BABA Premieres at United Solo Festival Tonight

The Fifth Annual United Solo Theatre Festival presents the World Premiere of Baba, written and performed by Alex Mahgoub at Theatre Row Studio Theatre. After the first performance on October 1st sold-out, a second show was added tonight, October 8th. Armando Merlo, who won a FringeNYC Solo Show Excellence Award in 2012 for his solo show, Salamander Starts Over, directs.

Murder, drugs, bisexuality and New York City real estate all in one show? After his dad passes away, Alex struggles to become a "man" without his father's presence. Alex tells the honest, vulnerable, and funny story about how one boy rose from being a fat nerd with glasses to an elite real estate broker in New York City.

Playwright/performer, Alex Mahgoub discussed how his solo show came about, "A good friend of mine, Armando Merlo, performed a solo show that really blew me away. It was funny, engaging, creative, touching, and thoroughly enjoyable. Theater that touches the heart and showcases the human condition - to me is always the most powerful (and usually most rare). I was inspired by Armando and began taking workshop classes with Matt Hoverman in his Go-Solo program. I wasn't sure what story I would tell, but I felt inside that I had something to share. After a few weeks of classes a story developed. And the story was very powerful for me, and many of my friends - and even strangers - responded to the show in such a way, that I felt that it was important to continue to develop and share."

Performances take place at Theatre Row/Studio Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) New York, NY 10036. Subways: A/C/E to 42nd Street. Tickets are $19.25 (including a $1.25 theatre restoration charge) and are available at the Theatre Row box office, or at 212-239-6200 - www.telecharge.com.

Alex Mahgoub (writer/performer) spent two years studying acting with Maggie Flanigan in her conservatory acting program and completed a two year Voice, Speech, and Shakespeare program with Shane Ann Younts. He has also had the pleasure of studying Lucid Body with Fay Simpson and Improv at The Upright Citizens Brigade. Past roles include: Theater - Dolan in LINE at the Thirteenth Street Repertory Theater, Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, Hortensio in Taming of the Shrew, and Servant in Servant of Two Masters; Film - Greg in Party on the 49th Floor, Grey Bills in Private, The Son in The Last Touchy Feely Drama, and Rayhan in Dejeration. He has a degree in English Literature and Theater Arts from Rutgers University. To survive, he's been a mall kiosk salesperson, a writing tutor, an after-school tutoring coordinator, a personal assistant, an SAT prep teacher, a substitute teacher, a translations services salesperson, & blogger (http://www.quarterlives.com/author/alex/). Alex currently pays the bills as New York Real Estate Associate Broker with the Corcoran Group. You can read reviews of his work at www.AlexMahgoub.com.

Armando Merlo (director) is playwright, actor & director from Saddle Brook, New Jersey. His writing debut, Salamander Starts Over, a one-man play, which he also acted in was the winner of the FringeNYC Solo Show Excellence Award in 2012. The play received rave reviews from The New York Times, TimeOut NY and Huffington Post. He recently appeared opposite comedy legend Jerry Stiller in the short film Simpler Times, which is an official selection in numerous festivals around the country, including the New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii International Film Festivals. Armando lives and works in New York City with his French Bulldog, Hippo. He is a graduate of Penn State University.