You may think you know Washington Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” but the original is nothing like the new musical based on that book at Signature Theatre. “The Hollow,” with book by Hunter Foster and music and lyrics by Matt Conner, places the action in upstate New York and uses many of the same characters Irving did: the schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, the lovely Katrina Van Tassel, her fiance, Brom Bones, and, of course, the Headless Horseman.
But those characters have all been transformed in the musical, fleshed out and made to illuminate even more clearly than the original did how fear can pollute a community and destroy its strength. It’s not just a Headless Horseman that is to be feared in this legend. When Crane arrives, it’s books, knowledge,
| Onstage |
| ‘The Hollow” |
| Where: Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington |
| When: Through Oct. 16 |
| Info: $67 to $81; 703-573-7328; signature-theatre.org |
inquisitiveness.
Conner’s music and lyrics are modern and varied, including some rock, some jazzy numbers, some restrained, perhaps classically inspired works. The first number, “Legend,” sets the scene for Sleepy Hollow. It’s a gentle vocal creation of the atmosphere of “the quietest place on Earth.”
After this first number, the music exists to explore the characters’ feelings, in ways the dialogue does not. Particularly lovely are Katrina’s “Boston,” and Ichabod’s “Blue.” In addition, Conner’s music and lyrics move the action of the musical along.
Under Matt Gardiner’s sure directorial guidance, clear battle lines are drawn between the voices of restriction and the voices of imagination and free thinking. Sam Ludwig is powerful as Ichabod, the educated Bostonian who charms and initiates certain inhabitants of the Hollow into an appreciation of literature.
Whitney Bashor is well-cast as Katrina, who falls under Ichabod’s spell immediately, learning to love not only “Gulliver’s Travels” but also the man who lends her the book. Noah Chiet seems wise beyond his years as the young Pieter, whose understanding of the world expands when Crane gives him “Robinson Crusoe” and “Candide.”
All 11 roles in “The Hollow” work as strong individual parts, and also as an effective ensemble. There is not a weak voice among them.
The set for “The Hollow” is simple, with stylized limbs suggesting trees on three sides of the stage. Kathleen Geldard’s costumes reflect the original late-18th-century period. Chris Lee’s lighting creates a vivid impression of fire and, with Matt Rowe’s sound design, a spookily realistic Horseman.
Using all the power of myth, Foster and Conner effectively address the negative effects bigotry and small-mindedness have on a community. Through their characters, story and music, they have created a dynamic new legend in “The Hollow,” a valid contribution to the cause of the new American musical, a cause to which Signature Theatre is firmly dedicated.
