Talk about your heartwarming Cinderella story: As “Impossible” — or at least, as unlikely — as it may seem, Lyric Theatre’s bilingual production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s fairytale musical casts a uniquely enchanting spell that adults and children alike can fall in love with.
For the final title of Lyric’s three-show “Summer at the Civic” season, Oklahoma’s official state theater is again collaborating with Deaf Austin Theatre as well as the Zach Theatre in Austin, Texas, to make the magic of “Cinderella,” with performances continuing through Sunday, Aug. 4 at Civic Center Music Hall.
Co-directed by Lyric Producing Artistic Director Michael Baron and Deaf Austin Theatre Artistic Director Brian A. Cheslik , the innovative retelling of the enduring folk tale features deaf, hearing and hard of hearing actors and is performed simultaneously and mostly seamlessly in English and American Sign Language.
Although the July 30 opening-night performance was not without its foibles and flaws, the pioneering production is a dream within a dream: A lovely staging that conjured up the magic of the familiar romantic fable for my two daughters and me, while imagining a world where people who don’t communicate in the same way can still find ways to understand each other, if they have the kindness, willingness and resources to bridge the gap.