New Musical HIT HER WITH THE SKATES to Play in Concert at Feinstein's/54 Below

The new musical, Hit Her with the Skates, by Christine Rea & Rick Briskin will get a concert presentation at NYC's 54 Below (254 W 54 Street) before its pre-New York developmental production at Hamilton Stage (UCPAC, Rahway, NJ).

The concert and stage production will be directed by Michael Schiralli, with musical direction by Brandon Ethridge.

The kick-off concert will take place on Friday, March 10 at 9:30pm (doors open at 8:45) tickets are $30 - $70 (plus $25 minimum) and can be purchased by visiting 54below.com or calling (646) 476-3551. For more information on the show visit www.hitherwiththeskates.com.

Hit Her With The Skates is Grease meets Hairspray with a sprinkle of Xanadu! It's 1994 and rock star Jacqueline Miller has a lot to celebrate. She's headlining her first national tour and returning to her hometown to kick it off with a concert at her beloved Windy City Skates. When complications hit her head on, Jacqueline comes face-to-face with her 12 year-old self and all the things she learned during the golden age of the roller rink in 1977. From the wisdom of the Ouija Board to the power of Smarties candy, Hit Her With The Skates explores the magic and hope of finding your one true love.

The 54 Below concert will feature: Madeline Fansler (Regional: Rent, Chicago, The Last Five Years); Christine Rea (NYC: Tintypes National Tour: Jesus Christ Superstar), Eric O'Neal (NYC: Dream Babies, Trav'lin) Matthew Schatz (NYC: Heathers. Regional: First Date, Les Miserables), Amy Toporek (National/Intnational Tour: Hairspray, Regional: The Marvelous Wonderettes), and.

The band includes: Brandon Ethridge: Piano/Musical Director (Broadway's School of Rock), Rick Briskin: Lead Guitar/Vocals (East Two Nine Music), Mike Hall: Bass (Broadway's Fosse; NYC: Himself & Nora) Cliff Lyons: Sax (Broadway's Hairspray, In The Heights, Grease, Movin' Out), Ethan Bill: Drums (Tour: The Bronx Wanderers, Room 368 Productions).

The evening will be emceed by Dewey Moss (Writer /Director The Crusade of Connor Stephens; B'way/Tour: Cabaret, Les Miserables).

IF YOU GO:

Hit Her with the Skates
Concert Presentation NYC

by Christine Rea & Rick Briskin

54 Below is located 254 W 54 Street

Friday, March 10 at 9:30pm (doors open at 8:45pm)

Tickets are $30 - $70 (plus $25 minimum)

Can be purchased by visiting 54below.com or calling (646) 476-3551.

Hit Her with the Skates
Pre-New York Developmental Production

May 12 - 27, 2017

At Hamilton Stages (UCPAC, Rahway, NJ) is located at 370 Hamilton St, Rahway, NJ 07065

Tickets are $25

For tickets and ore information, visit www.hitherwiththeskates.com.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

CHRISTINE REA (Book, Lyrics) began her journey of playwriting, producing and performing on her parent's backyard patio. Upon earning a Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of Illinois: Champaign/Urbana, and attending DePaul Theater School, Christine toured the U.S., Canada and Europe performing. Favorite roles include: Mary Magdalene in the National Tour(s) of Jesus Christ Superstar w/ Ted Neeley & Carl Anderson of the acclaimed Norman Jewison film; Emma Goldman in the Off-Broadway Revival of Tintypes; Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show (European Tour); Sheila in HAIR (Actors Theater of Louisville); Janis Joplin in Beehive & Sonia in Godspell (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). Proud member of Actors Equity Association, The Dramatists Guild and most recently, Graduate of the Commercial Theater Institute's O'Neill & 14-Week Producers Program, 2015/2016 respectively.

RICK BRISKIN (Music and Lyrics) is a singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and mainstay of the NYC music scene. Following a short stint at Boston University, Rick attended the acclaimed Berklee College of Music and discovered his true love of songwriting. Rick's extensive knowledge of musical genre and style coupled with his enthusiasm for musical theatre made him a natural collaborator on HHWTS. He has produced and worked with such diverse artists as: Irene Cara (of "Fame"), Angela Ai, Ann Curliss (Expose) and Funky Asiatic (Craig Chang). As a sideman, Rick has played shows with: Diana Ross, Frankie Valli, Cindy Lauper, Sheryl Crow and Anita Baker to name a few. He can be heard on national jingles

Michael Schiralli (Director) is the Artistic Director of Half Moon Theatre at the Marriott Pavilion at The Culinary Institute of America, where he has directed: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, A Christmas Carol, I Love, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, The Fantasticks, It's A Wonderful Life, The World Goes Round, 2 Ten Minute Play Festivals and Side By Side By Sondheim. Some recent Off-Broadway credits include: Nico Underground (NY Times critic's pick), The critically acclaimed A Chanukah Charol (New World Stages) and David Simpatico's Prom Queen (Playwrights Horizon). Other notable productions: Sleepless Variations with Mary Testa & Michael Starobin (Barrington Stage), Jackie Hoffman's solo shows including The Kvetching Continues (Time Out Award) and The Tragic And Horrible Life Of The Singing Nun (NYMF, 3 awards), Varla Jean Merman shows and videos including Enough About Me: An Unauthorized Biography, Coco Peru shows including: Undaunted (GLAAD Award), The Vendler Television Playhouse (Guiding Light TV Cast), Bob&Carol&Ted&Alice with David Rackoff (Culture Project), Born Again Again! with Tammy Faye Starlite, Valentine's Day Massacre (Drama Dept.), Nothin's Easy and Nobody's Happy with Colette Hawley, Gas, Food, Talent (West Bank), Darlene Love's True Love (N.Y., L.A.), Songs for a New World (with Beth Leavel and Jason Robert Brown), Damaged Care (U.S. House of Congress), Everything's Coming Up Moses with Seth Rudetsky, MTW's Holiday Extravaganza with Kristin Chenowith, Free & Equal (Yip Harburg Foundation) and the feature film, Varla Jean And The Mushroomheads.

Brandon Ethridge (Musical Director) School of Rock (Broadway), We Will Rock You (1st Nat'l Tour), Rock of Ages (1st Nat'l Tour), Rocky Horror Show (Official European Tour). He has a master's degree in classical piano performance that obviously hasn't done him much good. He is also the music director, backing vocalist and keyboardist of Queen Extravaganza, the official tribute to the music of Queen. Brandon has lived in Kansas, Arizona, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He currently lives in New York City where he plans on staying forever and ever.

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