Sleepy Hollow Experience conquers the roaming theatre world
I love fall. I love Serenbe Playhouse. And I love the fact that they decided to do a fall show extension to their usual summer only season. The Sleepy Hollow Experience, directed by the extremely creative and devoted Brian Clowdus, should jump to the top of your busy October to do list. Yes, I know what you are thinking, the tale of Sleepy Hollow has been told so many times, there’s even a television series now. But this is not your typical torment of Ichabod Crane. Serenbe Playhouse has taken a well known spook, added humor, interaction, and the best visual display of character and scene to make Sleepy Hollow fresh.
The theatre world needs to adapt to keep current audiences and lure in new ones. In the age of On Demand entertainment right at home and the growing lack of interest in live theatre due to bad shows giving off bad reputations, Serenbe Playhouse is creating palatable, smart, beautiful, and new age theatre. They understand that theatre is just like any other art form, it needs to grow, change, and keep up with current conversations.
With The Sleepy Hollow Experience, Serenbe dominated the domain of roaming shows, a technique that has been tried, failed, and seldom used in success by other theaters. It’s difficult to get it all right. The transitions need to be smooth and spaced properly, the sound needs to carry, the visuals need to be accessible to crowds on foot, the interactions between actors and audience members needs to be in the middle ground of leader and not tormentor. The Sleepy Hollow Experience led audiences through the stables at Serenbe and into a whole new world, with a plot that intrigued and introduced long known characters in brand new ways.
The cast was incredible: Jacob Cooper as Brom Bones, Laura Floyd Wood as The Story Teller, Jessica Miesel as Katrina, Brandon Connor Patrick as The Story Teller, and Chris Mayers as Ichabod. They set the mood and kept the flow of the show going forward without a single stall. The makeup and costuming was impeccably done, it added to the darkness and allure. Each moment kept the audience on its toes for a really big scare. There was an ease of moments where laughter dominated and ebbed away the anxiety. But then a scream would slice the nights atmosphere and let everyone know that something was coming, and it was going to be headless and triumphant in its pursuit. The ending holds this impact and will definitely leave you wanting to turn a light on.
Your fall requirement is The Sleepy Hollow Experience (running till Oct. 31) and you better hurry when it comes to snagging tickets, most of the shows are already sold out, late night shows have been added to aid you though. But you could also win TWO VIP TICKETS to the Oct. 31 show plus the Monster Mash After Party by clicking here.
