See What I Wanna See
The Blank Theatre in Hollywood has had a relationship with the composer Michael John LaChiusa for a number of years. The latest offering See What I Wanna See is having a run at the Blank directed by Artistic Director Daniel Henning and featuring a talented cast of La’s finest musical talent. Henning directed a production of Wild Party a few years back that was stunning and very powerful. This new piece is more obscure and is based on three short stories by Ryu Akutagawa.
Act One is based on In A Grove that was also the source of Kurosawa’s haunting Roshomon. LaChiusa sets his version in New York in 1951 and tells the tale of a thief, a wife and a husband who all give varying accounts of a crime of passion against the wife. LaChiusa adds to this the confused testimony of a janitor witness. Henning starts off each segment with a tableau of the husband and wife in Japanese garb and a murder, one time it’s the wife, another the husband. This is a rather obvious ploy to l ink the piece to Roshomon and the original story. While this is interesting it is not really necessary.
Act Two is based on Akutagawa’s The Dragon. The author transforms this into a strange tale of a disillusioned priest who invents a hoax miracle to test people’s faith. In the process it challenges his own beliefs and he ends up taking off his clerical collar. LaChiusa has the park’s inhabitants witness 9/11 and misinterpret the results.
Henning’s staging is minimal but effective. The musical direction of David O is his usual skillful presentation although the music, on occasion, drowned out the singers. The cast was superb. Lesli Margherita was a powerful female presence in all the segments’ but especially as the wife in Act One. Doug Carpenter was her match and showed new dimension to his evolving talent. Suzan Soloman is quite affective as a medium atheist aunt in Gloryday (LaChuisa’s Second Act). Jason Graae is at his simpering best as the witness janitor in Act One.
My problem with this and other LaChiusa works is that the music tends to sound all-alike at least to this untrained ear. Also he writes characters that are just unlikeable and downright mean. But this is a good production, well directed and well sung so if LaChiusa is your cup of tea, go experience high tea with See What I Wanna See at the Blank Theatre.