Menzel's darker musical

Monday, October 31, 2005

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Star-Ledger Staff

NEW YORK -- A striking musical that tells three stories from contrasting perspectives, "See What I Wanna See" is a typically smart work from Michael John LaChiusa.

Opening yesterday at the Public Theater and ably performed by a five-member ensemble led by Idina Menzel of "Wicked" fame, "See What I Wanna See" is a must-see for devotees of so-called "serious" musicals.

In other words, this often compelling new show has no aims to be an easygoing crowd-pleaser.

Drawn from Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa's fiction, only one sequence is overtly Japanese. This curtain-raiser is a cool idyll of renunciation as an adulterous wife and a samurai engage in ritualistic love-making. Reflecting their separate points of view, the couple's interlude concludes fatally.

Opening with a fast blast of beebop to establish its early 1950s Manhattan setting, the title piece updates the "Rashomon" tale about a rape and a murder as told by different people.

Clad in slinky red, Menzel suggestively swings through the snazzy, finger-snapping title number as a nightclub thrush whose evening out with her possessive husband ends in his death in Central Park. The specifics vary depending upon who tells the story.

A charismatic Aaron Lohr appears both smooth and twitchy as a cocky thief who may also be a killer. Mary Testa offers a gentle cameo as a matter-of-fact psychic who channels the husband's ghost.

The concluding one-act, "Gloryday" also unfolds in Central Park, but now it's in a year after everyone "watched the city fall / In silver clouds / Consuming crowds / Of unsuspecting souls." Helpless in the face of vast grief, a priest rejects his faith and hoaxes the masses by spreading word that Christ is about to make a miraculous appearance.

Although the priest's motivation is insufficiently dramatized, the characters' eventual expressions of need for a miracle are poignant. With his earnest ways, Henry Stram looks born to wear a priest's collar.

Testa is lovely in every respect as a grumpy soul whose "The Greatest Practical Joke" swipe at religion has a Kurt Weill-style pungency. That song sharply contrasts later with Testa's moving rendition of "There Will Be A Miracle," a simple testament of faith. Menzel urgently portrays a messed-up, excitable actress. Lohr aptly plays a fatuous TV reporter.

Impressive as the samurai and dead man of the earlier pieces, Marc Kudisch provides an arresting portrait of an executive who's gone nuts and haunts the Park in a shredded business suit. Sliding his handsome baritone voice between a roar and a quiver, Kudisch feverishly depicts a man in moral crisis desperate for "a purer me."

Only ten percent of these mini-musicals is conveyed in dialogue. Shot through with iridescent bits of enjoyable melody, LaChiusa's often jazzy score involves a series of modern-day art songs that insinuatingly reflect the stories' situations and moods. Bruce Coughlin's orchestrations use artful touches of Eastern stylistics to link the contrasting epochs.

Employing spare yet effective design, director Ted Sperling gives the musical a concise and confident production.



Menzel's darker musical Monday, October 31, 2005 BY MICHAEL SOMMERS Star-Ledger Staff NEW YORK -- A striking musical that tells three stories from contrasting perspectives, "See What I Wanna See" is a typically smart work from Michael John LaChiusa. Opening yesterday at the Public Theater and ably performed by a five-member ensemble led by Idina Menzel of "Wicked" fame, "See What I Wanna See" is a must-see for devotees of so-called "serious" musicals. In other words, this often compelling new show has no aims to be an easygoing crowd-pleaser. Drawn from Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa's fiction, only one sequence is overtly Japanese. This curtain-raiser is a cool idyll of renunciation as an adulterous wife and a samurai engage in ritualistic love-making. Reflecting their separate points of view, the couple's interlude concludes fatally. Opening with a fast blast of beebop to establish its early 1950s Manhattan setting, the title piece updates the "Rashomon" tale about a rape and a murder as told by different people. Clad in slinky red, Menzel suggestively swings through the snazzy, finger-snapping title number as a nightclub thrush whose evening out with her possessive husband ends in his death in Central Park. The specifics vary depending upon who tells the story. A charismatic Aaron Lohr appears both smooth and twitchy as a cocky thief who may also be a killer. Mary Testa offers a gentle cameo as a matter-of-fact psychic who channels the husband's ghost. The concluding one-act, "Gloryday" also unfolds in Central Park, but now it's in a year after everyone "watched the city fall / In silver clouds / Consuming crowds / Of unsuspecting souls." Helpless in the face of vast grief, a priest rejects his faith and hoaxes the masses by spreading word that Christ is about to make a miraculous appearance. Although the priest's motivation is insufficiently dramatized, the characters' eventual expressions of need for a miracle are poignant. With his earnest ways, Henry Stram looks born to wear a priest's collar. Testa is lovely in every respect as a grumpy soul whose "The Greatest Practical Joke" swipe at religion has a Kurt Weill-style pungency. That song sharply contrasts later with Testa's moving rendition of "There Will Be A Miracle," a simple testament of faith. Menzel urgently portrays a messed-up, excitable actress. Lohr aptly plays a fatuous TV reporter. Impressive as the samurai and dead man of the earlier pieces, Marc Kudisch provides an arresting portrait of an executive who's gone nuts and haunts the Park in a shredded business suit. Sliding his handsome baritone voice between a roar and a quiver, Kudisch feverishly depicts a man in moral crisis desperate for "a purer me." Only ten percent of these mini-musicals is conveyed in dialogue. Shot through with iridescent bits of enjoyable melody, LaChiusa's often jazzy score involves a series of modern-day art songs that insinuatingly reflect the stories' situations and moods. Bruce Coughlin's orchestrations use artful touches of Eastern stylistics to link the contrasting epochs. Employing spare yet effective design, director Ted Sperling gives the musical a concise and confident production. © 2005 The Star Ledger © 2005 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.