Up-and-coming Philadelphia company, Nice People Theatre Company, will present its first musical, the Philadelphia premiere of a group-therapy-session comedy, Have A Nice Life by Conor Mitchell and Matthew Hurt. The show runs March 7-23 at Mum Puppetttheatre, 115 Arch Street. Opening night is March 8, with a half-priced preview performance on March 7. Tickets cost $18 in advance and $20 at the door. They are available online at www.nicepeopletheatre.org.

This real-time psychotherapy features seven characters, who unravel when a newcomer joins the session. Group leader and therapist Patrick has issues of his own and is trying to keep everyone under control to make the 90 minutes productive. His charges include: the gruff, alpha-male Frank; the other extreme -- momma’s boy Chris; overly aggressive Barbara, opinionated Jean; the über-clingy Jackie; and Amy, the seemingly perfect newbie. The audience only meets the characters in the context of this sharp-witted group therapy session. Musically, the individual song styles mirror the characters’ personalities and collectively, it is best described as an amalgam of Stephen Sondheim and Kurt Weill.

Have a Nice Life made its American premiere at the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival where Mitchell won the Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing (Music) award, and the show won Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Mitchell, who wrote both the music and lyrics for the show, is an upcoming writer from Northern Ireland who revived Have A Nice Life, his first musical theatre piece, at the festival. His other works include: Merry Christmas Betty Ford and Matilde. Hurt, another theatre artist from the United Kingdom, wrote the book.

Hurt and Mitchell have recently been revising the book in preparation for Nice People Theatre Company’s production. They will be in Philadelphia during the rehearsal process to work on changes.

Nice People Theatre Company co-founder Bill Felty is directing this Philadelphia premiere. Felty attended the premiere at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and wanted to bring the show to Philadelphia. “I thought it was a great show with a lot of potential. It was such a fresh new musical voice that immediately had me thinking ‘I've never seen anything quite like this!,’” said Felty. “I knew I wanted to explore the material more as it was being developed, and ultimately direct a production of it in Philadelphia. It's a unique, wonderful show.”

Rob Blackwell is handling Musical Direction. Christian Pedone is designing the set. Shon Causer designed the lighting and Nice People co-founders Nicole Blicher and Miriam White are costume and property designers. Blicher and White are also appearing as Amy and Barbara. Dorian Belle is appearing as Chris, Greg Pica is appearing as Frank and husband and wife Megan and Noah Mazaika are appearing as Jackie and Patrick respectively. Blicher was thrilled with the company’s chance to bring a new musical to Philadelphia. “Miriam and I both have musical theatre backgrounds and we were waiting to find a musical that is stellar, modern, and fits into our mission of producing intelligent, thought-provoking works by up and coming playwrights,” she said. “When Bill brought Have a Nice Life to the table, we were unanimously sold and knew it was the perfect pick for our fledgling company’s first musical.”

About Nice People Theatre Company: Nice People Theatre recognizes the importance of collaboration and that the process is equally as important as the final product. The company strives to work with “nice” people of diverse theatrical backgrounds. They are focused on intellectual, thought provoking, Philadelphia premieres that entertain, educate, and enrich the artistic fiber of the Philadelphia theatre community. Have a Nice Life will be the company’s third production. Their previous show, Killing Women by Marisa Wegrzyn was a Philadelphia premiere featured in the 2007 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

HAVE A NICE LIFE
Book - Matthew Hurt
Music/Lyrics - Conor Mitchell
Director - Bill Felty
Musical Director - Rob Blackwell

CAST
Amy - Miriam White
Barbara - Nicole Blicher
Chris - Dorian Belle
Frank - Gregg Pica
Jackie - Amy Acchione
Jean - Megan Mazaika
Patrick - Noah Mazaika

Set Design - Christian Pedone
Lighting Design - Shon Causer
Costume and Property Design - Nicole Blicher & Miriam White

Tickets: $18 in advance, $20 at the door
Performed at: Mum Puppettheatre 115 Arch St. Philadelphia, PA 19106

Performances:
Friday, March 7, 8 p.m., preview
Saturday, March 8, 8 p.m., opening
Sunday, March 9, 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 13, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 14, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 15, 2p.m. & 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 16, 7 p.m.
Monday, March 17, 8 p.m. (industry night/half-price)
Thursday, March 20, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 21, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 22, 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 23, 2 p.m.