See What I Wanna See is a musical by Michael John LaChiusa based on three short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa: "Kesa and Morito", "In a Grove" (1922, the inspiration for Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon) and Dragon: the Old Potter's Tale (1919). The story is told in two parts with two prologues. Each prologue involves the medieval lovers/killers Kesa and Morito. The first act follows a murder in Central Park in 1951 from the various perspectives of several different characters. Act two centers on a priest, wavering in his faith, who creates a hoax about a miracle.
The musical played Off-Broadway in 2005 and has since been performed in the UK and in regional U.S. theatres.
Production history An early version of the show was mounted at the Williamstown Theater Festival from July 21, 2004, through August 1, 2004. The musical was titled R Shomon then. Directed by Ted Sperling, the cast featured Audra McDonald (Kesa/Wife/Actress), Henry Stram (Janitor/Priest); Michael C. Hall (Morito/Thief/Reporter), Tom Wopat (Husband/CPA), and Mary Testa (Medium, Aunt).Sommer, Elyse.Curtain Up Berkshires, WTF's Nikos Stage Plays for 2004, curtainup.com, accessed July 24, 2009Simonson, Robert. playbill.com, October 17, 2005R Shoman listing for Williamstown, MA, 2004 broadwayworld.com, accessed July 24, 2009
The musical premiered off-Broadway in New York at the Public Theater on October 30, 2005 (October 11 in previews) and ran through December 4, 2005. Directed by Ted Sperling, the cast included Idina Menzel as Kesa/Wife/Actress, Marc Kudisch as Morito/Husband/CPA, Henry Stram as The Janitor/Priest, Aaron Lohr as Thief/Reporter, and Mary Testa as Medium/Aunt.Brantley, Ben. "Theatre Review:Truth Takes On a Really Tough Role," The New York Times, October 31, 2005 The production received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Musical, Actor in a Musical (Kudisch), Lead Actress in a Musical (Menzel), Featured Actress in a Musical (Testa), Music and Lyrics (LaChiusa), Orchestrations (Bruce Coughlin), Set Design (Thomas Lynch), and Sound Design (Acme Sound Partners).Simonson, Robert. , playbill.com, April 27, 2009 Menzel also was nominated for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance in 2006.
The musical was next staged at Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Ohio, from September 2006 to November 4, 2006. Directed by Artistic Director Jason Bruffy, the cast included Liz Holt, Charlie Clark, Derek Snow, Molly Binder, and Robert Williams. The Music Director on the production was Alan Patrick Kenny, with Lighting Design by Sean Savoie, Scenic Design by Samantha Reno, Sound Design by Doug Borntrager and Costume Design by Liz Holt. This production was also nominated for many awards by both the Cincinnati Acclaim Awards Panel and the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, winning many. At the Acclaims the production won "Lead Actress in a Musical"(Holt), "Supporting Actress in a Musical"(Binder), "Outstanding Direction" (Bruffy), "Musical Direction" (Kenny), "Lighting Design" (Sean Savoie), "Outstanding Ensemble", and "Outstanding Musical". The production also won "Outstanding Musical" at the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, beating out Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's production of Ace.Cain, Scott."Review:'See What I Wanna See' " talkinbroadway.com, retrieved January 3, 2010
The New England regional premiere was at Boston's Lyric Stage Company on January 5, 2007, and ran through February 3, 2007, directed by Stephen Terrell with musical direction by Jonathan Goldberg, scenic design by Brynna C. Bloomfield, costume design by Rafael Jaen, lighting design by Karen Perlow, and fight direction by Meron Langsner.Rossi, Carl A.Review theatermirror.com, accessed July 24, 2009Murphy, Liza."Sketchbook: Outfitting See What I Wanna See," livedesignonline.com, March 1, 2007Stackman, Will.Review aislesay.com, accessed July 24, 2009 This production was nominated for an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.
The musical has also been presented by university groups in the UK and U.S. LaChiusa taught a four-hour master class at Minnesota State University, Mankato, in November 2008 as part of that University's production."Playwright attends opening night, holds master class, Backstage Pass Newsletter Minnesota State University, November 2008, accessed July 24, 2009 The first college to put on the production was Oberlin College in Ohio.
In June 2008, a highly sophisticated and critically acclaimed production opened at the Seoul Opera House complex. This was a very successful version produced by the Korean company Musical Heaven, and directed by the innovative and avant-garde Colombian theater director Javier Gutiérrez R. This same year the play was nominated for numerous Korean musical theater awards, winning some of them. The production was seen by thousands of people in a sold-out run.
In February 2009, the first New York City revival of See What I Wanna See was produced by 5th Floor Productions 5thfloorproductions.org at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College in a limited engagement of two performances. It was produced by Michael Sancilio with direction by Corey Chambliss.BWW News Desk. "See What I Wanna See To Be Presented By 5th Floor 2/27-2/28," broadwayworld.com, February 25, 2009
The Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia, presented the musical from April 7, 2009, through May 31, 2009.Signature Theatre listing www.sig-online.org, accessed July 24, 2009
In October 2013, a brand new production of the show opened in New York City at The Producers Club. Directed and Choreographed by Jason Wise, the cast featured Ben Liebert (Janitor/Priest), Brian Bailey (Medium/Aunt Monica), Parker Krug (Morito/Husband/CPA), Nate Suggs (Thief/Reporter), and Colby Levin (Kesa/Wife/Actress). Wise's production used a complex but streamlined draping system to differentiate environments and marked the premiere of a male playing the role of the Medium/Aunt Monica, as well as an actor playing a Trombone (which is not written into the licensed score) on stage." See What I Wanna See Set for The Producers Club" broadwayworld.com, August 1, 2013
In 2024, Out of the Box Theatrics produced the show Off-Broadway at Theatre 154, notably cast entirely with actors of Asian/Pacific Islander descent, including Sam Simahk, Marina Kondo, Zachary Noah Piser, and Kelvin Moon Loh. The production received a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, along with Piser receiving a nomination for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical and Tom Lee for Outstanding Puppet Design.
Plot synopsis Act 1 – "Kesa" and "R Shomon" In medieval Japan, Kesa plans to kill her lover, Morito ("Kesa"). Morito arrives, and they make love. Kesa divulges to the audience that "[her] husband knows [their] secret" and draws a knife out of her kimono and raises it to stab Morito at the height of her climax, but a blackout leaves the outcome unknown.
The scene shifts to New York City in 1951, where a murder has taken place. The janitor of a movie house is being interrogated by an unseen policeman. He explains that when he left work in the late night/early morning he took a shortcut through Central Park, where he found "the scarf, the body, the blood" ("The Janitor's Statement"). He slips when he refers to the weapon as "his knife", indicating that the killer is a male, but then he claims that the police had mentioned this to him.
A thief, Jimmy Mako, is also being interrogated ("The Thief's Statement"). He boasts about committing the crime, and a flashback begins as he describes how Lily looked at him on the street after leaving the movies with her husband Louie ("She Looked at Me"). The thief follows the couple to the nightclub where she flirts with both Louie and, discreetly, the Thief ("See What I Wanna See"). The Thief decides that the only way to get a chance at Lily is to get the Husband out of the way. He convinces Louie to go with him to the park to dig up "Big Money" that he knows is hidden there. After a few drinks, Louie agrees, and Lily is also persuaded to come along. The Thief knocks out the husband, ties him up and rapes Lily, who tries vainly to defend herself with a knife ("The Park"). The Thief snaps - he's infatuated with Lily and is convinced that she wants him too, vowing "You'll Go Away With Me". Lily orders the Thief to fight her husband for her ("Murder"). He does, killing Louie; but Lily runs off into the night. Back at the police department, the Thief calmly states that he will "take the chair."
The Janitor explains to his interrogator his philosophy about witnessing strange situations in New York City: "Best Not To Get Involved", but he admits to remembering Lily - "how could you forget a woman like her?" The Wife enters the interrogation room to explain her version of the story ("The Wife's Statement"). After the Thief raped her, she blacked out and awoke to find her husband, Louie, glaring at her, blaming her for the rape, and feeling they no longer had anything left to live for. She begs him for his love and forgiveness ("Louie"). He indicates that they should kill themselves together. She begins to comply ("Louie guide my hand, I will honor you") but at the last second, as he pushes the knife towards her, she panics and turns it towards him, killing him and running away.
Back in the interrogation room, the Janitor recalls an adage that "only the dead tell the truth." A Medium arrives and explains that the spirit of the Husband entered her during a seance. She summons his spirit again ("The Medium and The Husband's Statement"). The Husband's story is that his wife became enraptured with the Thief and turned on the husband ("You'll Go Away With Me" (Reprise)). The rape becomes passionate love-making, and the Husband attempts to block it out of his mind by recalling that the marquee of the movie house screening Rashomon was missing the "a" in the title. The Wife orders the Thief to bind the husband. She assaults her husband verbally, relishing her new-found power, and telling him everything she has kept bottled up during their marriage; she will take "No More". She orders the Thief to stab the Husband. Surprisingly, the Thief instead cuts the bonds of the Husband and holds the knife to the Wife's throat, asking, "Do you want me to slash her throat and save you the trouble later?" Louie just stares, and the Thief eventually releases the Wife, tossing the knife to the Husband. The Husband, seething with rage, chases his wife away and is left alone. He decides that the honorable thing to do would be to kill himself ("Simple as This"). The Medium and the Husband perform an elaborate ritual reminiscent of traditional Japanese Seppuku (stomach-cutting). His last memory is of "someone" removing the stiletto from his abdomen and his blood flowing into the grass.
The Janitor is still in the interrogation room, exhausted. He describes the beauty and the horrors of New York City in 1951 ("Light In the East"). Again he walks home through Central Park that night. He finds the Husband, pulls the knife out of the body and flees the scene. Everyone appears as a collage of voices, telling their statements, sometimes in unison but often interjecting with their own skewed perspectives on the truth.
Act 2 – "Morito" and "Gloryday" Back in feudal Japan, Morito, Kesa's lover, tells wistfully of their final night together ("Morito"). Morito has planned to murder Kesa just as she has plotted to kill him, but the audience is left in doubt as to who was the successful killer, the scene ends with Morito strangling Kesa as she reaches for her knife. Reality and truth depend on whose perspective one believes. Kesa sees murdering Morito as a way to cleanse herself of her guilt and shame, while Morito believes he is bringing justice to Kesa and renewing his honor.