"See What I Wanna See"
Words and music by Michael John LaChiusa; directed by Stephen Terrell; musical direction by Jonathan Goldberg; fight direction by Meron Langsner; scenic design by Brynna C. Bloomfield; costume design by Rafael Jaen; lighting design by Karen Perlow
Cast:
Kesa, The Wife, An Actress Aimee Doherty
Morito, The Husband, A CPA Andrew Giordano
The Janitor, A Priest Brendan McNab
The Thief, A Reporter Andrew Schufman
The Medium, Aunt Monica June Baboian
Performances: Now through February 3 at the Lyric Stage, Boston
Box Office: 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com
In the talkback session following the press performance of Michael John LaChiusa's highly acclaimed Off-Broadway musical "See What I Wanna See" now making its New England premiere at the Lyric Stage in Boston, Massachusetts, actor Andrew Giordano responded to a question about the difficulty of the score by saying, "This makes Sondheim sound like Rodgers and Hammerstein." And therein lies the problem.
Musical theater shouldn't be this hard on the actors or the audience.
In "See What I Wanna See," a musical adaptation of three short stories written by 19th century Japanese author Ryunosuke Akutagawa, librettist/lyricist/composer Michael John LaChiusa has tried to meld in two acts titled "R Shomon" and "Gloryday" the headiness of Akira Kurosawa's 1950 art film "Roshomon" (also based on one of Akutagawa's short stories) with the spiritual angst of post-9/11 New York City. The result is a jarring mismatch of styles and sensibilities, despite a common theme: different people can perceive and experience the same situation very differently, based on what they want and need to see.
The concept is intriguing and ripe with possibilities, but the execution is heavy handed with an emphasis on point making. Instead of soaring, LaChiusa's songs pound out narrative that makes otherwise evocative music feel off putting. Orchestrated and played beautifully under the baton of music director Jonathan Goldberg, the score would be much better suited as an instrumental movie soundtrack. The jazzy, steamy sounds of the 1950s-set "R Shomon" are perfect for film noir, and the pulsating rock rhythms of "Gloryday" would ably suit any counter culture examination of modern urban desperation. As songs meant to be sung, however, the music takes a muted back seat to LaChiusa's labored rhymes and forced prose. The author might be advised in future endeavors to collaborate with lyricists who have a better ear for musical poetry and librettists who can tell a story without using a two by four.
In "R Shomon," which balances its gritty storyline with sensual humor, five different people tell an unseen police interrogator what they know about a rape and murder in Central Park. The Janitor, a reluctant witness, limits his testimony in a song called "Best not to Get Involved" while the Thief who lured the Husband and Wife into the park proudly cops to the killing in "Murder." The Wife gives her version in "Louie," painting herself and her husband as inconsolably distraught after her Husband witnesses her rape by the Thief. Then the Husband (now dead) tells his vastly different version of the night's events through a psychic medium in "Simple as This." In two quartets, "You'll Go Away with Me" and "No More," all four stories come together to lend new meaning to the Wife's earlier sultry title song, "See What I Wanna See."
