director of Seattle Repertory Theatre and served as the Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company from 1992-98, for which he received a special Lortel Award in honor of his body of work. His staging of the world premiere of The Great Gatsby, adapted by Simon Levy, inaugurated the new home of the famed Guthrie Theater last year.

"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," explain press notes.

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 & 9th Avenues).  Tickets for main stage productions are $55 and available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 (ticketcentral.com).

Photo: Manoel Felciano