Striking 12

Book, Music, and Lyrics by
Brendan Milburn, Rachel Sheinkin,
and Valerie Vigoda

Presented at BoHo Theatre @ Heartland Studio
December 16, 2010 — January 2, 2011

Directed by TBA
Music Directed by TBA
Produced by TBA

Combining pop-rock, musical comedy and old-fashioned uplift with a healthy dose of 21st-century skepticism, Striking 12 is a unique hybrid of musical theater and live concert. A secular, "un-Holiday" Holiday show.

On New Year's Eve, an over-worked and under-inspired single guy who's had enough of holiday cheer makes a resolution: to stay home and go to bed early. On another New Year's Eve, a continent away—and more than a century earlier—Hans Christian Andersen's Little Match Girl tries unsuccessfully to sell her matches in the snow.

The two stories are brought together when a young woman selling special "full-spectrum holiday light bulbs" to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder shows up at the grumpy man's door. Though the man (who probably could use the bulbs) seems to enjoy the young woman's company, he sends her away. It's not until he reads "The Little Match Girl" that he is finally pulled out of his funk.

All of this unfolds through a tuneful pop/rock/jazz score that retains the vibrant style of its original performers: the celebrated band, GrooveLily. The witty and deeply moving script from Tony Award-winning writer Rachel Sheinkin (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) weaves three stories and settings: contemporary New York City, 19th century Denmark, and the very room in which the show is presented. Through simple, unpretentious theater created through the voices and instruments of the performers, Striking 12 reminds us that "the world looks like new... on the first day of the year."