As for Michael John La Chiusa's
See What I Wanna See...
I'm still sort of digesting it all - as I'm pretty sure Jason is too. But, overall, it was a surprisingly gripping and moving at time piece of theatre. There is a framing device that is very "cool" - for lack of a better word right now - that opens each of the acts, but I feel it could be dropped with no ill effect to the mini-musicals that make up each act.
And as for each of those mini-musicals... Well, they both take place in Central Park. And they both center around "truth", "beliefs" and "believing". And that's really all I feel can say about them without spoiling anything. I knew what the first half was about, but the second half caught me off guard, and I was already getting teary-eyed within the first five minutes. And then Mary Testa came on for her second number, and she was just so grounded, solid, grave... A very moving moment.
-And I love the explanation for the shows original title "R shomon".
-And that's when I found myself thinking, "Who'd of thunk I'd ever be genuinely moved by a Michael John La Chiusa show?" But I was.
Although there are some standout performances/moments, it truly is an ensemble show. Henry Stram, Idina Menzel, Aaron Lohr, Mary Testa and Marc Kudisch. Not a weak link in the bunch.
Even the technical elements surprised me. For such a "small" show, the lighting design was quite intricate at times. And the very spare set was effective. And the orchestrations were handled admirably by the seven-piece band.
Yes, there are some intricate and thorny passages here and there, but they didn't distract or stick out like that have in past MJL shows. And it truly was - to use the "A-word" - accessible.
All in all, a very satisfying evening (afternoon) of theatre.
