photo by Jane Hearn Jon Taylor as Rip Van Winkle The Trustus Youth Theatre is bringing another season of family entertainment to Columbia as they open with an adaptation of the Washington Irving classic Rip Van Winkle. The show opens Friday, October 3, in the new Trustus Black Box Theatre at 7 pm.

"Its one of my favorite American short stories," said Chad Henderson, artistic director, "The story takes place in the fall and even has some ghosts in it. It's a great show to see in early October!"

The story of Rip Van Winkle is set in the years before and after the American Revolution. Rip Van Winkle, a villager of Dutch descent, lives in a nice village at the foot of New York's Catskill Mountains. He's a friendly man whose home and farm suffer from his lazy neglect. He has many friends in town who enjoy his conversation, but Rip has one big problem: his wife won't accept his laziness any longer, and she loves hitting him with a ladle!

One autumn day Rip escapes his wife by wandering up into the mountains. While in the woods, he begins to hear thunderous booms. He soon stumbles across ghosts, who are rumored to be the ghosts of Henry Hudson's crew (a shipwreck that happened years before).

After drinking some of their special ale, Rip falls asleep under a tree. He wakes up 20 years later and returns to his village only to find that he is in a new nation: America.

In this treatment of Rip Van Winkle, Pate has put Irving's original mountain- man narrator, Diedrich Knickerbocker, on stage to tell the audience the story. The story progresses with modern humor and wit.

Rip Van Winkle runs at the new Trustus Black Box Theatre Oct. 3 (7 pm), Oct. 4 (11 am, 7 pm), Oct. 10 (7 pm), and Oct. 11(11 am, 7 pm). With only 50 seats, ticket availability is limited, and tickets are general admission that go on sale a half hour before the show.

Trustus Theatre is located at 520 Lady Street behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady St. and in the Publix parking lot. Entrance to the Trustus Black Box is through the glass doors on the side of the building facing Huger Street.

For more information call Joe in the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1- 6 p.m. at 803-254-9732. Also visit the newly designed www.trustus.org for show information and other season information.