THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW to Open at Olney Theatre

The Synetic Theater production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Choreography in a Play, comes to Olney Theatre Center's Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, October 7 - November 1, 2026. Like all Synetic productions, highly choreographed movement, dance, and mime are employed in their signature style to create a daring, wordless adaptation of Washington Irving's classic story. Choreographed by company co-founder Irina Tsikurishvili, and directed and co-adapted by her fellow co-founder Paata Tsikurishvili, the Olney Theatre presentation gives area audiences another opportunity to experience Synetic's unique style, following their acclaimed run of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2025.

Paata Tsikurishvili, director of the show and Synetic's Artistic Director, said, “What interested me was taking this iconic character, whom we automatically see as the monster, and giving him an inner life and a legitimate point of view. We created a past for him, emotional attachments, loneliness and tragedy, and even created the Horse Spirit as his companion. I wanted the audience to understand what this faceless character feels and eventually to see the story through his eyes—even though, literally, he has no head. So where Irving leaves us wondering whether the Headless Horseman is real, I think our version asks a different question: What happens when we hear the legend from the monster's point of view? Is he still the monster?'

The featured cast includes Vato Tsikurishvili as Ichabod Crane, Philip Fletcher is the Headless Horseman, and Maryam Najafzada plays the Horse Spirit. Sia Li Wright is Katrina,  Liam Klopfenstein plays Van Tassel, and Matt Dantas-McCutcheon portrays both McCutcheon and Van Ripper. Koki Lortkipanidza, in addition to composing music for the production plays a Headless Piano. The ensemble consists of Tony Amante-Brom, Stella Bunch, Ernest Fleischer, Kaitlyn Shifflett, Morgan Taylor, and Elijah Williams.