‘CODA’ Is Being Developed Into a Stage Musical by Deaf West

Deaf West, founded in 1991, is the nation’s most prominent theater focusing on what it calls “Deaf-centered storytelling,” and its productions are generally performed in both American Sign Language and spoken English by casts that include deaf and hearing artists.

The theater has previously staged five musicals, including two revivals that transferred to Broadway, “Big River” in 2003 and “Spring Awakening” in 2015. Both were nominated for Tony Awards. “CODA” would be the second musical originated by the company; the first was “Sleeping Beauty Wakes” in 2007.

“Professional musical theater was largely inaccessible to our community for the most part until our production of ‘Big River’ was staged in bigger houses in L.A. and N.Y.,” Kurs wrote. “Now we have musical theater aficionados within our community, and that’s a beautiful thing. I would wager that the art form of signed musical theater is still in its infancy.”

One of the film’s producers, Philippe Rousselet, said the filmmakers had been approached about stage rights years ago, back when they were working on the 2014 French precursor, “La Famille Bélier.” Rousselet, who is the founder, chairman and a chief executive of Vendôme Group, said the producers had opted to prioritize the American remake first, and then, after forging a relationship with Deaf West, decided to work with that company on what would be Vendôme’s first stage project.

“It was an obvious choice for us to partner with them to make the musical — they know what we don’t know, and we trust them,” Rousselet said. “It’s going to be a new adventure for us. But I think it has everything — the characters, the music, the wonderful environment — to make a beautiful musical.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/theater/coda-musical-deaf-west.html