The ‘Glass’ is half-empty

The term “doppelganger” is the impetus for “Invisible Glass,” which ends its REDCAT run on Sunday. This multimedia look at Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “William Wilson” runs the German word for each human’s shadow self to avant-garde extremes.

“Invisible Glass” is the handiwork of director-puppet designer Janie Geiser, playwright Erik Ehn and the Center for New Theater actors. Working with shrewd designers and composer Tom Recchion, “Glass” is a deliberate deconstruction of “William Wilson,” which first appeared in 1840.

Poe’s title character is a double for the first-person narrator, his tale of academic discovery and adult betrayal drawn in florid prose. The symbolic dualities at play are fodder for a master’s thesis.

That aspect permeates “Invisible Glass,” building its “double walker” motif by conflating theatrical techniques from Asian to industrial. Recchion’s ambient music hums as two figures appear alongside Ken MacKenzie’s remarkable interlocking set. Seated at school desks with antique telegraphs, our Bowery Boy-clad narrator and his puppet counterpart are identifying points for the dreamlike proceedings.

Drawing on Poe’s reference to Roman emperor Elagabalus, “Invisible Glass” opens on a prologue about this historic figure. Geiser’s creations are impressive, whether tiny armatures, Javanese shadows or life-size mannequins. Also imposing are MacKenzie’s window-slatted facades, creating ever more perspectives and portals in Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew’s dense lighting, aided by the videos of Kristy L. Baltezore and Johnny Bradley.

Recchion’s score, with its post-Stockhausen harps and synthesized loops, is an asset. So is the subtle sound design by Jones Taylor Jr. The 12-member ensemble, which resembles totalitarian beekeepers in Soojin Lee’s costumes, is selfless.

Author Ehn merges Poe’s juicier lines with flashes of opaque poetry. Yet the Roman prologue promises a cracked fairy tale that the abstract narrative never delivers. There is a shortage of visceral impulse. Perpetual motion eventually becomes display for its own sake, and the resolution is anything but. “Invisible Glass” may hypnotize fans of its company and creators, but its esoteric double act is not exactly shattering.

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‘Invisible Glass’

Where: REDCAT at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2nd and Hope streets, L.A.

When: 8:30 p.m. today and Sunday

Ends: Sunday

Price: $20 to $28

Contact: (213) 237-2800

Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes