To open their 2026 - 27 season, Manor Mill Playhouse will take audiences on a spooky-fun ride with Washington Irving's iconic Headless Horseman as they produce The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from October 9th through 18th in the David Niven Theater at Oldfields in Sparks, adapted for the stage by John Heimbuch and Jon FergusonJohn Heimbuch and Jon Ferguson and directed by MMPH artistic director Vanessa Eskridge.
The production will employ a host of theatrical gimmicks, gestures, devices, and sleight-of-hand—including puppetry, movement, live music, and more—and feature a collaborative ensemble to bring to life all the haunted, haunting mayhem, and tongue-in-cheek humor of Irving's enduring classic. A favorite since its first publication in the early 1800s and popular in many formats, the story of ecccentric schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, the beautiful Katrina Van Tassell, and the headless Hessian who haunts the village is considered America's original ghost story. Now it comes to life locally, just in time for Halloween, in a bewitching evening of entertaining thrills and theatrical chills.
Enjoy my conversation with director Eskridge for more insights in the what, why, and how of the production, and find more online at https://www.manor-mill.com/theater
