Striking 12, a holiday-themed musical starring the pop-rock trio GrooveLily, has booked an eight-week engagement at the Daryl Roth Theatre on Union Square. Directed by Tony Award winner Ted Sperling orchestrator of The Light in the Piazza and director of See What I Wanna See, the show was written by GrooveLily members Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda book, music and lyrics and Rachel Sheinkin book, a Tony winner for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Performances begin November 6, with an opening night of November 12. The limited run ends on December 31.
Striking 12 is the story of a Grumpy Guy who decides to avoid the hectic, loveless world on New Year's Eve, until he's visited by an incandescent salesgirl with the promise to chase away his winter doldrums. Combining pop-rock, musical comedy and old-fashioned uplift with a healthy dose of 21st-century skepticism, the show features lush musical performances by GrooveLily members Milburn keyboards/ vocals, Vigoda electric violin/vocals and Gene Lewin drums/vocals.
Striking 12 had its New York premiere last December at Ars Nova, where it enjoyed a sold-out run. Other regional engagements include Theatreworks/Palo Alto November 2004, San Diego's Old Globe Theatre November 2003 and Philadelphia's Prince Music Theatre November 2002. A live cast recording was released in 2004 on the PS Classics label. Vigoda and Milburn won a 2006 Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theater.
