Washington Irving's the Legend of Sleepy Hollow: A Play in Two Acts

Washington Irving’s

The Legend of

Sleepy Hollow

A Play in Two Acts

Christopher Cook

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© 2008 Christopher Cook. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/22/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4259-3428-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4259-3427-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-9983-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006904714

Originally adapted in 2002 by Christopher Cook

"…the very first Halloween terror tale,

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has become

an enduring, beloved Halloween classic."

- Roy Nuhn

Northeast News

"A delightful script,

perfectly adapted to outdoor drama,

as well as dinner theatre fare."

- Jim Heaney, author

Taste This, Taste That

"Cook’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

is a surprise-filled treat!"

- Jennifer Lester

Scarlet & Gray

"I think perhaps, that it’s a bit beyond

my wildest dreams."

- Mac Rish, mayor

West Columbia

Spectacular and well-done! Professional and entertaining! Hats off to Christopher Cook for the obviously detailed work involved in this adaptation,

- Adam Team

Midlands Technical College

CAUTION

Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that WASHINGTON IRVING’S THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Christopher Cook is subject to a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union (including the Dominion of Canada and the rest of the British Commonwealth), and of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, and of all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound taping, all other forms of mechanical or electronic reproduction, such as information storage and retrieval systems and photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages, are strictly reserved. Particular emphasis is laid upon the question of readings, permission and terms for which must be secured from the author in writing.

The stage performance rights for WASHINGTON IRVING’S THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Christopher Cook are controlled exclusively by the playwright. No professional or non-professional performance of the play may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of the playwright and paying the requisite royalty fees.

All inquiries concerning rights to the play should be addressed to: Christopher Cook of High Voltage Theatre, 1625 Malcolm Drive, Columbia, South Carolina 29204, High Voltage [email protected]

SPECIAL NOTE

Anyone receiving permission to produce WASHINGTON IRVING’S THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Christopher Cook is required to give due authorship credit to the playwright as the sole and exclusive author of the play in all programs, posters, flyers, and any and all other promotional printing in connection with performances of the play. In all instances in which the title of the play appears for purposes of advertising, publicizing or otherwise exploiting the play and/or a production thereof; the name of the author must appear on a separate line, in which no other name appears, immediately beneath the title and in size of type equal to 50% of the largest letter used for the title of the play. No person, firm or entity may receive credit larger than that accorded the author.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

An artist is only as good as the legions of souls who enable him to create. Lord knows I could never have done it all alone and there are close, personal angels too numerous to thank here, but I’ll do the best I can by singling out those who’ve made the most significant contributions to this project: First and foremost, the hard-working people of River Alliance: Executive Director, Mike Dawson, for taking a chance with my delusions of grandeur. He possesses that rare and wonderful gift of being able to make it happen under the performing arts’ most extreme shackles of adversity: politics and poverty. His business acumen has proven exemplary and in some strange fashion he and I make up a sort of two-headed P.T. Barnum. We both have a tendency to first tell the people what we think will lure them to an event and then second, figure out a way to make good on our promises. This is a method of capitalizing on sensationalism, but it always makes for an altogether more exciting sideshow atmosphere. And thanks to Mike, we have made good on our promises!

Anna Stalnaker, whose diligence always proves a formidable yin to my disorganized yang. Her patience and attention to detail is un-equaled and she deserves the requisite kudos for cleaning up after my incompetence. Matt Croxton, artist, photographer, designer, auteur in his own right, who designed promotional materials so slick and impressive that High Voltage Theatre had to work that much harder to live up to the flashy images on the poster. Kelly Renata, who came into the picture our second time out with River Alliance. Her calm exterior and professional demeanor speaks volumes about her character. She possesses a yeoman’s work ethic and thanks to her incredible expertise in video production, High Voltage’s Sleepy Hollow now has a fine TV commercial. Kelly also gets the bitten tongue award for putting up with my tempestuous tantrums. I thank Geah Pressgrove, PR person extraordinaire of Ferrillo and Associates, for getting the word out. I am forever indebted to the good people of Security Federal Bank, without whom we would not have had the ways and the means to build Sleepy Hollow and Tarry Town, New York on a bank of West Columbia. Security Federal Bank is one of those rare, nurturing corporations that understand the importance of providing for charities and communities who often are not able to afford to attend the theatre. Through the bank’s generous support, I have founded Performing hArts nights, an initiative which has brought hundreds of children from our under-served communities to attend the show year after year, free of charge. I am equally and continually grateful to the Cities of West Columbia, Cayce, and Columbia.

I thank Jerry Gobel and Loretta Smith of Lexington Equestrian Sports for their tireless efforts under veritably impossible circumstances. Without these two wranglers for our equine friends, there would be no legend of Sleepy Hollow. In the final analysis, it really is a play about a headless horseman. I am honored to have Jerry and his horse upstage me night after night. I must thank my parents, John and Susan Sellers who have done more in support of my endeavors than nearly anyone. They are my chief role models, my hands-on heroes and my soft place to land. My parents, Charles and Catherine Cook, for equally supporting my errant vocations and always being on the first row of any of my plays. They are of High Voltage Theatre’s most dedicated patrons. Steve Bonner of Author House for being the conduit to seeing my voice in print. Susan Benesch, interim Executive Director for the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties for listening to me whine about funding, Meg Richards of the Katherine M. Bellfield Cultural Arts Center, for always providing a home away from home for High Voltage Theatre. John Whitehead of the Columbia Music Festival Association for rehearsal space in the early days. Henry, Helen, and Rachel Pettit, my close friends in magic, and my fellow magi in Ring 105 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. I owe gratitude immeasurable to Henry Pettit for welcoming me back into the brotherhood and becoming my mentor-of-magic. His dedication to my development as an artist of the conjuring arts humbles me. To Joey Vasquez, president of the local chapter of the Society of American Magicians, thanks for letting me in. I also thank Dana Wolf of Wolf Realty, for his unending patience. Jim Cantey, for giving us a break also. Nancy Pope, Coordinator for Visual and Performing Arts of Richland County School District One, Nancy Kreml, former Chair of the Department of Humanities at Midlands Technical College for first giving me a shot at bringing Washington Irving’s story to life, Charles Whetzel, for his friendship, mentorship and patience. He showed me how to swing a hammer, lay sub-flooring and taught me to respect scenic designers and builders as true artists. Thanks to George Mirabel, for putting up with me and putting a lot of light on the subject. A harder worker and more loyal