PHOTO BY HANDERSON GOMES

Now that we all accept “Die Hard” as a real Christmas movie — one of the best, in fact — many have made it part of their holiday traditions. This year, you can watch it at home, curled up on the couch. You can see it back on the big screen.

Or — perhaps the best option — you can watch it come to life in a one-of-a-kind show that recalls the golden age of radio.

In “Die Hard N’at,” a team of performers will not only give voice to Pittsburgh-modified versions of the action flick’s characters, they’ll also add sound effects and more in the style of a mid-century radio broadcast. It’s part of the Midnight Radio series from Bricolage Production Company, which has been offering raucous, old-school fun for more than a decade … with a bit of a layoff.

“Die Hard N’at,” which opens Friday and runs through Dec. 22, is actually a revival, as Midnight Radio has been dormant since before the COVID pandemic. Like many arts organizations, Bricolage struggled to bounce back from the effects of shutdowns and remote shows; this is the company’s first foray into live performance in nearly five years.

“Midnight Radio has always been such a kind of home for us,” says Bricolage co-founder Jeffrey Carpenter. “We venture out and do these crazy projects, [then] we always come back to Midnight Radio.”

The company also re-opened their escape room, Enter the Imaginarium, in a new location in O’Hara Township (complete with a brand-new game). Between that and returning to the stage, 2024 marks Bricolage’s informal comeback to the region’s art scene — and to its audience.

“Midnight Radio [is] our flagship and our most grounded program,” says Bricolage co-founder Tami Dixon. “We’ve been out of touch with our audience for quite some time; we’re re-evaluating and trying to get reinvigorated … The most important value to us is joy. If we don’t have that, why are we doing any of this?”

Performances of “Die Hard N’at” will be held at the company’s new home, the Wilkinsburg space Community Forge. That property is about to undergo extensive renovations, making even more space for arts and performances; Bricolage will be something of an anchor tenant, hoping to serve as an “immersive incubator.”

“What we get to do is share our learned experience from the last 20 years and give it away to younger organizations, up-and-coming arts groups,” Dixon says.

As those renovations — which will likely continue until 2026 — take place, Bricolage hopes to use Midnight Radio and other events to welcome guests back in. For longtime audience members, that’s an inviting return to an old favorite; for those who’ve never experienced Midnight Radio before, a lively surprise is in store.

“It’s ‘SNL’ meets ‘Prairie Home Companion’ meets ‘The Howard Stern Show,’” Dixon says. “What they’re going to see are incredible vocal acrobats — these actors who can switch character voices at the drop of the hat … sounds from a body dropping off of Yinzatomi Tower,” the localized version of the “Die Hard” locale Nakatomi Plaza, “to machine-gun fire to walking on glass. They’re going to be able to see them create this magic in front of them.”

“There was something super alive” about Midnight Radio, Carpenter adds. “That spirit is something that we really want to bring back to this next episode.”

Now that “Die Hard N’at” is back, attendees just might find themselves making it an annual stop — an unlikely yet delightful part of holiday plans.

“This show is good for teenagers to grandmas,” Dixon says. “The whole family can come — and we have people saying, ‘This was our holiday tradition for years.’”