The musical about the lifelong relationship between a novelist and a quirky bookseller was short-lived on Broadway in 2009, but was preserved on a cast album. Bud Martin, one of the Broadway producers, thought the show would be a perfect fit for the vest-pocket Act II, of which he is the producing artistic director. (Martin is one of the producers of this fall's Time Stands Still, which re-opens on Broadway in October after it was introduced to Broadway audiences earlier this year in a limited run.)

This is not the first post-Broadway staging of the musical by Neil Bartram (music and lyrics) and Brian Hill (book). A separate Los Angeles production surfaced at the Havoc Theatre in February-March.

The Act II production features Broadway's Jim Stanek as fiction writer Tom, and Philly favorite Tony Braithwaite as Alvin. Stanek was an understudy in the Broadway production, but in the role of Alvin.

Here's how Act II bills the musical: "The Story of My Life explores the evolution and impact of a friendship that begins in grade school and continues for nearly 30 years. Thomas Weaver (Stanek) is a best-selling, award-winning author, and Alvin Kelby (Braithwaite) is his quirky pal. But time can test the bonds of friendship, and when it does, Thomas calls on the only resource he has — his stories of Alvin — to discover where and why things changed."

For tickets and information, call (215) 654-0200 or visit www.act2.org.