Nice People Theatre Company is celebrating the Halloween season by presenting the Philadelphia premiere of Marisa Wegrzyn's Psalms of a Questionable Nature. This eerie sibling drama runs October 25-November 9 at Walnut Street Theatre's Studio 5, 825 Walnut Street. It marks the Philadelphia directorial debut of Pirronne Yousefzadeh. Tickets cost $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and $15 for students and seniors. For more information go to www.nicepeopletheatre.org
Psalms of A Questionable Nature delves into the lives of step-sisters Greta and Moo who finally meet when they need to decide what to do with their dead parents' decrepit house. Together, they try to settle family affairs as they deal with the hideous family secrets locked in the basement. Greta just wants to sell the house, and Moo just wants to get to know her sister better. When a lethal secret is uncovered, the women become trapped in the twisted details of their dead parents' love and work, before they realize their very existence is at stake.
Rachael Joffred is portraying Moo and Janice Rowland is portraying Greta. With two female leads, the artistic staff for the show is largely female. Yousefzadeh directs Psalms of A Questionable Nature, and Caitlin Lainoff is designing the set. Nice People co-founders Nicole Blicher and Miriam White are serving as producing artistic directors. Chris Rummel is designing sound and Barrymore Award winner Shelly Hicklin is creating the lighting. Natalia de la Torre is designing costumes. Local artist Gina Tibbott will be designing props and
Ryk Lewis will serve as the technical director for this dramatic thriller.
Yousefzadeh has directed or assistant directed at The Public/Joe's Pub, Summer Play Festival NYC, SITI Company, Collective: Unconscious, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, and the Hangar Theatre, where she was a 2006 Drama League Directing Fellow. As a third year M.F.A. Directing Candidate at Columbia University, she has studied with Anne Bogart, Robert Woodruff, and Brian Kulick.
Wegrzyn is a rising voice in American Theatre. Her work has been produced at Steppenwolf Theatre as part of their First Look program. Her plays include: Killing Women, Ten Cent Night, The Butcher of Baraboo, and Hickorydickory. The Butcher of Baraboo was produced Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre. Her work has been produced or read at Washington University in St. Louis, Eckerd College/WordBRIDGE, Geva Theatre Center, Chicago Dramatists, Lucid by Proxy, The Hourglass Group, The
Women's Project, Centerstage, and The Magic Theatre. She has a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis where she studied playwriting with Carter W. Lewis.
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. Psalms of a Questionable Nature will be the company's fourth production. Their previous show, Have a Nice Life by
Conor Mitchell & Matthew Hurt premiered at Mum Puppettheatre in March and to audience and critical acclaim before the company remounted it and played to 5 sold-out houses at the Prince Music Theatre's blackbox space during the 2008 Philly Fringe.
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