The Tony Award-winning Deaf West Theatre and New Jersey's Two River Theater will co-produce the world premiere of the new, original musical Elephant Shoes this summer.

Performed in American Sign Language and spoken English with open captioning, Elephant Shoes will play Two River June 4–28, as part of its 2025–2026 season. Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun (Newsies, Grease, Big River) will direct and choreograph the limited engagement, which will be fully accessible to both Deaf and hearing audiences.

Daniel Durant (Spring Awakening, CODA) and James Olivas (Evita, American Idiot) will star in the new musical, presented by special arrangement with producers Kevin Ryan (Ragtime), Diane Scott Carter (Gypsy), and Deaf West Artistic Director DJ Kurs. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

With a book by Ivan Menchell and music and lyrics by Caroline Kay, this modern-day Cyrano tale follows Cy, who is on the verge of revolutionizing communication with a new invention that translates spoken English into ASL and vice versa. But his breakthrough means nothing if he can't connect with Roxy, a whip-smart coder. As they work side by side, Cy finds himself falling in love, only to watch his best friend, Chris, sweep Roxy off her feet.

Deaf West Artistic Director Kurs said in an earlier statement, “Elephant Shoes is a moving and resonant story about the complexities—and beauty—of communication between Deaf and hearing people. What excites me most is that this new musical has been conceived by Ivan and Caroline from the very beginning as a piece with Deaf characters. I’m especially grateful to be collaborating once again with Jeff Calhoun, whose work on the Broadway revival of Big River with Deaf West over two decades ago was a milestone. And we’re thrilled to be expanding Deaf West’s footprint nationally through this meaningful partnership with Two River Theater in New Jersey.”

Calhoun added, “I feel so fortunate to be working with Deaf West again on an original American musical! Elephant Shoes is a project very close to my heart. I can’t wait to get in a rehearsal room to collaborate with extraordinary talent and bring this inspiring story to the stage.”

The creative team also 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 with casting by the TRC Company's Spencer Gualdoni.

Committed to innovation, collaboration, training, and social change, Deaf West Theatre serves as the artistic bridge between the Deaf and hearing worlds. The company has been represented on Broadway with the Tony-nominated revivals of Big River and Spring Awakening. Visit DeafWest.org.

For ticket information click here.