The Theater of the Seventh Sister (TSS) will present a production of "Sleepy Hollow" at the Historic Rock Ford and Theater, with opening night taking place on Thursday, Oct. 13. Two productions will be held on each Thursday and Friday at 7 and 8:30 p.m., and the final performance will be on Friday, Nov. 4.

The play will be performed on the first floor of the Hand Mansion, which will be altered to portray the Van Tassel family home in Washington Irving's famous tale. Audience members will follow characters such as Ichabod Crane, Brom Bones and Katrina Van Tassel through each room of the mansion as the story is told. "We have a dream cast this year; everyone who is portraying their roles are very fine actors that are physically and vocally suited to their roles," said Cynthia Charles, artistic and managing director of TSS.

Charles became the artistic and managing director for TSS in 2014 and has assisted with several productions such as "Julius Caesar," "Tales From the Caretakers" and "Emma the Matchmaker." Prior to her role with the organization, Charles performed in multiple plays in the area. "I love the quality of the plays we perform; they're things you don't generally see elsewhere. We always love collaborating with Historic Rock Ford and working with artists ranging from emerging playwrights to veteran actors," said Charles.

TSS was founded in 1989 and has offered several shows to the area over the years, many of which have been held at Historic Rock Ford. The organization does not operate out of any one venue; past collaborations have been held at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, Tellus360 and Ephrata Performing Arts Center. The upcoming production of "Sleepy Hollow" will feature primarily local talent, which TSS has relied on following the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of many theaters. For more information on TSS, visit https://seventhsister.com. To purchase tickets for th event, visit https://tinyurl.com/sleepyhollowtix.

The production has been adapted from its source material by Sam Slaymaker, executive director of Historic Rock Ford, who has collaborated with TSS many times in the past. Historic Rock Ford itself encompasses over 30 acres of land in southeast Lancaster city and offers guided tours of the centuries-old Hand Mansion, which belonged to Revolutionary War Gen. Edward Hand. "The main thing I think the audience will enjoy is the fact that being at Rock Ford is like going back in time," said Charles.

For more information about Historic Rock Ford, visit https://historicrockford.org.