Alarmed by the uproar he would stir, Charles Darwin waited more than 20 years to publish The Origin of Species. In Peter Parnell’s new play, Trumpery, Darwin says, “If I finish the book, I’m a killer. I murder God.” Alfred Russel Wallace theorized just as Darwin had done, so in 1859, Darwin published to beat Wallace to the punch. Parnell says his play addresses the broad issue of what it means to be a scientist, especially regarding issues of faith.
