'BIG RIVER' CONTINUES TO BE A HIGH-WATER MARK.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

NOW THAT Deaf West Theatre's powerhouse production of ``Big River'' has played three Los Angeles engagements, at increasingly bigger venues each time, a couple of things have become clear.

First, if the sign-language musical is going to develop and proliferate in the way Deaf West hopes it will, the company needs to get to work on something new. Soon. Second, and this is vital: Jeff Calhoun needs to direct it.

The ``Big River'' ensemble - many of whose members have been with the show since it started in 2001 in the company's tiny North Hollywood space - remains splendid, vibrant and full of zest. Some actors sing and speak in character; others serve as ``voices'' for performers who cannot hear. Everybody uses sign language. A narrating, guitar-playing Mark Twain (played by Daniel Jenkins) ``voices'' the lead character, Huck Finn (Tyrone Giordano). After about five minutes to acclimate, audiences shouldn't have a problem with split focus. You'll likely forget which actors are deaf and which are not.

Calhoun deserves the lion's share of credit for this seamless blend of voice, sign and song. The director's staging of musical numbers and the inventiveness with which he uses pieces of Ray Clausen's stage is as spectacular as the accomplishment of any individual cast member. Not that the ensemble is in any way lacking. Original cast member Giordano, ever boyish with a face that tells 100 stories, remains a very winning Huck. Of the three actors we've seen playing runaway slave Jim, Michael McElroy (a Tony Award nominee) is by far the strongest, both vocally and as an actor.

But heaven knows how they'd fare outside this production. With Klausen's huge, multicompartmented book pages placed strategically around the stage, the musical story of Twain's resourceful scamp literally pours out of the storybook. Pages can be doors, trees, walls or secret forts. Resourceful and economical, yes. Also a kick to watch.

There are so many unanticipated ``wow'' moments in ``Big River'' that singling out just a few seems unfair. Among the highlights is the opening of a back panel to reveal a huge blue wall, the Mississippi River, as Huck and Jim launch their raft to the strains of ``Old Muddy Water.'' And, of course, the second-act reprise of ``Waitin' for the Light to Shine,'' during which music director Steven Landau's seven-piece orchestra stops playing and the ensemble continues signing the words in stunning pin-drop silence.

Quietly or otherwise, ``Big River'' is a thing of beauty. The L.A. stop of this tour is brief; it has other cities to edify and delight. Meanwhile, Deaf West owes Los Angeles a new production. It's been too long.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

BIG RIVER - Three one half stars

Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; through Jan. 23.

Tickets: $30 to $85. Call [phone].

In a nutshell: Jeff Calhoun's staging of the Huck Finn musical for Deaf West visits L.A. for the third time. The tour remains in top form.