Dude, evolution’s first debate lives on

Old habits die hard. One hundred and twenty-four years after his death, the Charles Darwin of “Darwin in Malibu” remains on Earth, topping off his tan, reading trashy novels and generally living in bliss on the California coast. Each time sea birds fly past his oceanfront patio, however, he thrusts a pair of binoculars to his eyes to study them.

The play itself is a study of humans and, specifically, of the big questions that worry and upset them. With the author of “The Origin of Species” on hand as a sort of spiritual godfather to the debate, this philosophical comedy ponders how thinking has evolved. Or hasn’t.

For its American premiere at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, the piece, by British writer Crispin Whittell, has been whipped to a froth and shot through with flavor, much like the banana shakes that its Hawaiian-shirted, flip-flop-wearing Darwin enjoys while stretched out on his chaise longue.

Whittell has said he was inspired to write “Darwin in Malibu” after learning about an 1860 attack on “The Origin of Species,” the year after its publication. Samuel Wilberforce, the bishop of Oxford, challenged Darwin’s ideas; scientist Thomas Huxley was a passionate defender. The men’s respective stances on creation versus evolution remain very much present. Whittell’s 2003 play makes the added leap of imagining that the men remain as well. To set the story in motion, the playwright supposes that the bishop would feel unsettled about remaining on Earth when, according to his beliefs, he should be in heaven. So, Wilberforce tracks down Darwin and calls in Huxley in the hope that another hashing-out might free their progress.

Corey Brill’s Wilberforce and Granville Van Dusen’s Huxley are more alike than they might care to admit. Each is a bit stuffy, yet each is also given to moments of giddy enthusiasm that render them almost boyish. Robert Foxworth’s Darwin, meanwhile, is utterly serene. He’s studied the world enough to be satisfied with his understanding of it, while accepting -- even savoring -- the mysteries that remain.

Those mysteries are, however, a dividing line. They deeply disturb Wilberforce and Huxley, who, like so many of us, not only want answers but also want everyone to agree on them.

Although Darwin is often a spectator to the aftereffects of his research, he does get to put the play’s central issue into words when, holding the Bible in one hand and his “Origin of Species” in the other, he says: “Two books. And two overwhelming questions. What happened at the beginning? And what happens at the end? Where do we come from? And where do we go when we die?”

Under Casey Stangl’s direction, the Falcon presentation surges with ocean waves of energy whenever a character gets caught up in an idea, fingers grasping at the air, vein popping in the forehead and words rushing forth. The designs are as playful as the performances: Keith E. Mitchell’s bleached-wood beach house, outfitted with the requisite towels, boogie board and kitschy seagull carving; Denitsa Bliznakova’s cheeky costumes; and Jeremy Pivnick’s metaphysical lights.

The story includes a modern-day American youth (an amusingly free-spirited Rebecca Brooksher) as Darwin’s housemate. Is she meant to be the theatergoer’s counterpart -- the everyday person at this meeting of great minds? Is she there to say things in ways that none of the historical personages could? I’m not sure either of those theories satisfactorily explains her presence.

But then, one of the play’s principal points is to enjoy life’s questions rather than stressing out over answers. Sure, other folks might have ideas different from your own. Embrace the exchange of ideas. Enjoy the diversity.

*

‘Darwin in Malibu’

Where: Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays

Ends: May 21

Price: $30 to $37.50

Contact: (818) 955-8101 or www.FalconTheatre.com

Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes