Backyard Renaissance's "Tarrytown"

Bryan Banville, Tom Zohar and Kay Marian McNellen" in "Tarrytown."

       On the surface, Adam Wachter’s one-act musical Tarrytown seems like another variation on the eternal triangle, in this case an insecure gay man (Tom Zohar) and an unhappily married couple (Kay Marian McNellen and Bryan Banville) all residing in rural Tarrytown, N.Y. But in fact Tarrytown is a deft take on Washington Irving’s famous “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” That narrative device and a thoughtful musical score make this world premiere presented by Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company so promising.
      While some of Wachter’s lyrics are strictly expository, they are by and large clever and insightful in what they posit about finding love and self in a scary world. The cast directed by Francis Gercke and Anthony Methvin enjoys definite chemistry in very tight confines, and Zohar is an expressive vocalist whose Ichabod Crane (just one of the three Irving characters referenced in this piece) is a sensitive and vulnerable protagonist. (Review originally published in San Diego CityBeat on 12/16/17.)