SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE
Words and Music by Michael John LaChiusa
Based on short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
as translated by Takashi Kojima
Music direction by Adam Rothenberg
Choreography and assistant direction by Paul McGill
Directed by Emilio Ramos
Out of the Box Theatrics (Liz Flemming, Founding Artistic Director) recently presented a revival of Michael John LaChiusa’s See What I Wanna See, directed by Emilio Ramos (Broadway: Parade, Maybe Happy Ending (associate director); Encores!: The Light in the Piazza (associate director)), with musical direction by Adam Rothenberg (Broadway: Sweeney Todd, Off-Broadway: Watch Night) at 154 Christopher Street (formerly The New Ohio theater).
Based on three short stories by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (Rashomon), OOTB’s production of See What I Wanna See featured an all-AAPI cast of actors and elements inspired by traditional Asian theater practices, bringing LaChiusa’s Americanized adaptation into conversation with the Asian-American experience.
The production starred Marina Kondo (Broadway: KPOP, TV: “Succession”) as Kesa/The Wife/An Actress, Kelvin Moon Loh (Broadway: Beetlejuice, SpongeBob SquarePants) as The Husband/A CPA, Zachary Noah Piser (Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked, KPOP) as The Janitor/A Priest, Ann Sanders (Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen, Avenue Q, The Music Man) as The Medium/Aunt Monica, and Sam Simahk (Broadway: Carousel, Into The Woods) as Morito/The Thief/A Reporter. Aaron Albano (Broadway: Aladdin, Here Lies Love) and Bebe Browning (TV: “Succession,” KPOP workshop) will serve as covers.
Puppeteering was by Nikki Calonge (Broadway: Life of Pi) and Takemi Kitamura (Phantom Limb Company). Justin Perkins (The Metropolitan Opera’s Madama Butterfly) served as Puppetry Captain.
The creative team of See What I Wanna See included associate direction and choreography by Paul McGill (Broadway: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Off-Broadway: Steve), associate music direction by Ian Chan (Broadway: The Heart of Rock and Roll, 1776), scenic design by Emmie Finckel (Off-Broadway: In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot, The Watering Hole; Associate: KPOP), costume design by Siena Zoë Allen (OOTB: The Last Five Years), puppet design by Tom Lee (Broadway: War Horse; Metropolitan Opera: Florencia en el Amazonas), fabrication by Chicago Puppet Studio, lighting design by Kat C. Zhou (Broadway: associate designer for Water for Elephants, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window), sound design by Germán Martínez (Broadway: associate designer for Ohio State Murders, Into the Woods), and props design by Samantha Shoffner (Broadway: Trouble in Mind, Slave Play). Stage management is by Kyra Bowie (Just Tell No One), assistant stage management is by Abi Rowe (Off-Broadway: Islander, Sleep No More), Production Management by Emily Duncan, and Japanese translations are by Marina Kondo.