GrooveLily to Revive STRIKING 12 for Special New Years Eve Performance

GrooveLily, the trio behind the off-Broadway hit STRIKING 12, will revive their performance for a December 31st New Years Eve performance at the Merkin Concert Hall. The performance will mark GrooveLily's first and only appearance in Manhattan in 2009. STRIKING 12 is written by Brendan Milburn (book, music and lyrics), Tony Award winner Rachel Sheinkin (book and lyrics) and Valerie Vigoda (book, music and lyrics).

The New York City trio GrooveLily - featuring band members Gene Lewin (drums/vocals), Brendan Milburn (keyboards/ vocals) and Valerie Vigoda (electric violin/vocals) - crosses the boundaries laid down by words like rock, folk, jazz and pop. With intelligent, original songs and no shortage of wit, GrooveLily connects lush musical textures and soaring vocals to make a new music that's all their own.

Vigoda and Milburn are the winners of a 2006 Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award for Excellence in Writing for the Theater. Earlier this year, Pittsburgh's City Theatre received an organization award from the Larson Foundation in support of the development of Vigoda and Milburn's new musical Long Story Short (previously titled An Infinite Ache). STRIKING 12 was also nominated for a 2007 Lucille Lortel Award For Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical.

This year's production of STRIKING 12 will be videotaped for an upcoming DVD release. A live cast recording of STRIKING 12 was released in 2004 on the PS Classics label at www.psclassics.com.

GrooveLily's holiday offering, STRIKING 12, a rewired version of Hans Christian Anderson's classic tale "The Little Match Girl," debuted at TheatreWorks in 2004, and was an instant hit, going on to enjoy a successful Off-Broadway run. More recently, TheatreWorks partnered with Vigoda and Milburn to bring the world premiere of their work, LONG STORY SHORT, to the Bay Area in December 2008, where it was lauded by critics and audiences alike.

At TheatreWorks' 2009 New Works Festival, local crowds got a sneak peek at the group's latest work with Joe DiPietro, ERNEST SHACKLETON LOVES ME, a fever dream musical in which exhausted but talented video game score composer Kat hallucinates that the famed Arctic explorer is phoning her from beyond time. In addition to contributing songs for the latest installment in Disney's Tinker Bell films, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Milburn and Vigoda have been selected to receive the 2009 ASCAP Foundation Richard Rogers New Horizons Award.

Valerie Vigoda (electric violin, vocals) has toured the world with Cyndi Lauper, Joe Jackson, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and has opened for Tina Turner and Cher. An honors graduate of Princeton University and a former Army lieutenant, Vigoda founded GrooveLily (originally The Valerie Vigoda Band) in 1994, and has seen the band release six critically acclaimed albums. Brendan Milburn (keyboards, vocals), received his MFA in musical theatre from NYU's Musical Theatre Writing Program but was instead drawn into a rock band. His road time with GrooveLily has proven to be a way back into writing musicals. Gene Lewin (drums, vocals), earned a Master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music and has appeared on album recordings with George Coleman, John Patitucci, and many others.

Tickets for the event are $40 with half-price student rush tickets are available on the day of concerts only. Student tickets must be purchased in person at the box office. A valid student ID is required. Tickets may be purchased online at the Merkin Concert Hall website.

For more information, visit www.groovelily.com.