La Chiusa's See What I Wanna See @ The Blank

See What I Wanna See words and music by Michael John La Chiusa suggested by the stories of Rynosuke Akutagawa as translated by Takashi Kojima directed by Daniel Henning The Blank Theatre Company through May 30

Michael John La Chiusa's world premiere musical See What I Wanna See has a very cinematic and oft times operatic feel to it. Act I, taking its plot from the classic Japanese film Rashomon, plays out in NYC in 1951 and Act II, called Glory Day, in present day. Each act opens with a Japanese pas de deux with two lovers Kesa (Lesli Margherita) and Morito (Doug Carpenter) telling the story of their passion via song; Kesa's perspective opens Act I and Morito's, Act II. The entire play, in fact, centers around different perspectives, how individuals relate to the world around them.

R Shomon - the 'a' had fallen off the movie marquee where husband (Perry Ojeda) and wife (Lesli Margherita) are watching Rashomon - is set at a time when crime was less rampant and everyone saw the excitement in being a part of it, at least imaginatively. A murder is reconstructed from the viewpoint of the wife, the husband, an intruding con man or perpetrator (Doug Carpenter), who has eyes for the wife and becomes her lover, a janitor (Jason Graae) who happens to pass by and see the victim, and a medium (Suzan Solomon) who responds to a call from the great beyond. The play is like a spider's web that gets bigger and bigger, pulling us in deeper strand by strand. Who actually killed the husband is unimportant, but all the characters' feelings, deceits, devious desires, even the janitor's noncommital attitude of looking out for himself and not offering help - all have something vital to relate to the condition of the human mind and heart.

Act II tells of a priest (Graae) who has lost his faith. Trying to regain it and move on meaningfully the best he can, he invents an occurrence in Central Park that will entail a miracle and announces it to the public. Various New Yorkers, a CPA (Ojeda), a drug-addicted actress (Margherita), a reporter (Carpenter) and an atheist aunt of the priest (Solomon), look with eager anticipation to a lie that may bring hope into their dull and meaningless lives. Only one finds happiness, the one who is willing to risk it all.

Under Daniel Henning's fluid direction, the five member ensemble are sensational to watch. Margherita, Carpenter, Ojeda, Solomon, and Graae act and sing their multiple roles with relish. Margherita is superb: ultra-cool, cunning and seductively treacherous. Graae's over-the-top style is less obvious here; he is grounded and deeply committed, especially as the priest (top photo), making this perhaps his best character work to date.
Musically, Act II is richer and more enveloping, with Act I's jazzy score rather slight and forgettable.
In total, an intriguing evening of theatre with a few surprises and plenty of food for thought.