Daniel Durant and James Olivas Will Star in Elephant Shoes from Two River and Deaf West

Two River Theater and Deaf West Theatre announced that Daniel Durant and James Olivas will star in their world premiere co-production of the new musical Elephant Shoes, running at Two River June 4-28.

Featuring a book by Ivan Menchell and music and lyrics by Caroline Kay, Elephant Shoes will be performed in ASL, spoken English, and open captioning, and will be accessible to both Deaf and hearing audiences. Jeff Calhoun directs and choreographs the production, presented by special arrangement with producers Kevin Ryan, Diane Scott Carter, and Deaf West artistic director DJ Kurs.

In Elephant Shoes, a modern-day Cyrano, Cy is on the verge of revolutionizing communication with an invention that instantly translates spoken English into American Sign Language, and vice versa. But his breakthrough means nothing if he cannot connect with the one person he longs for, Roxy, a whip-smart coder, and an integral part of turning their tech dream into reality. As they work side by side, Cy finds himself falling in love, only to watch his best friend, Chris, sweep Roxy off her feet.

In addition to Calhoun, the creative team includes ASL choreographer Colin Analco, music director Meghan Zervoulis Bate, orchestrator Tom Kitt, set designer Tobin Ost, projection designer Caite Hevner, costume designer Sarafina Bush, lighting designer Annie Wiegand, and sound designer Daniel Lundberg.