New musical finds its voice in two languages at once 'Elephant Shoes'

Taylor Iman Jones

New musical finds its voice in two languages at once

'Elephant Shoes' 

What do you do when the most important thing you have ever said is not yours to say? That is the question at the heart of “Elephant Shoes,” a world premiere musical opening June 6 at the Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater, the main stage of the Two River Theater in Red Bank, N.J., where it runs through June 28.

The show is a co-production between Two River Theater and Deaf West Theatre. This Los Angeles company has spent three decades proving that American Sign Language (ASL) is not an accommodation; it is a theatrical language with its own power and poetry. Here, every word is signed, spoken, and projected, so Deaf and hearing audiences move through the story together, neither one translating for the other.

The story centers on Cy, a deaf tech developer who is brilliant at finding words for everything except the ones that matter most. When his best friend Chris falls for a woman named Roxy, Cy does what comes naturally: he becomes the voice behind every message, every perfect line, every moment that makes Roxy fall harder. The problem, of course, is that Cy is falling, too. It is a premise as old as Cyrano, but “Elephant Shoes” roots it in the specific intimacy — and specific cruelty — of a world built on instant translation, where the hardest words are still the ones you have to say for yourself.

The book is by Ivan Menchell, whose credits include “Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical.” Music and lyrics are by Caroline Kay. Direction and choreography are by Jeff Calhoun, who staged Deaf West’s “Big River” and the original Broadway production of “Newsies.” This resumé suggests he knows something about spectacle in the service of feeling. Tom Kitt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer of “Next to Normal,” handles orchestrations. 

Colin Analco is ASL choreographer, a role that in a production like this carries as much creative weight as any other.

The cast brings together Deaf and hearing performers from the full company. Daniel Durant, who appeared in Deaf West’s “Spring Awakening” and the film “CODA,” plays Cy. James Olivas, another “Spring Awakening” alumnus, plays Chris. Taylor Iman Jones, fresh from “Six the Musical,” plays Roxy. 

The full ensemble includes Antoinette Lori Abbamonte, Klea Blackhurst, Amy Keum, Remy Laifer, Siena Rafter, Hector Reynoso, Don Stephenson, and Raven Sutton.

 

TICKET INFORMATION

https://tworivertheater.org/whats-on/elephant-shoes/

tworivertheater.org