“Big River”-- Big Bridge
“I remember when I
was a kid, I loved going with my family to musicals. I didn’t
understand much, but I thought, ‘Someday I’d love to see a show like
this with sign language’”. Ed Waterstreet, founding artistic
director of Deaf West Theater, who is also deaf, shared this memory
with the Seattle Times in an interview about the revival of the hit
musical, “Big
River”.
The original show
opened on Broadway in 1985, winning seven Tony Awards, including
‘Best Musical’. The show tells of the adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, featuring the now popular songs “Muddy Water”, “Worlds Apart”,
“Old Man River”, and “Waitin’ For The Light To Shine”. This revival
is not your ordinary musical; it is thought to be the first musical
performed in English and ASL simultaneously.
The idea for this
show actually came to life years ago in Deaf West Theater’s tiny 66
seat theater. It’s earlier productions were performed only with
deaf actors. Hearing patrons had access to headsets through which
they could hear an English translation of the show. When Ed
Waterstreet began reviewing the box office numbers he learned that a
vast majority of their audiences were hearing. He began
experimenting with hearing actors who spoke and signed.
“Big River” was
chosen for this project of uniting music, dance, English and ASL for
its storytelling aspects and for its themes of diversity in
America. The
creators wanted ASL to be an integral part of the show, not just an
interpretation. I think many deaf people may find it difficult to
enjoy the theater even with an interpreter because they have to be
so focused on the interpreter they can’t really watch and enjoy the
show.
Seven of the
twenty actors in this production are deaf. Five sign language
experts wrote an ASL script, while hearing actors speak and sing the
original lines and lyrics. There had to be challenges to overcome
with the diversity of the cast. One of the biggest challenges would
be getting the English and ASL in synch. For example, a deaf actor
plays the role of Huck Finn. This person signs and acts, while Mark
Twain, the narrator, speaks and sings for him. Since English and
ASL use different rules of grammar, it would have been difficult to
get the phrases to line up. Stage directions would have to be
modified. A deaf actor would not be able to use or hold a prop when
they needed to sigh, or one actor could not turn away from another.
Backstage lights and video monitors gave actors their cues, along
with movement cues built into the blocking. The ASL was tweaked in
order to reflect the dialect of the place and time, which I found to
be an interesting part of this production. Although I have
obviously a few sign language classes, I didn’t realize that there
was dialect involved, just like in English.
I love the idea of
combining these languages and cultures. I think too many times the
deaf are shut out of our general culture (especially the performing
arts), and vice versa. This show is a prime example of how these
cultures can be brought together to create something new, where
everyone has something to gain