Art by Carlos Hernández of Gonikus Studio
Set in the homeland of author Washington Irving, Untold Tales recounts the journey of a local immigrant: the Headless Horseman, himself a Hessian soldier who the British brought to fight the insurrectionists during the Revolutionary War. His long-lost head, a “no body,” tells his story of 243 years wandering in search of his body and ultimately finding hope, love, and identity at the end of a painful journey. This multidisciplinary production of music, dance, and theater is inspired by the stories of immigrants living in the greater New York area, woven together by a comical yet poignant theatrical narrative based on Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Aside from “the Head,” the narratives are based upon factual events, and represent actual people (anonymous), living, or previously living, in mainly Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow and the broader NYC area, from Ireland, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Mexico, who were interviewed by Pablo and Anna Mayor from 2019-2021.
Originally conceived as a part of the Bicentennial of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Untold Tales was created and first presented with funds from the Culpeper Arts & Culture program of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, premiered on November 16, 2022 as one of the inaugural acts at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center at Kykuit in Tarrytown, NY.
Watch the trailer here: [https://youtu.be/bN3C49YIFSU]
Producing Organizations
Folklore Urbano NYC (Pablo and Anna Mayor) with the support of iD Studio Theater
www.FolkloreUrbano.com, iDStudioTheater.org
Co-Artistic Directors:
German Jaramillo (Theater and Stage Direction)
Pablo Mayor (Compositions and Musical Direction)
Daniel Fetecua (Dance Direction and Choreography)
Anna Povich de Mayor (Narrative Direction)
Libretto by Toby Campion
Actors
“The Head”:
Jonathan Hare – singer and actor (USA-Puerto Rico)
“Donato”:
Daniel Fetecua – dancer and actor (Colombia)
“Narrator”
Anna Povich de Mayor – flute/narration/vocals (USA)
Musicians
Pablo Mayor – keyboard/musical direction (Colombia)
Juancho Herrera – guitars (Venezuela)
Oreste Abrantes – percussion (USA-Cuba/Puerto Rico)
Nestor Gómez – percussion (Colombia)
Dave Hertzberg – bass (USA)
Gili Sharett – bassoon (Israel)
John Bailey – trumpet (USA)
Iván Renta – saxophones (Puerto Rico)
Eddie Vanegas – violin/Trombone (Venezuela)
Franco Pinna – drum set (Argentina)
Carlos Cuevas – keyboard (Venezuela)
Dancers
Blakeley White-McGuire (USA)
Aby Paulin Maindron (Yeshambel). (Ethiopia-France)
Genesis Perdomo Santos (Dominican Republic)
Veronica Santiago Moniello (Venezuela)
Costume and Set Design – Hersilia Restrepo (Colombia)
Associate Costume Design – Vera Zamdmer (Hungary)
Designer Assistant – Julio Alvarado (Dominican Republic)
Video projections and Animation – Nicole Fernández (Colombia)
With assistance by Josh Pearson (USA)
Lighting Design – David Glista (USA)
Stage Manager – Ve Moreno (Mexico)
Makeup – Mercedes Abad (Colombia)
Hair – Ana Carmela Prada (Colombia)
A special thanks to Norm Beamer for generously donating his time and talent to design and build the set at his home in Sleepy Hollow, NY
From Pablo and Anna Mayor:
We would like to thank the beautiful people who go unnamed, who trusted us enough to share with us their personal stories, and who were the main inspiration for this work. You have forever impacted our lives, and inspired us all.
-Nos gustaría agradecer a las hermosas personas que no se nombran, que confiaron en nosotros lo suficiente como para compartir con nosotros sus historias personales y que fueron la principal inspiración para este trabajo. Siempre has impactado nuestras vidas y nos has inspirado a todos.
Thank you to ArtsWestchester, and to Lynn Moffat, who were the sparks which began this journey in 2019, and to Elly Kelly and Judy Clark at Pocantico, and Ben Rodríguez-Cubeñas at RBF, who allowed us to run with this initial idea, develop, and bring this work of now music, dance, and theater, to audiences as we finally have the opportunity to tell these “Untold Tales.”
Last but not least, thank you to Linn Cary Mehta and Germán Jaramillo, and iD Studio Theater, who have supported us on every step of this journey, and to the entire team who have worked tirelessly and with such care, artistry, and skill to create this work over the course of two years.