December 2- 8, 2004

theater

Take Me to the River

by David Anthony Fox

Theater critics have a shortlist of moments that make us realize how lucky we are to have this job. One for me comes in the final part of Deaf West Theatre's magnificent production of the musical Big River, which is performed simultaneously in American Sign Language. At a funeral scene where the chorus sings a rafter-raising hymn, "Waitin' for the Light to Shine," suddenly all sound vanishes: For a brief moment, the hearing audience has some glimmer of what the deaf audience has been experiencing for the last two hours. I've seen the show twice, and both times the moment was heart-stopping; I can feel a catch in my throat even as I write this.

When Deaf West Theatre, a small company in suburban Los Angeles, first announced this revival of Big River, I was skeptical. The folksy musical, an adaptation of The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, with music and lyrics by Roger ("King of the Road") Miller, was a Broadway hit in the mid-1980s but seemed to have exhausted its whimsical charms. And the notion of a production that sings—and signs the show—where many roles are played by two performers, one providing body and the other voice—promised well-intentioned confusion.

The happy reality is completely different. Director Jeff Calhoun manages with sovereign ease to tell the story clearly. With minimal means—scenery that suggest pages from the book and a few platforms—Twain's world jumps to life.

Deaf West's Big River was a triumph, moving to Broadway last season. Now it is making a national tour.

Wonderful as Big River is, there are some flaws—not in the production but in the show itself. Huck Finn is, of course, both a boy-book and an enduring masterpiece. Roger Miller's score is terrific at capturing Twain's impishness but less successful with his mightiness. Songs like "Muddy Water" and "River in the Rain" are catchy and charming, but they don't begin to evoke the awe and transformative power of Twain's mighty Mississippi. (To the credit of all involved, though, the difficult racial issues are not softened.)

In the end, though, Big River delivers both humor and poignancy. The touring production retains most of the Broadway cast and benefits immeasurably in particular from three superb performances. Tyrone Giordano (Huck) is a deaf actor with the grace of a ballet dancer and an adorable, mobile face. Michael McElroy is a sonorous and magisterial Jim. Finally, Daniel Jenkins, playing the dual role of narrator Mark Twain and the voice of Huck, is unbeatable. (Touching footnote: Jenkins actually created the role of Huck on Broadway in 1985.)

Though the Big River tour has now left Philadelphia, there are stops in Wilmington (February) and Hershey (April). Do seek it out—you owe it to yourselves to see it!

BIG RIVER Nov. 23 Citizens Bank, Broadway at the Academy, Academy of Music, Broad and Locust sts.