'Big River': Hard of hearing, but not of heart

Big River
January 13, 2005
Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

The production of "Big River" that just played the Ahmanson Theatre has had quite a remarkable journey. It began at Deaf West Theatre in North Hollywood, a small not-for-profit theatre aimed at staging work that could be experienced by the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. The show - a 1988 country-music Broadway musical dramatizing Mark Twain's book "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" - was staged as a kind of ballet, with actors both signing the words and speaking, or, in the case of hard-of-hearing performers, with the actors signing and onstage others providing voices. The results were fascinating, entirely theatrical and refreshing. The production subsequently transferred to the Mark Taper Forum in downtown LA, before heading to Broadway, where it received considerable acclaim. Seeing the production for myself - for the first time - as it now makes its way around the country in a national tour, it is easy to see why it has created a stir.

Deaf West Theatre's production isn't big on special effects or technical gimmickry, the way so many musicals nowadays are wont to do. Instead, it relies on the very human elements of theatre - actors and their relationships to one another - to put across a very moving and emotional evening. The mix of sign language and voice never looks awkward or strange. It's fascinating, in fact, to see and hear this dual form of communication unfolding in front of you. Every moment on stage is given its proper dramatic weight and function; its what good direction can do to even a thin plot. It helps that the performers are each remarkable. There are gorgeous voices to be had in the cast, but also touching actors as well.

Ultimately, what this "Big River" comes to be about is communication and friendship. The book is about that to a certain extent - Huck's relationship with Jim is of course a focal point. But in this production, with the sign language an added element, the notion of communicating comes to the forefront. There is one moment which stands out in particular: towards the end of Act 2, during the climax of a dramatic song, the sound and the actors suddenly go completely silent. All you see is the actors performing the sign language text of the song - suddenly, as a hearing audience member, you realize what it is like to be deaf. A truly moving moment of theatre that is devoid of lighting or stage effects.