“12 Dates of Christmas” comes to NMU

Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre is kicking off the Christmas season with a unique show for anyone who’s ever felt alone during the holidays.

“The 12 Dates of Christmas” is an original tale that begins when Mary, the main character, sees her fiance kissing a co-worker on national TV during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. She proceeds to dump him, ditch her engagement ring, and spend the next year searching for her true love. Twelve months later, Mary still finds herself alone on Christmas, just like the actress who portrays her.

“This is the first one-woman show I’ve done and it’s very interesting because I’ve got nothing to fall back on,” laughed Meghan Marquardt, a Senior performer at NMU. “Her whole world is kind of turned upside down. She goes on dates with guys with bad fashion, guys who are little bit crazy, so it kind of goes through this whole process. It’s kind of a retrospective. It’s her looking back at the whole year and saying ‘Wow. Where did I come from?’ It’s crazy, it’s a whirlwind, but it’s a lot of fun because I think everybody’s had that first date that’s super awkward. So, it’s a relatable experience, even though the story is a little more exaggerated.”

Although Marquardt is the only performer in the show, she has had some help along the way to bring the story to life. The interactive character-study premieres this Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online or in person at the box office.