LOS ANGELES -- There's a scene in "American Idiot" when Will, a young man about to start a new life in the city with his friends, receives the unexpected news that he's about to become a father. He gets left behind in their suburban hometown and, as outlined by the lyrics of "Give Me Novacaine," he's all at once feeling stuck, restless and desperate for a release -- a specific sentiment that's difficult to illustrate onstage.

Or is it? Audiences of an upcoming Los Angeles revival of the Green Day musical -- performed simultaneously in spoken English and American Sign Language -- will see Otis Jones IV planted on a sofa, his hands signing with a palpable frustration, and James Olivas running in circles, belting out the ballad with an audible angst. Both actors -- one deaf, one hearing -- are playing Will in the show, and together, their performances arguably explore the nuances of this scene more fully than ever before.

"We all know the feeling of having multiple voices in your head and feeling like they're really pulling you in different directions," said choreographer Jennifer Webster.

"That is exactly the subtext we're interested in exploring here: How can we use all the languages at our disposal to get at the heart of these characters and where they are at each moment of this story?"