By Andrew Gans
14 Sep 2006

Theatre Development Fund’s Theatre Access Project (TAP) will present a host of sign-language interpreted and open-captioned performances of Broadway plays and musicals over the next few months.

The hit musical at the Marquis Theatre, The Drowsy Chaperone, will offer an open-captioned performance on Oct. 11 at 8 PM. Open-captioned performances feature a screen to one side of the stage onto which the show’s dialogue is projected. Other open-captioned performances scheduled include Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Nov. 5 at 5 PM), The Times They Are A-Changin' (Oct. 31 at 7 PM), Losing Louie (Nov. 18 at 2 PM), The Little Dog Laughed (Dec. 2 at 2 PM), Butley (Dec. 20 at 2 and 8 PM) and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Dec. 6 at 8 PM and Dec. 7 at 5 PM).

Those shows offering American Sign Language-interpreted performances include The Drowsy Chaperone (Oct. 25 at 8 PM) and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Oct. 29 at 5 PM).

Beauty and the Beast will offer performances that are both open-captioned and sign language-interpreted on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, 13 and 20. Show time is 2 PM for all four performances of the long-running Disney musical.

Those interested in attending these Theatre Access Project performances should call (212) 221-1103 or (212) 719-4537 or e-mail tap@tdf.org.

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The 1980 production of The Elephant Man was the first Broadway show to feature a sign language-interpreted performance, and 1996’s Barrymore was the first to offer an open-captioned performance.