Review: Impactful SOUND from Azeotrope Has Potential but Lacks Resolution

As hearing people we may think that the advancement and availability of cochlear implants would be welcomed with open arms by the deaf community. But what Don Nguyen's play "Sound", getting its world premiere production from Azeotrope at ACT, points out to us, the cultural effects of suddenly being able to hear can be far greater than the medical ones. But while the plight of those in the story was impactful I didn't feel the play itself offered much in the way of a resolution and thereby much of a message.

In "Sound", deaf teenager Allison (Cheyenna Clearbrook) has the opportunity to receive cochlear implants and potentially hear again. And while this would be a benefit for her schoolwork it threatens to tear apart her already broken family as her hearing mother (Lindsay W. Evans) and stepfather are all for it but Allison's deaf father (Ryan Schlecht) feels this could take her further and further away from him. In parallel to this story is the historical one as Alexander Graham Bell (Richard Nguyen Sloniker) desperately attempts to create the technology that would become cochlear implants in order to help his deaf wife Mabel (Elizabeth Ayers Gibson) who is also slowly losing her eyesight.

Nguyen's play certainly has some powerful moments and looks inside a community that not all of us have access to. The cultural gap between hearing and deaf worlds comes across as so much greater and more powerful than imagined. But while the show certainly has its moments it left me wondering what message it was trying to get across. Is it just pointing out the cultural divide? Was it looking to give a historical perspective to Bell's work? Whatever its final significance may have been was lost on me as the conflict was there throughout but just kind of fizzled out at the end with little to no resolution. And theatrically we all know you can start off a story slow as long as you end well but the opposite can be disastrous.

Directors Desdemona Chiang and Howie Seago do a fine job keeping the story clear for both the hearing and non-hearing audience members with constant signing, audio translations and super-titles throughout the piece. And while those elements could be distracting, they've incorporated them so well into the flow of the story that they just felt second nature.

The cast does a fine job with the piece. Evans and Schlecht counter each other beautifully as two people from different worlds who both have the same devotion to their daughter. Clearbrook wonderfully shows off the inner turmoil of the teenager having to deal with much bigger issues than most teens. Sloniker and Gibson do a fine job portraying the past struggle of these two worlds although I didn't quite see how their storyline lent much to the more interesting modern one. And kudos to actors Andrew Wilkes, Jessica Kiely and Stephanie Kim-Bryan who not only added in multiple ensemble roles but also supplied speaking voices for the family during signing scenes.

While I applaud Azeotrope taking on this difficult piece and attempting to bring the hearing and deaf worlds into one theatrical experience I just wish the story had felt more complete. And so with my three letter rating system I give "Sound" a MEH+. And interesting look into unfamiliar issues that needed an ending.

"Sound" from Azeotrope performs at ACT through October 4th. For tickets or information visit ACT online at www.acttheatre.org.

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