Theater Review by Ron Fassler . . .
See What I Wanna See is a musical written by composer/lyricist Michael John LaChiusa, first produced at the Public Theatre in 2005. Inspired by the stories of Japanese modernist writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa, it is currently being revived off-Broadway by Out of the Box Theatrics at Theatre 154 on Christopher Street (formerly the New Ohio Theater). For anyone unfamiliar with LaChiusa’s oeuvre, his works can easily be put beside the definition of esoteric in any dictionary. Since the early 1990s, he has written not only operas and suites, but chamber musicals and larger productions that include two that went to Broadway, Marie Christine (1999) and The Wild Party (2000). In spite of being quite prolific, LaChiusa hasn’t made it back to Broadway yet. That’s not really a surprise in that he is a non-conformist. Whether his stylings are your cup of tea will depend a great deal on personal taste.
See What I Wanna See is thru-sung with musicians on either side of the stage in full view of the audience (it was presented in its original production in the same way). Using certain Japanese instrumentations to nice effect, the score is a mix of many styles, accomplished here by an all AAPI cast made up of distinctly talented actors. Under the direction of Emilio Ramos, this production is well staged in a small space utilizing a simple set (designed by Emmie Finckel) that places the action under the arch of a Central Park tunnel. The use of puppetry to tell the story is a nice touch, though only utilized in Act One. The second act jumps to New York City in 2002 post-9/11, which uses that tragedy as an underlying theme for a search of truth and meaning after such a devastating event.
The first part of the play, which takes place in Medieval Japan, opens with adulterers each intent on murdering the other. LaChiusa is paying homage here to Akira Kurosawa’s famous film Rashomon, which premiered in the United States in December 1951, as he is basing part of See What I Wanna See on the Akutagawa story from which Kurosawa got his idea. It allows for differing perspectives that leave us uncertain over what is the truth. Unsatisfyingly, nothing is resolved, leaving the audience in the dark over what really happened. This also stretches into the story that takes up the majority of the act, a 1951 murder in Central Park that runs along similar lines of adultery leading to death. It’s all very confusing and done on purpose, all the better to keep the concept of what did or didn’t happen bouncing up and down like a beach ball.
The second part, “Glory Day,” has a more cohesive plot and characters that concern a young priest who tests his faith in a bold and dangerous manner. If the music were more to my liking I may have become more fully engaged with this half of the show if not for it being so overwhelmingly unmelodic—in spite of the fact LaChiusa can obviously write a melodic line. He seems to be the kind of artist that seems intent on breaking through to new things. Admirable in its intent, if not popular in its execution, its ultimately what makes his work impenetrable, at least to my ears.
There are fine performances from its first rate cast that showcase Marina Kondo, Kelvin Moon Loh, Zachary Noah Piser, Ann Sanders and Sim Simahk. Also, a shout out to the puppet designs by Tom Lee, with superb puppetry direction from Justin Otaki Perkins, who also performs as a puppeteer along with Nikki Colonge and Takemi Kitamuta. It’s unfortunate that their excellent work is dedicated to an evening in search of a thru-line that fails to connect the dots, leaving it wanting in making a connection to its audience.
See What I Wanna See is at Theatre 154, 154 Christopher Street, NYC through September 29th. For further information, please visit https://www.ootbtheatrics.com/see-what-i-wanna-see.
Photos by Thomas Brunto.
Headline photo Zachary Noah Piser (center), Kelvin Moon Loh, Marina Kondo and Sam Simhak.