Washington Irving may be best-known for his classic tales of a horseman sans head and a guy who slept for 20 years - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, respectively - but he wrote a heck of a lot more than that, much of it quite worthy of 21^st-century minds.

That's why I'm excited to hear that the Metropolitan Playhouse is showcasing a production of Irving's The Devil and Tom Walker, conceived by Yvonne Conybeare. Opening night is tomorrow (Friday), and the play continues Thursdays through Sundays through May 18. Check out their web site for full details.

For those unfamiliar, TD&TW is Irving's version of a Faustian bargain - wealth for one's soul and the regret that follows such a momentous choice.

The Playhouse is a funky Alphabet City theater that "produces early American plays, new plays drawn from American culture and history, and plays from around the world that resonate with the American canon." Irving's work is certainly a sure fit.