Once on This Island: In American Sign Language by Deaf Broadway

In just four short years, Deaf Broadway has become synonymous with authentically Deaf musical theater. Founded during the pandemic in response to artistic director Garrett Zuercher’s experience as a profoundly Deaf person frustrated with the state of access to performances of lyrically complex musicals, which often watered down the nuances of the original language and intentions. Taking up the gauntlet, he and his team began producing American Sign Language interfaces to pre-existing recordings of popular musicals, simultaneously presenting the original music alongside a live cast of trained Deaf actors, all performing their individual parts in American Sign Language. This live staging of the beloved Broadway musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty offers a more fully equitable shared evening for hearing and Deaf audiences alike, with a full Deaf Broadway cast interpreting the music in person. Their latest performance was a smash staging of Jonathan Larson’s RENT this spring as part of Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact Guest Experience at 212-875-5456 or guestexperience@lincolncenter.org.