Holiday Hootenanny Radio Hour Present THE CRICKET ON THE MANTLE

The Holiday Hootenanny Radio Hour is pleased to announce Nick Thornton's heart warming new radio play CRICKET ON THE MANTLE, with music directed and arranged by Mike Mazzocca, as its inaugural presentation. All proceeds from this pay what you will production will go to benefit the Chicago chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER). Adapted from the Charles Dickens short story Cricket on the Hearth, Thornton's new play, set in the 1940s, follows one community as it must reimagine what it means to be home for the holidays. CRICKET ON THE MANTLE will play December 4, December 10, and December 19, 2018 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave in Chicago. Each of the 3 live performance will also be broadcast online at anarchistfolk.wixsite.com/cricket. Donations can be made both at the performances and through the website.

CRICKET ON THE MANTEL will feature Todd Aulwurm, Elleon Dobias, Katherine Duffy, Joey Harbert, Eric Loughlin, Mike Mazzocca, Erik Pearson, Josiah Robinson, Kelan Smith, Sarah Beth Tanner, and Melanie VItaterna.

Everyone knows that a cricket on the mantle is good luck, and nowhere is that more true than in Anytown, USA. John and Dot are expecting a child, Tim and Mae are getting married, and almost everyone is home for the holidays. All seems calm and bright, until a mysterious drifter wanders into town, changing the course of everyone's Christmas plans.

Equal parts storytelling and folk music, CRICKET ON THE MANTLE is the perfect holiday outing for the young at heart looking for thoughtful, exuberant Christmas entertainment. This production's strong language and mature themes make it inappropriate for children under thirteen.

"The Holiday Hootenanny Radio Hour is our attempt to offer audiences a fun, innovative piece of new holiday entertainment," comments writer/director Nick Thornton. "Throughout the year, audiences continue to support our work at other local venues, and we feel it's important to use this project to give back to our community."

PRODUCTION DETAILS:
Title: CRICKET ON THE MANTLE
Writer/Director: Nick Thornton
Music Director/Arranger: Mike Mazzocca
Ensemble: Todd Aulwurm, Elleon Dobias, Katherine Duffy, Joey Harbert, Eric Loughlin, Mike Mazzocca, Erik Pearson, Josiah Robinson, Kelan Smith, Sarah Beth Tanner, and Melanie VItaterna.

Location Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave , Chicago
Regular run: Tuesday, December 4th, 2018; Monday, December 10th, 2018; and Wednesday, December 19th, 2018
Curtain times: Pre-performance caroling begins at 7:00pm, with a 7:30pm curtain
Information: anarchistfolk.wixsite.com/cricket

About The Artists

Nick Thornton (Playwright/Director) is a freelance director, dramaturg, movement director, and teaching artist. His upcoming projects include serving as the director/choreographer for Brooke Astors Last Affair (Chicago Musical Theatre Festival). Recent Chicago credits include director/choreographer of Underscore Theatre's Haymarket (given 3.5 stars by Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune), dramaturg and movement director for Miss Major Cushman (Batavia Live Arts), movement director and dramaturg for Birds of a Feather (Greenhouse Theater Center), and co-director of the Greenhouse Theater Center's Machinal (named one of the 10 best shows of 2017 by the Chicago Tribune). Nick also serves as a teaching artist at Pegasus Theatre, Mudlark Theater, and Windy City Musical Theatre. Nick is a proud graduate of Western Michigan University's Department of Theatre as well as an alumnus of the DirectorsLabChicago.

Mike Mazzocca (Arranger/Music Director) is dripping with pride to be producing and music directing for Cricket on the Mantle! Coming off the heels of the wonderful experience that was Haymarket: A New Folk Musical with Underscore Theater, Mike could not be more excited to be working once again with his Haymarket family, so soon afterwards and for a good cause, it could literally make his heart burst with happiness. Mike has been a company member with Underscore Theater since 2014. Underscore productions include The Rocky Horror Show, Borderlands, the original 2016 incarnation of Haymarket, then entitled The Anarchist's Songbook, along with several other readings and workshops. Mike is also a company member with Trap Door Theatre, which he has considered his artistic home since 2013. Mike has composed and music directed for several Trap Door productions, including The Universal Wolf, Fantasy Island: For Dummies, and received a Jeff Awards nomination for Best Original Music in a Play for his work on Into the Empty Sky, directed by Monica Payne. Mike also happens to be part of the management team of Haven Lounge at The Den Theatre!

American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) is a non-profit, non-partisan, chapter-based Veterans Service Organization of active, reserve, and veteran service members dedicated to full and equal rights and equitable treatment for all present and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces, especially the LGBTQ current and prior military personnel who have been historically disenfranchised by armed forces policy and discriminatory laws governing military service and benefits. American Veterans for Equal Rights is the oldest and largest chapter-based, all-volunteer national LGBTQ Veterans Service Organization in the United States, and the nation's only LGBTQ VSO recognized by the Veterans Administration. With chapters across America, AVER provides a unique and safe space where LGBTQ veterans can honor pride both in our service and our identity as LGBTQ people.

About the HOLIDAY HOOTENANNY RADIO HOUR
The Holiday Hootenanny Radio Hour and its presentation of Cricket on the Mantel is the inaugural endeavor of the Anarchist Folk Band, a new ensemble of Chicago area artists aimed at creating theatrical experiences illuminated by live music. The Holiday Hootenanny Radio Hour provides this group an opportunity to collaborate creatively, benefit a worthy cause, and spread cheer and joy to the Chicagoland community.

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