BONE WARS is an original musical by Samuel Neagley. It will make its Off-Broadway premiere at the Players Theatre in June 2026.
BONE WARS tells the story of the forgotten rivalry between the fathers of modern paleontology: O.C. Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope. These two men hated one another with a lifelong passion, and that animosity fueled them to discover thousands of fossils. These discoveries gave birth to the field of paleontology as we know it today, and boosted America's scientific reputation on a global scale. Alas, the line between dedication and obsession is paper thin.
More than a century after their deaths, Marsh and Cope find themselves in a cosmic courtroom. Their fierce rivalry has persisted into the afterlife, and it is finally time to end their feud. A jury of dinosaurs will judge the men and determine their fate -- allowing one man to remain in the afterlife, and dooming the other to cosmic oblivion.