Posted on April 5, 2007
From the very first scene of Michael John La Chiusa’s “See What I Wanna See,” it is apparent that this musical is anything but ordinary. Murder, deceit and faulty alibis become the subject of the first act’s jaunty and sometimes eerie songs.
The script ambitiously attempts to weave together three completely unrelated stories, which the members of the cast handle surprisingly well. La Chiusa’s play sometimes lacks flow and coherence, which may be an intentional feature of the work. Nevertheless, the strange set of events certainly provided a trying task for the five-person cast.
For junior John Kownacki, the challenge of playing The Husband, as well as other characters, was welcome.
“I knew how interesting and challenging [La Chiusa’s] music can be,” he said. “This instantly made me want to audition for the show.”
The orchestra is comprised of a piano, bassoon and a flute, and isunderstated yet complex, just like the rest of the show. Sophomore Rachel Schur, who plays Kesa, The Wife and The Actress, was taken aback by the unique qualities of La Chiusa’s score.
“I listened to the music and had never heard anything like it before,” Schur said. “It was so edgy, new and ambitious.”
The set is very simple, allowing the actors to convey the three stories with very little extraneous support. One interesting feature of the set is a New York City skyline, which appears in the shape of a Japanese-inspired pagoda, representing the melding of the Japanese influence with the American.
As the members of the cast were charged with the task of playing three different roles, inspiration and believability were very important factors in keeping the audience focused and attentive. Kownacki found the role of the husband particularly trying.
“[The Husband] goes through a number of horrible things and I tried to imagine how I would react in those situations,” he said.
Schur encountered similar obstacles with her roles.
“It took a lot of focus and honing in on what my objective was for each character,” Schur said. “My main concern was making them all believable.”
Although some of the songs are inappropriately cheerful, such as a catchy tune explaining a disillusioned priest’s ruse to convince the population of New York City of Christ’s second coming, the play generally has a rather dark tone to accompany the dark, twisted themes.
La Chiusa’s score proves too avant-garde at times, and it seems as though the actors lose the message of the words while trying to keep up with the music. Overall, “See What I Wanna See” is a musical that attempts to do a little too much.
Theatre II’s production of La Chiusa’s musical is certainly a valiant effort supported by excellent technical ability from the cast. Yet, “See What I Wanna See” does not seem to adapt well to new interpretations.
“See What I Wanna See” is playing in Theatre II through Saturday, with performances at 8 p.m and an additional performance Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale two hours before the show at Theatre II.
