"There's no arguing strange things take place in those woods..."

Glass Slipper Theatricals, Inc. and Joria Productions present the world premiere of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a new family-friendly Off-Off-Broadway musical, at the New 42nd Street Theater, 348 West 42nd Street.

Performances are September 8 through 24, 2000, on Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM, with an additional performance on Saturday, September 23 at 2:30 PM. Reservations can be made by calling The New 42nd Street Theater box office at (212) 563-3756, or online at Glass Slipper Theatricals / Reservations. Tickets are $15.00 (credit cards not accepted), and the show is appropriate to children over eight years old.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, book and lyrics by Meg Belviso, music by Eric Baum, is directed by John DeBlass, with musical direction by the composer, Eric Baum, and choreography by Maria Zannieri. It's a new twist on the classic 18th century tale of the hapless Ichabod Crane, who would do anything to win the hand of the lovely Katrina Van Tassel. Surely he has more to offer than strongman Brom Bones. Brom can fight, shoot, and ride a horse, but can he sing a love song like Ichabod? And can he face the ghostly headless horseman that haunts the glen called Sleepy Hollow just outside of town?

Although Ichabod doesn't know it, his love triangle has become the talk of the town. The ladies in Ichabod's choir and the children in his school all have their own ideas about which man Katrina should marry. She will make her choice between the rivals at a late-night party at her family's farm. But when the storytelling and dancing is over, who will make it safely home through Sleepy Hollow?

About Glass Slipper Theatricals, Inc.

Glass Slipper Theatricals is a theatrical production company whose goal is to present quality entertainment at an affordable ticket price. To that end, they have become a resident company in one of New York's showcase theaters: The New 42nd Street Theater, located at 348 West 42nd Street, also home to Joria Productions. Currently, they intend to produce three or four shows per year, revivals along with new work, with a focus on "intimate" musicals.

"There's a lot of work being done Off-Off-Broadway," says Bess Eckstein, President of Glass Slipper Theatricals, "progressive theater that looks to the future and forces its audiences to take a deeper look at themselves and their world. Regrettably, though, precious little of that work is reaching the average person. Even now, in spite of the commercial and artistic successes of Rent and others like it, the common perception of Off-Off-Broadway as being too experimental continues to hamper its success. The average person rarely, if ever, attends an Off-Off-Broadway production, despite the incredibly high quality of the work being presented, since we are still not at the point where it is considered a viable way to spend an evening at the theater.

"It is our goal to play a part in reversing the common view of Off-Off-Broadway by producing work with high entertainment value. In this way, we not only benefit audiences by introducing them to a new kind of theater, but also help our colleagues by developing previously unexplored audiences.

"One thing experience has taught us is to take good work, nurture it and market it well. You don't need to give an audience nine million dollars' worth of scenery to keep them entertained."

Glass Slipper Theatricals' first production (May, 2000) was a one-act play entitled Nicetown, by Alex Ladd. Set in a midtown bar, it tells the story of three Canadian tourists who wander in and ultimately discover that nothing in New York City, including each other, is what it seems to be. Nicetown was mounted as an environmental piece in three Greenwich Village bars.

At this time, in addition to a long list of revivals Glass Slipper is eager to mount, the company is negotiating options on several original scripts, including a rock musical/love story set half a mile below sea level, Davey Jones Locker. The cofounders, Bess Eckstein and Deborah R. Rosen, have, between them, worked on over 100 shows in the past ten years.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The New 42nd Street Theater
348 West 42nd Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues)
Performance Schedule:
Sept. 8 through 24, 2000
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM
Sundays at 2:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 23, at 2:30 and 8:00 PM
Reservations can be made by calling The New 42nd Street Theater box office at (212) 563-3756, or online at Glass Slipper Theatricals / Reservations. Tickets are $15.00 (credit cards not accepted), and the show is appropriate to children over eight years old.

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