Recommended ages 10 and up. 

ABOUT THE LEGEND
Step back in time. It’s the 1800’s. Hear the clamoring metal horseshoes click across cobblestone roads in this dark Sleepy Hollow tale. The LEGEND is a simmering adaptation of Washington Irving’s iconic ghost story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Audiences will be treated to a cirque/theatre noir production with narration by Washington Irving himself – in hologram form, commemorating the 200-year anniversary of, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!”

The LEGEND is a new, total immersive experience with the groundbreaking use of holograms of Washington Irving and the Headless Horseman, combined with live action circus performers to tell the story.

About The LEGEND:

Set in Sleepy Hollow and ‘Tarry Town’ in the early 1800s, Irving returns to present-day to tell us what he really meant by ‘the legend.’ The story follows schoolteacher Ichabod Crane (played by Justin Durham – hand balancer and straps artist) who has, of late, been down on his luck but finds adventure when he accepts an invitation to teach the children of Sleepy Hollow.

Everything changes when the beautiful heiress of the Van Tassel fortune, Katrina Van Tassel (played by third generation circus artist Zoë Heywood), enters the ballroom of her father’s holiday party by performing a seductive aerial ballet on silks. Crane is stricken by his good fortune and believes he has the savoir faire to win her hand (and her father’s money).

When Katrina’s assumed beau, Brom Bones (Mickey Lonsdale – comedic actor and acrobatic dancer), sees Katrina’s interest in Crane, the game is afoot! Crane finds himself involved in what may become a deadly love triangle, spurred by the practical (and perhaps deadly) jokes of Brom Bones. What neither suitor realizes is that Katrina is in possession of a ‘very particular set of skills’ and can summon ‘the Dark Spirit’ (played by Doug Stewart of Cirque Us) with incantations reminiscent of ‘The Exorcist.’ The intrigue mounts: is the ‘Dark Spirit’ the ghostly and ghastly Headless Horseman villagers see at night in pursuit of his prey? Or is it something else that causes Crane to vanish suddenly one night in an epic battle between ‘light’ and ‘dark’?

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Two years ago, Westchester Circus Arts began exploring the concept of holograms as part of the cirque performance with Montreal-based Neweb Labs to find out if the idea was possible.

“We invite people to come see the show as we make history Sept. 23. This is the first time that an American Circus will use a hologram to portray an ‘animal act’ in a circus tent. Come out, buy tickets, grab some popcorn and tell us if our concept has come alive,” says Carlo Pellegrini of Westchester Circus Arts, creator, producer and writer of The LEGEND.

The show runs from Sept. 23 – Oct. 23, 2022 in The LEGEND Circus Tent on the East Parcel at 60 Continental Street in Sleepy Hollow, NY. Showtimes: Fridays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. & 7 p.m., and Sundays, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Shows run for an hour and a half and include an intermission. Tickets are $30 online and $40 at the door. Recommended for ages 10 years old and up. For more information, contact Westchester Circus Arts at (914) 275-5711.

Producing The LEGEND has been a years-long endeavor by The Village of Sleepy Hollow’s Administrator Anthony Giaccio and the Village’s grant writer Fiona Matthew. The Village re-engaged longtime collaborators Westchester Circus Arts to create a show that would celebrate the bicentennial publication of this story, so unique to Sleepy Hollow.

This project is supported by a Market New York grant awarded to the Village of Sleepy Hollow from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism through the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative.

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