FAMILY : ‘Sleepy Hollow’ Pacing Blunts Scary Tale

Tombstones, fog, greenish ghost light and spooky storm sounds give “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,� a Serendipity Theatre Co. production at the Burbank Little Theatre, a proper Halloween feel. The action, however, is less spine-tingling.

Director Ken Realista’s uneven pacing and the number of static expository moments in Katy Henk Realista’s potentially interesting adaptation of Washington Irving’s classic undermine the chills.

In this version of the familiar tale, the long-dead residents of Sleepy Hollow must awaken once a year to relive the events that led to the disappearance of Ichabod Crane (Erick Weiss) from their town.

Was it really just a prank played by Brom Bones (Denys Gawronski), jealous of Crane’s attentions to lovely Katrina (Yasmine Abdul-Wahid)?

Or did a truly spectral headless horseman seal Ichabod’s fate? To earn their eternal rest, the townspeople must solve the mystery.

After long introductory palaver, led by Joe Powers as Irving’s alter ego Dietrick Knickerbocker, the restless spirits, including Brom, Katrina and three children--L.R. Davidson as Gerta, Anna Ponce as Ahnna and Tommy Sobel as Heinrich--go back in time, beginning with Ichabod’s arrival as the town’s new schoolteacher and ending with his disappearance.

There are effective moments in the show, but awkward timing leads to silences that make it appear that cast members are trying to remember their lines, while non-dynamic action prevents much dramatic build.

One scene that could be pumped up considerably is in the supposedly haunted schoolroom, where a couple of books drop from the air, a bell rings by itself and Ichabod hides under a table cloth. Nothing else happens and after a few moments tick by with Weiss motionless under the cloth, it becomes evident that it is now intermission.

The more lively second half of the show includes an appealing dance sequence and a fun surprise ending.

Weiss, Powers and Gawronski are the three professionals in the cast, and tall, thin and well-spoken Weiss in particular is well cast, although his Ichabod is a bit too likable. Denise Anderson’s period costumes are pleasing, as is the graveyard set designed by Mummdesign, with tombstones that become a school room blackboard and a dining room table. Tony Mole’s lights appropriately accent the gloom.

* “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Burbank Little Theatre, George Izay Park, 1100 W. Clark Ave., Saturdays, 1 p.m.; Sundays 1 and 4 p.m. through Nov. 5. $8 (ages 13 and under) to $14. (818) 557-0505.