Performance Network Theatre Rings in the New Year with Striking 12: A Concert Reading of a Holiday Musical

Performance Network Theatre and Eastern Michigan University Theatre will be popping the champagne on this year's New Year's Eve with a collaborative staged reading of Striking 12, a jazzy holiday musical with an eclectic, vibrant pop/rock/jazz score, on the Performance Network stage on December 31st starting at 9pm, then followed by a champagne reception at the stroke of midnight.

 

This concert-with-a-story, which the New York Times has called "more artfully crafted and engaging than virtually all the standard-mold musicals coming our way these days," masterfully blends together a healthy dose of old-fashioned uplift with a pinch of 21st-century skepticism to tell the tale of a grumpy, overworked New Yorker whose resolve to spend New Year's Eve alone crumbles when an unexpected visitor brings some much-needed cheer.

 

Inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl; with book, music, and lyrics by Brendan Milburn, Rachel Sheinkin and Valerie Vigoda; and direction by Ken Stevens and R. MacKenzie Lewis, Striking 12 is a humorous and musically rich way to celebrate the joys and blunders of 2012 and wish happiness for 2013!

 

Tickets are $50 for the show and champagne reception, $35 for students and seniors, and $25 for students under 21. To reserve tickets, call Performance Network Theatre at (734) 663-0681 or go online to www.performancenetwork.org.

 

Tickets can be ordered at the Performance Network Box Office at 734-663-0681, online at www.performancenetwork.org or at Performance Network Theatre (120 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, 48104) Monday-Friday 10-6, Saturday 11-6, or one hour before a performance.

Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre has grown from a fledgling company to Ann Arbor's only resident, professional theatre. The Network reaches 40,000 theatre patrons and children each year through the year-round Professional Series and the Children's Theatre Network. Performance Network also presents the Fireside Festival of New Works and a series of classes on theatre-related topics. The Network provides uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produces works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists.