It is a tale that many of us know, that of a young boy's adventures on the Mississippi River while helping a slave, named Jim, to escape. One of the greatest novels of American literature, Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is set in the 1840s, long before the Civil War, and is a touching story of love and friendship that transcends race. Now, it is being brought to life in an entirely new production of the Broadway musical "Big River," this time directed by Jeff Calhoun.
But hold on, this is no ordinary song-and-dance routine. "Big River," originally staged on Broadway in 1985, has been re-created by Deaf West Theater, the first-ever professional sign-language theater, established in 1991 in Hollywood. And here, the cast -- which includes eight deaf and hard-of-hearing performers within a cast of 24, comes together to dramatize this American epic using American Sign Language.
Throughout the show, every word spoken or sung is simultaneously signed by the actor or actress. Voices for the deaf performers are supplied using a kind of a ventriloquial technique, so that both hearing and deaf audience members can enjoy the dialogue and songs. But the truth is, if you look at the performers' faces and the hand movements, you almost don't need to hear the words -- because that is how expressive the acting is.