The new musical, according to production notes, "set in Tippo, Georgia... The People vs. Mona is a love story, courtroom drama, musical comedy and fate-of-a-small-town-hanging-in-the-balance all rolled into one. Mona Mae Katt, owner of the wildly popular musical hangout, The Frog Pad, stands accused of killing her husband on their wedding day. If convicted, Mona will go to jail, and her beloved Frog Pad will be turned over to developers. Mona's fate (and the Frog Pad's) rests in the hands of everyman local defense attorney Jim Summerford, who has never won a case against charismatic prosecutor and majoral candidate Mavis Frye…who also happens to be his fiancée. As the trial unfolds amid a rollicking Southern roots score, the town's many secrets are revealed, and Jim and Mona recognize a budding attraction between them."

Kate Middleton, Ground UP Productions' producing artistic director, directs a cast including Richard Binder, Mariand Torres, Karen Culp, Natalie Douglas, Marcie Henderson, Omri Schein, David Jon Wilson, Dan Bailey, Jason Chimonides and Ritt Henn.

Musical direction is by Robert K. Mikulski, with a design team including Travis McHale (set and lighting design), Mat Bussler (sound design), Elisa Richards (costume design) and Jill Gorrie (choreographer).

The People vs. Mona begins performances on July 12 and runs through Aug. 4 at the Abingdon Theater (312 West 36th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues).

Tickets are available through Smarttix at (212) 868-4444 or at www.SmartTix.com. For additional information, visit www.groundupproductions.org.

*

Ground UP Productions was spawned from a group of artists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a production of Neil La Bute's The Shape of Things. The success of that production encouraged the formation of a company whose mission it is to produce "The New Classics": Plays "which were recently on or Off-Broadway, and are headed towards greatness (or already there)," according to Ground UP.