By JACQUES LE SOURD
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: October 31, 2005)

"See What I Wanna See" Running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission. Ticket price: $60. Theater: Public, 425 Lafayette St. Phone: 212-239-6200.

The glowing cast is enough to make you want to see a show called "See What I Wanna See," which opened last night at the Public Theater.

Indeed, it may be the only reason to see it.

Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award for her performance as the green witch Elphaba in Broadway's "Wicked," is in it. So is Marc Kudisch ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") and Mary Testa ("On the Town").

These are large talents, and they are put here at the service of the latest musical by Michael John LaChiusa, who seems determined to challenge his audience — if not to leave it downright baffled.

The author of difficult works like "The Wild Party" and "Marie Christine" has attacked fellow songwriters in print for writing mindless fluff like "Hairspray" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

He has a point, but his own works seem designed to keep an audience at bay.

"See What I Wanna See" is, in fact, two one-act musicals put together for an evening. Both are based on short stories by the Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa.

The first is a modern-day retelling of the story of Rashomon, in which the same event — a murder in Central Park — is told from so many perspectives that you finally have no idea what happened.

The second, "Gloryday," tells of a disenchanted priest who starts a rumor that a miracle is going to happen at a specific time in Central Park. The whole thing grows into a phenomenon that is totally beyond the man's control.

The second act is superior to the first, largely because LaChiusa injects the score with throbbing rhythms and occasional melodies that the mind latches onto. "Gloryday" starts with an ode to 9/11, "Last Year," that seems glued on, but the rest of the score is strong.

"Rashomon" has a more traditional LaChiusa sound, which means that it is mostly full of dissonance and lacks focus.

Broadway talents understandably want to attach themselves to LaChiusa's less accessible, artier works between their well-paid stints in popular shows like "Wicked" and "Chitty Chitty." So here they are, stretching their vocal cords to perform his demanding scores.

Menzel is a forceful presence as both a gangster's moll in an eye-catching red satin dress in the first act, and a late-blooming California hippie in the park in the second. You might never guess the level of her Broadway stardom from this up-close view of her in these relatively thankless roles.

Kudisch is also striking as the murder victim, and as a refugee from Wall Street who takes up residence in Central Park. His shredded suit is but one of Elizabeth Caitlin Ward's inspired costume designs.

Mary Testa has the throwaway part of a medium in the first act, and the considerably meatier role of an old Socialist who comes to believe in miracles in the second.

Also excellent are the lesser-known talents: Henry Stram as a janitor who witnessed the first-act crime and the priest who unleashes the media miracle, and Aaron Lohr as a 1950s thug in the first act and a Geraldo Rivera-like TV reporter in the second.

The first-time director is Ted Sperling, whose previous career was as a music director.

"See What I Wanna See" may leave you nonplussed, but you'll enjoy the talents on view.