Who is that boogeyman scaring the gullible and accommodating? Is it the headless Hessian wreaking terror on the residents of Sleepy Hollow, immortalized in Washington Irving’s classic 1820 tale, or playwright Hunter Foster through his world premiere musical The Hollow, at Arlington’s Signature Theatre?
The morality play based around a close knit group of individuals galvanized by a passionate fear of anything “other” is core to the canon of the human experience, and has been tragically realized again and again throughout history. That being said, what is so irresistibly provocative, illuminating or even interesting about dredging up the early American Puritans’ religiosity and provincial conservatism for the umpteenth time to make this point in a flimsy facsimile of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible?
The answer may lie in an interview Foster gave to The Washington Post: “The story gets into the Tea Party mentality of people being afraid and forming groups—we see how far fear can push a group of people.”
Ah, I see. So with that grossly unfair defamation in print, the guts of the play come into focus. The Hollow is a not-so-veiled derision of present-day conservatism and to some degree—only known to the author—Christianity, masquerading as a revelatory bell-sounding. My question is, why don’t more comfy playwrights set this moral admonishment of the dangers of absolute certainty and extreme prejudice among the nightmare atheist societies of Hitler, Stalin or Mao; or astrewn the liberal death cults of Charlie Manson and Jim Jones; or to shed light on populaces just like the one “near Tarrytown,” but on the other side of the world, in places like Pakistan, India and Kenya where people are slaughtered for being of a different faith, tribe or political party.
But no, it’s too easy to trot out the old Puritans, paint them funereally, set them up for denigration and tie them to today’s “provincials,” as tried and branded by the left-wing elite.
At least this time it’s scored to music. Let’s get on with it then:
Foster’s The Hollow has Boston schoolmaster Ichabod Crane (Sam Ludwig) arriving in the secluded settlement of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., a bucolic scene in reality, but for this story dressed in medieval gloom. The unenlightened and fearful townsfolk are engrossed in a moralistic frenzy about the Headless Horseman, a demon they believe brings punishment to those who stray from God’s will. Or do they? There are intimations of other, all-too human motives for the sinister goings-on.
Ichabod charges the village into a tizzy, exposing “Candide” and “Gulliver’s Travels” to those with enough imagination to care, young Pieter Claassen (Noah Chiet) and former schoolmistress Katrina Van Tassel (Whitney Bashor). A triangle of tension develops between the progressive Ichabod, the demure Katrina, who “dreams of Boston,” and her fiancé Brom Van Brunt (Evan Casey). Predictably, the tension leads to an explosion, the folk rally and the Horseman’s awful justice is had.
The performers do their best with what is at hand. The standout is Bashor; she plays Katrina with a lovely touch, and her singing voice is beautiful. Ludwig’s Ichabod is fine; Signature regular Casey brings a sharp edge to the town bully Brom. There’s just not enough written for them to do.
In additional roles, Sherri L. Edelen is suitably scary as the monolithic matriarch Henriette Van Brunt; her meaty “Be Not Afraid” is one of the stronger numbers. Russel Sunday plays the fool suitably well as the town drunk Ellis Buren.
The design team scores where the script falters: Derek McLane’s minimalist forest set design, Chris Lee’s moody lighting and Matt Rowe’s sound capture the classic “Sleepy Hollow” atmosphere; the effects portending the Horseman are especially affecting. The costumes by Kathleen Geldard are convincing.
(I highly recommend seeing what this creative team has done in Signature’s companion piece, The Boy Detective Fails, to witness some truly amazing and innovative design work.)
As for the music, composer Matt Conner has devised a classical-sounding but uninspiring score. The music too often doesn’t illumine the characters very well or move the story along with conviction. The playful “Perhaps,” sung by Ludwig, Bashor and Chiet is cute, and Ludwig’s “Blue,” a valentine to Katrina, is interesting, but neither ever carry the viewer over the top in rhapsody. The appropriately titled “Invocation” and “Requiem” are just strange and awkward attempts to set the tone and attain gravitas.
In sum, the music and book are reminiscent of the shallow Disney stage shows making the rounds on the national circuit.
The Hollow runs thru Oct. 16, 2011, at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA.
Details
Tickets
The Hollow
Book by Hunter Foster. Based on “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving.Music & Lyrics by Matt Conner
Music Directon by Gabriel Mangiante
Directed by Matthew Gardiner
Produced by Signature Theatre
Reviewed by Roy Maurer
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, no intermission
Related:
Review of The Boy Detective Fails
Other reviews- Charles Isherwood . NY Times
- Susan Davidson . CurtainUp
- Charles Shubow . BroadwayWorld
- Jonathan Padgett . Metro Weekly
- Barbara MacKay . Washington Examiner
- Kyle Osborne . Examiner.com
Michael Toscano . TheaterMania
Mark Lee Adams . MDTheatreGuide
Peter Marks . Washington Post
Missy Frederick . Washingtonian
Susan Berlin . TalkinBroadway
I thought the lyrics of The Hollow were effective and gorgeous, on the other hand. I also don’t think that it is fair to say the Conner and Foster are “going nowhere”. I think both pairs of collaborators are going places with these shows, and have already heard talk of both shows going on to other places and stages of development with some changes made. I enjoyed both shows in their own ways. I much preferred the music to The Hollow, but liked the book to Boy Detective better than the score. But there was much to enjoy in each, and the performances were incredible.
I went to see the show this past weekend and while I still find the critics review to be amateur and petty, I was not a huge fan of the show. There is much to like here. Matt Conner is a gifted composer but not a very talented lyricist. The cast is strong across the board and I think Whitney Bashor’s performance alone is worth making the trip to Shirlington. The direction and lighting was also a strong aspect of the show. That said, the problem with the production is that Hunter Foster’s book is not very good. It deals to frequently in cliches and to put it bluntly Mr. Foster is just not a strong enough writer. I was able to snag rush tickets to both The Hollow and Boy Detective Fails. Boy Detective Fails is far and away a better piece of theatre and if you’re looking for two writers who are going places put your money on Adam Gwon and Joe Mano.
This is going to be totally random, but in interest of honesty and factual reporting, Hitler was not an atheist. He was born and raised Roman Catholic. In fact within the first couple of pages or so, he appeals to God many times in Mein Kompf. Why Hitler is seen as an atheist, is A) it’s easier to say he is that actually tell the truth and B) he rejected organized religion, but held a personal belief in God. Infact, he used the church with great effect in helping along with his programs. Just wanted to get that part straight.
Hopefully, this reviewer watched the “Tea Party” debate the other night and realized that this play might be on to something…
Well – we certainly know where Mr. Maurer stands on the political spectrum! Charlie Manson a liberal? Hitler’s problem was atheism? Left-wing elite? Wow.
First of all, the use of the Tea Party in that quote is actually a response to what another audience member responded to in the show. Foster has also been quoted that though some audience members leave with that interpretation, his goal was not to create a political statement. Rather his goal is to create a story which illuminates the dangers of what can happen when a group is driven by the power of fear rather than reason. If that story has modern day counterparts, so be it.
Second, in response to the reviewer’s question of why playwrights do not write stories about Charles Manson, Hitler, Pakistan, and the like, there is a good deal of plays written on some of those subjects if you care to read/see them. More importantly though, those stories and ideas can often be better illuminated when they are seen through the lens of familiar ones. For many, Sleepy Hollow is a familiar story, yet this production uses the familiar setting as a vehicle for the commentary of the power of fear. We do live in a world where people are still persecuted and in some cases killed because they are a member of a different race, religion, or other group, but if a person can leave this play with the sense of the power of fear, there is no need to set the story in those locations. Smart audience members will leave the play with the theme and apply it to their own lives. The mere fact that the play has no positive resolution further enforces the idea that the audience must find the resolution in their own lives. Perhaps one will see the play and then hear news stories about genocides in other countries and those stories will gain a new resonance thanks in some small part to this play. Through allegories of stories we are all familiar with, we can still make commentary on other groups which fed off of fear like the Nazis and their kin.
The Hollow is certainly a fledgling musical which still has its weaknesses, but it is one that still leaves the audience with a chill and a message.
I don’t believe in any way the intent of this show was to point a finger at a specific group, but to raise questions about how fear can cause ANY group to behave in certain ways and lead them to violence. The fact that this reviewer immediately came to that conclusion shows that he cannot objectively look at something and not bring his own personal political perspective to his critique. And even if one were to come to the conclusion that this show points a finger at the Tea Party’s penchant towards violence and vitriol, how can this reviewer say that is “unfair defamation”? Has he not read the statements made by Michelle Bachman or seen the actions of “Tea Party” member during elections? The quote made by the author in the Post says “Tea Party mentality.” — Meaning ANY group that is formed by their frustration and anger with the system. Aren’t there liberal groups who might also have a “Tea Party mentality” and be prone to violence? And as far as religion as concerned, this show is not anti-religion but anti religious fanaticism. Sure, one can point to the lunacy of Islamic extremists across the ocean, but they are scarier prospects right here in our back yard. How many times can Religious leaders such as Pat Robertson claim that God is punishing New Orleans by sending hurricanes or the 9/11 attacks on New York were punishing homosexuals? It’s interesting how quick the reviewer was to pick out a benign statement made in a previous interview and turn it against the creative team and his experience in reviewing the show.
Interesting how the reviewer’s political opinions come shining through. Also Charles Manson… a liberal? Crazy? Sure. Liberal? Not so much. Two can play at that game. Timothy McVeigh was anti-government, therefore he must be a conservative radical. I can’t speak to the author’s intentions, nor can I comment on the work itself since I’ve not seen it, but it seems like your review is more political retaliation than actual criticism. If it was indeed the writer’s intent to paint all conservative Christians as insane than that would be a fault with the writing. A writer should never put their opinion on stage. There is significantly more beauty in the questions that are being asked. But from what I can gather in the interviews that i have read, the intention was to talk about mob mentality and how absolute and dogmatic thinking can be a hinderance to our society. Again the fault probably lies in the absolutes. But the reviewer shows that he is no better then the playwright if this is indeed the case. Guess I’ll have to go and see the show to find out for myself.