San Benito Stage Company’s ‘Sleepy Hollow’ opens this
weekend
Halloween is around the corner, but some ghosts and goblins are
showing up a little early this year. White specters and ghoulish
creatures have been spotted inside the Granada Theater on Fifth
Street in Hollister, and ghostly white gas has been creeping across
the stage. But don’t fear. These monsters are just part of the cast
for
”
Sleepy Hollow,
”
the latest San Benito Stage Company children’s play.
”
During ‘Flapper’ [last year] I was really busy,
”
said Sally Hail, the director of the show.
”
I felt like I missed Halloween.
”
For the fall play, she decided to look for a Halloween-themed
show for this year. The director googled Halloween shows, read
seven or eight plays, and finally settled on the classic Washington
Irving tale about a haunted Yankee town.
San Benito Stage Company’s ‘Sleepy Hollow’ opens this weekend
Halloween is around the corner, but some ghosts and goblins are showing up a little early this year. White specters and ghoulish creatures have been spotted inside the Granada Theater on Fifth Street in Hollister, and ghostly white gas has been creeping across the stage. But don’t fear. These monsters are just part of the cast for “Sleepy Hollow,” the latest San Benito Stage Company children’s play.
“During ‘Flapper’ [last year] I was really busy,” said Sally Hail, the director of the show. “I felt like I missed Halloween.”
For the fall play, she decided to look for a Halloween-themed show for this year. The director googled Halloween shows, read seven or eight plays, and finally settled on the classic Washington Irving tale about a haunted Yankee town.
The show stars local kids ages 8 to 16 and many of the students said they were already familiar with the story.
“Some parts connect to the movie,” said Alora Melville, 15. “With some stories it’s really hard to connect with your part.”
Her costar Natalie Crowe, 16, agreed.
The girls were referring to the 1999 Tim Burton film starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci.
“A live play is better than anything you see on cartoons or in movies,” said Kathy Alvarez, one of the producers of the show. Pattie Saso is the other producer.
“It’s so much work from so many people and parents,” Alvarez said.
Like the movie, the stage set for the cemetery is dark and dreary, with tombstones and ghostly trees. The village scenes contain a backdrop with Dutch-style houses painted on it that look as though they could be straight from Solvang. Despite looking to Burton for inspiration on the set, Hail’s version of the play sticks closely to the original telling of the story.
“This is the classic Washington Irving,” she said. “Not Johnny Depp. I like historical, educational plays.”
In the story, Ichabod Crane, played by Aaron Hernandez, competes with a local troublemaker called Brom Bones for the love of the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel.
Hernandez, 15, is one of the few kids who didn’t know the story until he tried out for the play.
“It’s cool with all the decorations and getting us ready for Halloween,” he said. “It’s really nerve-wracking, but exciting.”
He has been in one other Stage Company play, and said it is a lot of fun. Of his character, he said Ichabod tries to be tough, but he’s really scared.
While Hernandez admitted to some nerves in the few days before the show, many of his co-stars said they felt well prepared.
Kaiya Richards, 12 and Amanda Clink, 11, are two of the three ghosts who haunt the stage during the cemetery scenes. They were dressed in flowing, white garments with bright white hair and pale white skin.
“We get to scare all the little kids so that’s fun,” Richards said. “It’s really fun to play.”
Some of the townspeople they scare on stage include Madison Ballesta, 11, Alyssa Jones, 8, and Shae Tagami, 11. The girls were all dressed in braids with long skirts, looking a little like milkmaids.
The hardest part of the show is remembering the choreography and the lyrics, Richards said. The three ghosts all say their lines together in creepy voices.
“The funnest part is when we go behind the gravestones and all the smoke comes out,” Richards said.
If you go
“Sleepy Hollow” opens Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., with additional shows Oct. 20, 26 and 27. Sunday matinees are Oct. 21 and 28 at 2 p.m. Doors open half an hour before performances.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for children and seniors. A $40 family pack includes two adult and two children tickets. Tickets can be purchased at Hollister PostNet or online at www.sanbenitostage.org.
For more information, call 636-3787
