What are People Saying About It?

This production ranks with the best from Phoenix

The Phoenix Theatre for Children production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow passes the test

It's all quick enough to leave kids excited and scary enough to satisfy the anticipation that the campfire-story atmosphere has created.

spooky enough to raise a few goose bumps without causing nightmares

     --Margaret Quamme, The Columbus Dispatch (Read the full review)
 

This is a show that will be enjoyed by your whole family, so don’t miss your chance to see this Halloween classic come to life

The cast for Sleepy Hollow is wonderful and it’s very clear that they are all having great fun on that stage

this show is entertaining for the whole family

There is no doubt that this cast is incredibly talented.

          --Erin Millar, Examiner.com (Read the full review)

Who’s the Playwright?

Steven C. Anderson is the Artistic Director of the newly merged CATCO, home of the Phoenix Theatre for Children. He has created plays for and with central Ohio children for the past 29 years, first at the Leo Yassenoff Jewish Center, then at Players Theatre Columbus, and most recently at The Phoenix Theatre for Children which he founded 16 years ago. He is the recipient of the Ohio Theatre Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award, the Southside Settlement Arts Freedom Award, a Certificate of Achievement from the Community Center for the Deaf, and a Central Ohio Critics Circle Award for “a decade of respectful and exhilarating theatrical adaptations of works of literature from around the world and for using a diverse array of theatrical styles to challenge and delight children.” His work has been nominated five times for the prestigious Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Excellence in the Arts Award. His work as a director includes Candide and Hair at the Ohio State University Theatre Department; Love! Valour! Compassion! and The Taste of Sunrise at CATCO; Big River and Pippin for Actors Theatre; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at New Harmony Theatre; and Greater Tuna, Little Shop of Horrors, and Assassins for the former Players Theatre Columbus where he served as Associate Producing Director. He is particularly proud of the 2006 collaboration with BalletMet of Alice in Wonderland, the 2007 collaboration with CAPA and Opera Columbus on The Secret Garden that paired deaf and hearing actors on stage together, and the 2009 Phoenix production of The Miracle Worker that incorporated the talents of deaf and blind actors.

Who is the Author?

Washington Irving was born on April 3rd, 1783, in New York City. At that time, the Revolutionary War was coming to an end. Irving’s parents looked up to George Washington’s work as commander-in-chief of the continental army during the war. They decided to call their son Washington in honor of George Washington’s fearless leadership.

Irving used many different pseudonyms, or pen names, over the course of his writing career. Names such as “Diedrich Knickerbocker” inspired the New York basketball team to choose the team name “Knicks.” Irving’s most famous pen name is “Geoffrey Crayon.” He uses this name in his popular book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. This book includes popular stories such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. The Sketch Book became one of the most widely read books during it’s time. It was written when Irving was living in Birmingham, England.

Along with writing books, Irving enjoyed traveling. He especially liked to travel in Europe where he visited England, France, Germany, and Spain. Even though Irving enjoyed traveling, his stories were based on the memories of his childhood when living in New York. Irving never married nor had children. He died on the eve of the Civil War on November 28, 1859. His tombstone can be viewed at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, New York.