It may be a bit misleading for Deaf West to tease us with the announcement of their "FIRST NEW PRODUCTION SINCE THE NATIONAL TOUR OF BIG RIVER."

Granted, NoHo's Deaf West space on Lankershim hasn't housed an actual Deaf West production in quite some time. You've got to go back to CJ Jones's solo show "What Are You...Deaf?" in May of 2004 and the children's show "For the Love of Ducks" (Nov. '05) . Meantime, the company opened "Open Window," co-produced with the Pasadena Playhouse and performed on that stage, and kept "Big River" rolling across the country for more than a year from June '04 to '05 (including a stop at the Ahmanson).

So, OK, the bow of Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" and Edward Albee's "A Zoo Story" should make for an interesting evening, what with deaf actors and company regulars Troy Kotsur and Tyrone Giordano among the cast. Deaf West is titling the evening "Contemporary Classics: A Night of One-Act Plays." It opens Jan. 12. Check out www.deafwest.org for more info.

And everybody's especially anticipating the company's new musical "Sleeping Beauty Wakes" featuring the music of GroovLlily, co produced by Center Theatre Group and coming to the Kirk Douglas Theatre in April of '07.

One final note: it's a little bittersweet to receive Deaf West news from someone other than the theater's longtime publicist Kim Garfield who passed away this year. As will be the case with news from the Fountain, A Noise Within, I'll hear about productions, casting, etc....and I'll think of Kim.