DJ Kurs has led Deaf West Theatre as Artistic Director since 2012. Under his leadership, Spring Awakening transferred to Broadway and earned three Tony nominations. He produced Beethoven’s Fidelio with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which went on to Europe, and the documentary about it, El Canto de las Manos, premiered in Barcelona in 2025. Recently, he partnered with Disney on Songs in Sign Language, which reimagines Disney animated musical numbers in ASL, now on Disney+. Recent and upcoming projects include the original musical Elephant Shoes, which premiered this summer with Broadway in its sights; Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Whistle Down the Wind, in development with PAC NYC; and Tarell Alvin McCraney’s In the Red and Brown Water at the Geffen Playhouse.
