BoHo Theatre presents Striking 12, Opens 12/16

Looking for something different this holiday season? Need a break from seeing A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life yet again? BoHo Theatre has the cure for your winter blues with Striking 12, the clever and inventive concert-musical from funk-rock trio GrooveLily and Rachel Sheinkin, the Tony-award winning writer of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Striking 12 runs December 16, 2010 through January 8, 2011 at the Heartland Studio at 7016 N Glenwood Avenue. Striking 12 is directed by Lara Filip and features performers Eric Laughlin, Mallory Nees, Amy Steele, and Dustin Valenta.

Striking 12 is "a cross between a rock concert and a holiday show for people who don't like holiday shows." Featuring four talented actor/musicians, Striking 12 is the story of a grumpy, recently-single guy who stays at home on New Year's Eve, until a chance encounter with a door-to-door light bulb salesgirl inspires him to read Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Match Girl," and the combination of the two of them changes his life. Frank Sheck of The New York Post described Striking 12 as "a holiday show that has more heart and fun than most of the manufactured entertainments competing for your consumer dollars." Charles Isherwood of The New York Times praised the show as "touching and poignant while at the same time lighthearted and funny." The show was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, and won the Bay Area Theatre Critic's Choice Award.

BoHo Theatre is known for their highly lauded musical productions, such as the recent Big River (at Theater Wit) and The Glorious Ones (at Theater on the Lake), but this is the first time the company has brought their immersive artistic aesthetic to a holiday season show. The choice of Striking 12 as the company's first non-mainstage production was easy: the show is an uplifting combination of music, art, performance, and celebration that embodies the four BoHo pillars of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love in equal parts. Striking 12 is the perfect way to spend a cold winter night in Chicago this holiday season.

LISTING INFORMATION

Striking 12

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Brendan Milburn, Rachel Sheinkin, and Valerie Vigoda
Directed by Lara Filip
Scenic and Lighting Design by Sally Weiss
Performers:
Eric Laughlin (keyboard), Mallory Nees (guitar, bass), Amy Steele (violin), Dustin Valenta (percussion)

December 16, 2010 - January 8, 2011
Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays at 7:30pm and 10:00pm
Sundays at 5:00 p.m.
Note: there are no shows on December 24th or 25th

Heartland Studio
7016 N Glenwood Ave, Chicago

For tickets, call Ovation Tix at 866-811-4111 or visit www.bohotheatre.com
Tickets on sale now!
Ticket price: $15

BIOS

Brendan Milburn (Co-Author - Book, Music and Lyrics) graduated from Pomona College and NYU's MFA program in Musical Theatre Writing. He does a lot of arranging for GrooveLily, and he's an accomplished record producer as well. Brendan's music and/or lyrics have been/will be featured in a growing number of off/on-Broadway shows, and he's always on the lookout for new projects/productions which will add more slashes ("/") to his bio/credits. Along with his wife and longtime collaborator Valerie Vigoda, Brendan is a 2009 winner of the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, as well as a two-time winner of the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theatre.

Valerie Vigoda (Co-Author - Book, Music and Lyrics) is the founding member of the band GrooveLily. Originally from McLean, VA, Valerie is a classically-trained musician, honors graduate of Princeton University, and former Army lieutenant. She has toured the world with Cyndi Lauper (opening for Tina Turner and Cher), Joe Jackson and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Along with her husband and longtime collaborator Brendan Milburn, Valerie is a 2009 winner of the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, as well as a two-time winner of the Jonathan Larson Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theatre.

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