The Play Tribes -"wanna be like you hoo, talk like you, walk like you

Tribes is an intelligent, compelling new play by Nina Raine @ the Barrow Street Theatre.  It has the common theme of family dysfunction, (as in Other Desert Cities) with a pompous, self-absorbed father, an overbearing mother and 3 grown children who have not yet flown the coop.  One of the two sons, Billy, is deaf.  Most scenes revolve around hostile bantering at the dining table while benevolent Billy, tries or not, to become part of the conversation.  His parents raised him to read lips and not learn sign language to assimilate him in the hearing world.  Billy soon meets Sylvia, a child of two deaf parents who signs but is soon to lose her hearing.  Billy is smitten with both Sylvia and her deaf social of friends.  He quickly picks up sign language and happily gains acceptance within Sylvia's tribe of deaf friends.  Billy brings Sylvia home to meet his family and informs them, through Sylvia's voice while he signs, he will no longer speak to them until they learn to sign. As Billy points out, his father is learning Chinese.  Sylvia is rapidly losing her hearing and assures Billy's family, "being deaf is a handicap."  Which raises the question, is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved?  The point being, one has the right to grieve for that which is lost.  Sylvia knows all too well what she is soon to forego.  Friends and family need to respect this grief and not minimize it.  Music plays a vital role in this play, a gift not shared by the deaf. The song from the Jungle Book, "I wanna be like you hoo...is poignantly played at intermission.  This play demands to be seen and heard.  Everyone wants to fit in and everyone should see this play.