Ok. Who here has seen this play called "Big River"

[Hawkeye-X]

that is produced by Deaf West?



I got a chance to meet one of the stars last night and had dinner with him. He plays Tom Sawyer, and he is a nephew of a family friend.

(No, he isn't deaf, he's hearing, but his ASL skills were pretty good for an actor who never experienced ASL and deaf culture before)

Oh, and the play was INCREDIBLE. I suggest a viewing if possible.

http://www.deafwest.org

Hawkeye-X

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. LMAO, I saw it.

It would've been REALLY nice if they, ya know, made some sort of mention that it was for the hearing impaired BEFORE I got into the theatre. My fiancee LOVES Big River, so I searched through Ticketmaster for it. Of course, they completely left off the producing company, the slimy bastards.

It was still enjoyable, but damn that's shady.

[gauguin57]

3. That's weird ...

... in my area, the play was so thoroughly billed as a deaf production -- articles all over the local papers, the ads in the paper all specified it was the Deaf West production from Broadway ... you couldn't avoid knowing what you were getting.

It's always wise to do your research on any show you're going to see -- Ticketmaster wants to sell you tickets -- they're not going to tell you squat about anything!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

7. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect THAT though.

It was put on in Ford's Theatre too, so I knew it wasn't like a high school production. I didn't think there was much more to it!

[Hawkeye-X]

5. It's for both...

Not just the deaf, but for the hearing. Like I mentioned, The star I met last night is hearing, and he told me he was trained by Linda Bove (the deaf woman who was a regular at Sesame Street) for this production.

(Just to note: My wife and I are deaf)

Oh yeah, and I just saw A Lot like Love with Ashton Kutchner just before the live performace of their megastar - Ty Giordano. He is INCREDIBLE. And the funny thing, he wanted to be a writer, not an actor. He definetely has a great future ahead of him (He's already in another movie called The Family Stone, which isn't out yet)

Ben asked me yesterday if I caught a moment in their play where the music and the voices went off for a few moments and everyone else were just signing their song. He said it was totally designed for the hearing to feel like a deaf person for a few moments... I told him I didn't catch anything but my mom certainly did, and she (as an excutive director previously for 11 years at a deaf agency, had not realized how silence works wonders until the play, and she ABSOLUTELY loved it)

Hawkeye-X

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

8. Like I said, it was still enjoyable.

Some things you just would like to know in advance though, you know?

[gauguin57]

2. I've seen the musical a couple of times, most recently by Deaf West.

I absolutely LOVED the Deaf West production. Watching everyone sign ... watching the clever ways in which hearing actors are brought on stage to speak for the deaf actors ... WOW WOW WOW -- anyone who gets a chance to see it should. I had a huge smile plastered on my face throughout the whole show, and I couldn't get the show out of my mind for days!

The signing adds such a wonderful dimension to the show -- I liked the deaf production better than the "hearing" production I saw years ago!

Another bonus: When Phyllis Frelich (Tony winner for the original production of "Children of a Lesser God" in 1980 (she also played a doctor who advised Peter Benton about his deaf son on "E.R.")) walked on stage, I was just THRILLED.

[Coexist]

4. I did

it was beautiful - like a mermerizing dance at times.

Huck's dad and his signer - what a hoot - the choreographer had a lot of fun with that!

[Hawkeye-X]

6. Yeah. Pap was fun to watch..

And I loved the Government song... Gee..

[Hawkeye-X]

9. Big Fat Boot..

:P