UA Theatre Professor to Take Production of His Play to New York

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Seth Panitch, associate professor of theatre and head of the Master of Fine Arts/Bachelor of Arts acting programs at The University of Alabama, will direct an Actors Equity Association Showcase production of his comedy “Hell: Paradise Found” in July at the 59E59 Theatre in New York.

Graduating and recently graduated department of theatre and dance students will join professionals in the cast. The production will run from Tuesday, July 10 to Sunday, July 22.

The performers will offer a Tuscaloosa preview at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 2 through Wednesday, July 4, in the Allen Bales Theatre before the production moves to New York.

“Hell: Paradise Found” examines how traumatic it can be when one’s after-life expectations aren’t quite met. Recently deceased lawyer Simon Ackerman finds himself desperate to get into hell, which turns out to be the better place to both visit and spend eternity.

“Think of George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Don Juan in Hell’ starring Sid Caesar, and you might get a sense of the sharp minded goofiness of ‘Hell: Paradise Found!’ ” wrote a reviewer in the Los Angeles Times of a 2011 production.

To buy tickets to the Tuscaloosa or New York production after May 15, or for more information, visit the production website at http://www.hellparadisefound.com, or contact Seth Panitch, head of Acting Programs, at spanitch@as.ua.edu or call 205/348-3845.

The theatre and dance department is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.