‘River’: a strong current on Broadway

“Big River” has flowed into the Big Apple, in many ways stronger than ever.

Los Angeles theatergoers may already be familiar with this American Sign Language-permeated production of the Huckleberry Finn musical. It began in 2001 at the tiny Deaf West Theatre in North Hollywood and won a pack of awards. An expanded version played at the Mark Taper Forum last fall.

Now “Big River” is introducing the art of the deaf musical to Broadway, as part of the Roundabout Theatre’s subscription season at the American Airlines Theatre on 42nd Street.

So far, it has gone quite well. Those who saw “Big River” in Los Angeles may wonder how this third time around the track can possibly retain the power of the first two times. This version isn’t quite as viscerally exciting as the first Deaf West production, in the company’s 65-seat house, where the audience was within a few feet of the actors and Jeff Calhoun’s staging ideas were more pristine. But for sheer emotion, the Broadway version is the most moving rendition yet.

Some of this is attributable to a few edits since the Taper staging. A lightweight ditty called “Hand for the Hog,” sung by Tom Sawyer, is gone. This song, related to Huck’s slaughter of a pig to hide his tracks when he is pretending to have been murdered, was cute but corny. More important, it delayed the launch of the central arc of the story -- the changing relationship of Huck to the runaway slave Jim.

A few of the other editing changes -- all made with the consultation of William Hauptman, the writer of the original 1985 version’s Tony-winning script -- also contribute to the emphasis on Huck and Jim or simply help clarify exposition that might be lost in the swirl of signing, singing and spoken dialogue.

The Broadway staging isn’t quite as busy as the one at the Taper. A dance break that interrupted “The Royal Nonesuch” is excised. A new placement of a reprise of “River in the Rain,” near the end, strengthens the song’s metaphor.

Nine Taper cast members are on Broadway as well. That includes Tyrone Giordano as a dreamy-eyed Huck, the rousing comedy team of (Lyle) Kanouse and (Troy) Kotsur, Tony winner Phyllis Frelich and the eloquent singers Gwen Stewart as the gospel-inflected Alice and Melissa Van Der Schyff as the country warbler Mary Jane Wilkes, a potential object of Huck’s affections.

Of the nine newcomers, Michael McElroy is a poignant Jim but isn’t quite as strong vocally as the Taper’s Rufus Bonds Jr. (who is on tour with “The Lion King”). Daniel Jenkins, who played Huck in the 1985 Broadway staging of “Big River,” returns to the musical in fine form as the narrating Mark Twain and the voice of Huck. Christina Ellison Dunams, a deaf actress now appearing as a slave’s daughter, cries out loud a heartrending lament as she is torn from her mother’s grasp.

Tom Sawyer is now played by Michael Arden, a hearing and singing actor. The previous versions used a deaf actor in the role. Arden exudes greenhorn ebullience, and the fact that he hears and speaks subtly reminds us of the differences between the wildly imaginative but relatively privileged Tom and Huck, who is necessarily more of a loner.

Ray Klausen’s set uses the same enormous pages from “Huckleberry Finn” that were at the Taper, although they don’t ascend as high here.

Again he uses an enlarging pool of blue to represent the title character -- but it doesn’t look quite as impressive. These changes are largely due to the difference between the Taper’s thrust stage and the Broadway theater’s standard proscenium frame. As compensation for the slight loss of grandeur, the Broadway staging feels more focused.

Broadway lacks L.A.’s tradition of deaf theater, so the show’s prospects for a commercial run after its Sept. 14 closing date may be iffy. But this “Big River” has certainly made its Broadway splash in high style.