Skinner, Carolan, Piro, Etc. Set for 'Nice Life' at NYMF

Emily Skinner, Kevin Carolan, Jacquelyn Piro and more will star in Have a Nice Life, which will have its US premiere as part of 3rd Annual NY Musical Theatre Festival, beginning performances Monday September 11th, and continuing its limited engagement through September 17th at New World Stages/Stage 5 (340 West 50th Street).

In addition to Skinner (Tony-nominee for Side Show, James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty), Carolan (Dirty Blonde, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"), and Piro (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon), the show will feature Michael Berry (Les Miserables on Broadway, Moby Dick Off-Broadway/Drama Desk Award nomination), Michelle Blakely (Annie Get Your Gun, Grease, Grand Hotel), Charles Hagerty (Off-Broadway in The Fantasticks, tours of Les Miserables and Jesus Christ Superstar), Emily Skinner and Nikki Snelson ("Reefer Madness," "Desperate Housewives," Slut).

Have a Nice Life boasts a book by Matthew Hurt with Conor Mitchell and music and lyrics by Conor Mitchell, on whose original idea the show is based.  Pip Pickering will direct, and Rhonda Miller will serve as choreographer. Jesse Poleshuck will provide set design, with costume design by Mattie Ullrich, lighting design by Jeff Croiter and sound design by Joanna Lynne Staub. The show will be presented by NYMF and David Carpenter and Kit Plaschkes.

"The members of a group therapy session, now meeting for the 23rd time, are shaken by the arrival of a newcomer whose revelations force the others to examine their own dark secrets. This new musical comedy, by one of Britain's hottest young composers, explores the emotional walls we erect and the consequences of one's honesty," state press notes.

"The New York Musical Theatre Festival, now in its third year, is a three-week event in NYC that has premiered over 70 musicals in its first two years, becoming the largest musical theatre event in American history. Hailed as 'the Sundance of Musical Theatre,' it is now widely regarded among the entertainment industry as the key source for new material and talent discovery."

Performances will be: Monday, September 11th at 8 PM, Tuesday, September 12th at 1 PM, Friday, September 15th at 8 PM, Saturday, September 16th at 1 PM, Sunday, September 17th at 4:30 PM, and Sunday, September 17th at 8 PM

New World Stages is located at 340 West 50th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Tickets will be $20 and go on sale September 1st at www.NYMF.org or by calling 212/352-3101.

Watch for more details on "An Evening of Songs by Conor Mitchell" selections of music to be performed by the composer and special Guests, on Monday, September 25th (8 PM) at D-Lounge Cabaret (downstairs at the Daryl Roth Theater, 101 East 15th Street).