Jay Allen Zimmerman’s Incredibly Deaf Musical is one of those shows that makes you grateful DC now has its own Fringe Festival. Because Zimmerman’s story is one that everyone in the city deserves to hear. Pardon my presumptuousness. It’s one that everyone deserves to see, to feel and to experience.
Zimmerman is deaf, or at least “mostly deaf” in the Miracle Max sense of the phrase. He cannot hear speech, but can absorb some music below middle C. But it wasn’t always this way — Zimmerman had his hearing well into his adulthood, which was previously devoted (naturally) to a career as a songwriter.
But this is no pity party or treacly Hallmark special. Zimmerman’s show is hilarious, creative and educational. It’s fascinating to hear what it “sounds” like to go deaf, and to have Zimmerman lecture us on things like decibels in a way we understand. The show also features some moving musical numbers — In “Disappearing Act”, for example, where Zimmerman compares God to a magician who stole his hearing, a haunting melody weaves its way through those lower measures Zimmerman can still hear. These types of songs are juxtaposed with amusing, multi-media numbers such as “Talkin’ Dirty”, where Zimmerman puts a Freudian twist on his hearing difficulties (no, that cute checkout girl was NOT whispering “sexuality” to him…)
Naturally, the show isn’t dependent on the sense of sound, and it’s charming to observe the deaf people in the audience laughing uproariously at the couple of inside jokes Zimmerman throws them in sign language. And Zimmerman does a better job than most solo artists in making audience participation an enthusiastic and endearing experience, rather than creating that teeth-pulling sense of awkwardness that often ensues in such situations (plus, giving a “shout out” to paraplegics that doesn’t seem cheesy is an impressive feat indeed).
Jay Alan Zimmerman’s Incredibly Deaf Musical is showing at the Canadian Embassy. Its remaining showtimes include today at noon, July 23 (5:30 p.m.), July 26 (10 p.m.) and July 27 (5 p.m.). For more info, check out the show’s Web site.
