From the newsroom of The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon, Friday, May 27, 2005 .....

first impressions

"BIG RIVER": You realize you're in for a different night of theater the second you step into Keller Auditorium. The lobby is filled with deaf people engaged in American Sign Language -- not something you see at your average Broadway musical.

But they're here because this "Big River" is anything but average. Created by Los Angeles' Deaf West Theatre, it's a production that uses both hearing and nonhearing actors, with hearing actors voicing the parts of the nonhearing actors, and all of them signing their performance. It works seamlessly, adding a new dimension to Roger Miller's retelling of Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

Young Huck is played by deaf actor Tyrone Giordano, who has such a commanding stage presence that he's mesmerizing to watch. His role is voiced by Michael Flanigan, who plays a dual role as the show's narrator, and the timing between the two is flawless, creating a Huck who's fully realized.

Many of Giordano's scenes are played against hearing actor David Aron Damane, who plays the runaway slave Jim. There's obvious chemistry between the two actors, so their growing friendship feels completely believable.

Members of the rest of the ensemble portray multiple roles, with character actors Troy Kotsur and Erick Devine standing out in their shared portrayal of Huck's dad, Pap. Also notable are two gospel-inspired numbers, sung with vocal heft by Gwen Stewart and signed dramatically by Christina Ellison Dunams.

There's a moment in the second act when a bit of magic happens. In a reprise of the tender ballad "Waiting for the Light to Shine," the band and singers go silent just as the song reaches its climax, completing it solely in sign language. For hearing members of the audience, there's this startling sensation of experiencing music through the eyes instead of the ears.

And in those few seconds of shiver-inducing excitement, it's clear why this "Big River" is such a landmark achievement. On stage, Huck Finn has realized that he and Jim have a lot in common, despite the difference in their skin color. In Deaf West's "Big River," the audience has crossed a similar bridge of realizing sameness, whether they can hear or not.

Continues 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.; $24-$66, Ticketmaster, 503-790-2787 or 503-224-4400.

-- Grant Butler

© 2005 The Oregonian. All rights reserved.

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