Deck The Halls With Holly Block Youth Mental Health Project Fundraiser

Have plans for December 16th? Now, you do! Come see Deck The Halls With Holly at Don't Tell Mama NYC. Holly Block returns to this space for a fun-filled night of holiday and musical theater songs two years after her last successful show here. It's no wonder a woman named Holly would love Christmas, but, she says, this show means so much more. 

"My goal is to raise money for the Youth Mental Health Project which is an organization that not only supports parents with children going through mental health struggles, but supports the children who are suffering as well," says Holly. "There's a lot of talk in the government and in the media about how mental health is lacking in this country. But, we need more than talk, and I want to try and do my part in changing things by supporting organizations such as the Youth Mental Health Project." (@ymhproject)

Holly has been around musical theater since she was a child. Her first Broadway stint came when she was 12 years old and booked Godspell 2032 produced by Tony Award winner Ken Davenport. After that, A Time To Shine's Leorah Haberfield produced a cabaret version of the show performed at the Broadway Comedy Club. That's when Holly got hooked on cabarets. "While I love doing a full -out musical, I am playing a character. In a cabaret, I get to be myself," she says.

Holly has never stopped performing but what she is most proud of is Safe and Sound, The Musical, which she co-wrote with Elizabeth Jerjian. That show, which also focuses on mental health, premiered at the Front Row Fringe Festival where it won 10 awards!

Despite its fundraising goal, Deck The Halls with Holly will be a night of fun transporting you back to the Golden Age of Christmas featuring holiday and musical theater songs from 1940 and 50s; "old time glam music," she says. "When it comes to music and fashion, this is what I was meant for. I was born in the wrong decade!"

Holly will have a few guest stars to help her "Deck The Halls":

· MiG Ayesa (Burn The Floor, Rock of Ages). "I had the honor of working with him in a production that I choreographed last year, He was a wonder to work with!" If you love Reality TV, you might also recognize him as one of the finalists from Rockstar...INXS a few years back.

· Gabbie Sansone, Elana Cantor and Ben Senneff "are three of my dear friends, having met them doing a touring show when we were little, Random Farms' The New Kid". And, Jenny Hanrahan, a fellow alum from Circle In The Square Musical Theatre Conservatory.

· Mackenzie Mercer (National Tour of Frozen) "is ball of energy and talent. (Both Gabbie and McKenize were part of the award-winning presentation of Safe and Sound The Musical.)

· Joe Baker "is my amazing musical director. I worked with him at The Circle In The Square Musical Theatre Conservatory. I knew of him even before that. He has been in the industry a long time, and he is one of the most talented musical directors. We are in good hands!"

"I always like doing Christmas shows because the season always brings me so much joy, and Don't Tell Mama is a fabulous space to share that joy." Holly jokes, "I just have to say it...we are going to have a Holly, Jolly time!"

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