Deaf West Theatre‘s recent Broadway revival of Spring Awakening showed mainstream audiences how successful incorporating ASL into a conventional musical can be.
Now, the popular Broadway show Hamilton is becoming more accessible to those who are hard of hearing, thanks to two ASL performances of the musical’s songs that are making the rounds.
Sarah Tubert‘s performance of the show’s opening number “Alexander Hamilton” in ASL is captivating.
Tubert wrote a short explanation of the video on Instagram.
“This video is something that I’m really proud of and worked really hard on,” Tubert wrote. “I am proud to be deaf and I am happy I can share ASL with everyone!”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator, shared Tubert’s rendition on social media.
What a lovely way to celebrate the #Hamiltunes anniversary. Beautiful. https://t.co/tjQejryE7e
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) September 21, 2016
This week’s Hamilton Digital Ham4Ham series in which the cast puts out a weekly video online was an ASL version of “Cabinet Battle #2”.
Hamilton cast members teamed up with the New York Deaf Theatre for the performance and video.
Miranda also tweeted out his praises for the awesome Ham4Ham.
#Ham4Ham ?? https://t.co/yxCUogWPwd
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) September 22, 2016
Steps like these not only work toward making music and theatre more accessible for the deaf community, but they also show the world how beautiful ASL can be.
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