Professional Skepticism Runs June 28 through July 15

From June 28 to July 15, Zootopia Theatre Company will present the New York premiere of Professional Skepticism, a dark comedy written by James Rasheed and directed by Kareem Fahmy, at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex (312 West 36th Street).

"The play centers on four auditors at a Big Five CPA firm in Charleston, SC and their daily struggle to survive while swimming with sharks. An audit scandal threatens to change these characters into headline-making personalities. Rasheed's tale of office intrigue is surprisingly funny, intense, and timely....Written before scandals enveloped Enron, Worldcom and Arthur Andersen, the play has assumed new stature in light of these events," state press materials

The play is being presented by Zootopia Theatre Company as its inaugural production. Professional Skepticism was Brandeis University's Herbert and Beigel New Play Premiere and won the 2000-2001 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Prize for Best Original Play. It was published in "New Playwrights: The Best Plays Of 2002" (Smith and Krause). Professional Skepticism received its first professional production as a world premiere at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater on Cape Cod, MA. Its productions include a national tour in 2004 presented by South Carolina Repertory Company. It was presented again in 2006 by Centre Stage South Carolina. The play has been used in course work on business ethics in several colleges and has provoked speaking engagements on business ethics for its author, who just turned 40 and works as a bank auditor in his "day job."

The cast includes Britney Burgess, Steve French, Matthew J. Nichols and Wesley Allen Thornton. Set design is by Andrew Lu, lighting design is by Scott Bolman; costume design is by Anne K. Wood.

This play is not a production of The Abingdon Theater Company, Inc.  Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.  The play runs: Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm; Saturday matinees July 7 and 14 at 2:00 pm.  Call 212 868 4444 or visit www.smarttix.com for tickets. Visit www.zootopiatheatre.org for more information on Zootopia Theatre Company.

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