Alberta Theatre Projects presents their spooky production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
By Hannah Caparino, January 28 2026—
Alberta Theatre Projects began their 2025-2026 season with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a spooky production that was perfect for the Halloween season. The production was based on the short story written by Washington Irvine and has had multiple iterations like films, shorts, etc. Audiences enter the theatre and see a wooded set and autumn leaves dressed the stage floor while the sound of crickets chirping and crows caw around the seats.
The play was written and adapted by Anna Cummer and Judd Palmer, who wanted to emphasize themes of deception, mystery, and the discussion of education in an evolving country. Alberta Theatre Projects had also partnered with The Old Trout Puppet Workshop to create the props and puppets to create the creatures that make up the creatures and animals in the world. The dubbed, Old Trouts, had helped create the crows and the shaking branches and the infamous headless horseman with a blazing pumpkin head.
The narrative begins post-Revolutionary War and the play introduces Ichabod, a schoolteacher who was sent to Sleepy Hollow to teach the children of the village subjects that reflect American ideals. Played by Matthew Mooney, Ichabod is an idealist and knowledgeable on the subjects that will push the United States of America into the future. Believing that his loyalty to the rebellion will ultimately leave European ideals in the past and will those who’ve lost the Revolutionary War.
Ichabod is met by the barrel of a rifle that is held by Van Ripper, portrayed by Christopher Clare. Van Ripper warns Ichabod to stay away from Sleepy Hollow and that there’s a danger that lurks within the village and forests. Anna, played by Alice Wordsworth, Van Ripper’s granddaughter, joins the two men on stage echoing Van Ripper’s warning and Ichabod of sound mind denies the two’s warnings and continues to educate the folks in Sleepy Hollow. As night rolls around, Ichabod is invited in by the duo and meets the rest of the village members.
Doug McKeag plays Blatus and Jamie Konchak plays his wife Gerda. Rounding out the cast is Emily Howard’s portrayal of Katrina, their daughter who is troubled and grieving the effects of the war. The last member of the village is Brom, who is the most skeptical of Ichabod and his intentions. The six folks that make up the little village are the main targets that Ichabod plans to educate, especially Anna who represents the future of the village and carries on the legacy of Sleepy Hollow.
The play is a commentary of how new ideals conflict with the old, as well as the pursuit of loyalty. The folks of Sleepy Hollow had represented their loyalty to the European ideologies and how they clash with Ichabod who isn’t all that he seems. Cummer and Palmer’s writing teems with the passion and contradictions that are found in the American Revolution. This is most present between the dialogue Ichabod and Katrina. While Ichabod continuously portrays American ideals, he hides deep shame and regret which entices Katrina to learn more about Ichabod’s arrival. Katrina explores how her loyalty to the British empire had been expressed because of the rebels’ reputation to use violence as their primary means to gain control. Under the branches and trees, the two speak of the war and how the violence has torn the people apart and sent the loyalists into hiding, including Ichabod himself.
As the play progresses Ichabod’s loyalty and duplicitous actions leave audiences on the edge of their seat. The lighting design is the strongest element of the show as it brilliantly showcases the passing of time and the darkness that is withheld beneath all the characters. Brom and Van Ripper express the dark rituals that have kept Sleepy Hollow safe from the clutches of the revolutionaries. The story of Sleepy Hollow’s guardian, the headless hunter, had casted shadows across the stage as the crackling orange light reflected the bonfire that reflected the fiery pumpkin head.
Ichabod’s loyalty and manipulation had come to a head during his teachings to Anna. As she continues to exercise Ichabod’s teaching of free will she reveals the secrets of the village, Ichabod’s perceived loyalty to the British empire was a lie to form a relationship with Katrina and solidify his place in the village. Katrina’s haunted memory of the war and her fallen lover was at the hand of Ichabod’s command in the battle for the rebellion and his swindling of the village leaders and child had conjured Sleepy Hollow’s protector.
As punishment for his actions, a massive skeletal horse is puppetted on stage and towering over Ichabod. His screams echo as the curtains close with the sound of the horse’s footsteps departing.
For more information on Alberta Theatre Project’s 2025-2026 season, click here.