The second show of our triple play weekend (and, barring a surprise regarding plotlines in “Mud Row” at PCT or “Xanadu” at SLT, the final Halloween-y show of the season) involved a trip to “Tarrytown” at the Generic Theater.  This is a show that we had never heard of, which is not surprising for us, but for some reason, I couldn’t keep the name “Tarrytown” in my head beforehand.  First, I was going with “Tinseltown” and expecting a golden age of Hollywood romance, and then I kept calling it “Tiny Town”, which was the name of our family’s digital town in Animal Crossing (no idea what plot I expected to come out of that).  We felt vindicated in our lack of musical theatre knowledge when (HRACT Award-nominated) Dillon Bates’s director’s note said that this was only the third production of the show, and the first with full staging and a live orchestra.  Along with most of America, we love to be on the cutting edge of things, and so were really excited for what this new show might hold as the lights went down, and we were not disappointed.

As it turns out, “Tarrytown” is a modern and musical re-telling of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  It brings that old fable into the contemporary world in a really cool and interesting way by:

1. Effectively re-imagining our three characters into a not-so-classic love triangle, where man 1 falls in love with man 2, man 2 is in love with woman 1, and woman 1 has a friend-crush on man 1. 
2. Setting the story to music that is very upbeat and happy (and cleverly written lyrics), which gives the right feel to each of the character’s own individual optimism about their situation – but unfortunately, none of the three’s reasons for optimism align,
3. Adding depth to the characters by bringing in themes of addiction and your inability to run away from it, as well as the importance of a support system to defeat it,
4. Adding thematic elements around the idea that you never really know what is going on in other people’s minds, and how you know them is really just a reflection of what you perceive (and at times, what you want) that person to be, and
5. Keeping the iconic visuals and element of mystery around what really happens with the headless horseman.

The whole show is delivered with just three cast members (Ichabod, Katrina, and Brom), and so Generic is the perfect setting for this intimate retelling – and they leaned into that by turning their stage into one of the theater’s smaller audience configurations.  The cast uses the space really well, with the three actors appearing from different spots throughout the theater, making the show feel immersive in the intimate setting.  That also further emphasizes how small the world can feel when you are in the situations and mental spaces that each of the three are in, bringing the audience into that mental space as well.

But, as I start waxing poetic about the use of space, I realize that this show doesn’t sound at all fun – and yet it totally is (I mean, you can’t have a whole song about carving pumpkins and not have a fun show)!  While dealing with heavy themes, the show is a joy to watch, especially with such an amazing cast.  Andrew Dulce as Ichabod Crane is a totally believable character who captures that bubbly and wonderful feeling of the early throes of a crush, as the light twinkles in his eyes.  He also has the acting chops to handle this character’s numerous internal struggles without feeling trite or put-on.  And, as we discovered in his ACT-y nominated turn as Monty in LTN’s “A Gentleman’s Guide…”, he is a fantastic singer, with a beautiful clear and crisp voice that draws you in as he reaches his high notes. 

Not to be outdone, ACT-y nominee Ashe Rory is once again exceptional as Katrina.  There are certain people in our Hampton Roads community that we are always excited about seeing on cast announcements, and Rory is definitely in that category.  They are able to bring such emotion to a role that it is hard to believe they are, in fact, acting.  It’s a little turn of their head here and a little sliver of a smile there that make Rory so good.  And of course, they can sing with the best of them, and we were so impressed as Rory perfectly demonstrates the eagerness and reluctance of a suburban woman who feels stuck in place while belting the beautiful “Down the Stairs”.

The third and final member of the cast is David Sinclair as Brom.  Sinclair does a really nice job of being the husband who is obsessed with football rather than his wife, and just can’t quite read the room.  He is trying a little too little and a little too late to save his marriage, and his dynamic with both Rory and Dulce is spot-on.  His singing fits into the dynamic of the three perfectly, best demonstrated in our favorite song of the night, “The Man in the Middle”, a perfectly executed three part harmony where Dulce cannot figure out the right path between these two people, both of which he genuinely cares about.  Credit to music director Brandy Bollen for getting these three cast members to sync up their voices so well, and to sound designer (and HRACT Award winner) Mike Hallberg for getting that live orchestra sound to mix perfectly in this intimate setting.

The three characters’ stories come to a head on, of course, Halloween night.  And the climactic scene will take your breath away, with a really cool surprise trick of the set, a haunting melody, really excellent lighting, and that Sleepy Hollow visual that you knew was coming.  We came to this show with another couple, and one of them said, as we walked out – “that might just be my new favorite musical.”  I know that I, for one, will not be forgetting the name “Tarrytown” again.  Generic – your season opener is a hit!