Noted author and associate professor at the University of San Diego Department of Communications, Tom Humphries, attended an interpreted performance of Cabaret on Broadway recently, and was so impressed that he wrote to the Roundabout Theater.
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I had the privilege of attending a recent performance of Cabaret starring Alan Cumming as the Emcee interpreted in American Sign Language. Both the musical and the interpreting were stunning productions. Alan Cumming’s signing and gesturing of the opening lines of the musical were a surprise to those of us in the audience who are deaf. Whether he knows it or not, he paid homage to the many deaf people who were mistreated or killed in the years leading up to and during World War II at the hands of the Nazis in their purification madness. This personalized for me the sense of desperation, moral abandon, and defiance of the Cabaret.
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The production was interpreted by HandsOn, an interpreting group that specializes in theatre. Roundabout built a special platform for
the interpreters, ensuring better sight-lines for Deaf audience members. To further integrate ASL into the evening’s production, the show’s star – Alan Cumming – opened the production by signing the opening lines. Read more of Humphries’ reaction HERE
Danny McDougall, PhD, CSC — “Dr. Danny” — owns and manages TerpTheatre. Since 1986, he has interpreted in hundreds of plays, musicals and other performances on stage – most in the shadowed style. He teaches and lectures on the theory and practice of theatre interpreting. Danny is the chair of Sign Language Studies at Madonna University, and holds a PhD in Translation and Interpretation from Heriot-Watt University – where his dissertation explored the relationship between space and meaning during interpreted theatre performances.