The latest musical on 42nd Street isn't on Broadway and it's not exactly your usual, razzle-dazzle mid-town fare. It's Kensuke, a new Japanese musical written by Kikue Tashiro and directed by Denis Meadows, running Nov. 7-24 at the Samuel Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row. Dancer Kazu Nakamura stars in this Oriental fable about Kensuke, a young artist struggling to finish his last painting before he dies. Helping Kensuke realize that what holds him back is even deeper and darker than his illness is a beautiful young dolphin-woman.

Lyrics for this musical are by Tashiro and Bill von Hoene; music is by Fumio Miyashita & Toru Yamashita. Spare settings notwithstanding, the piece makes creative use of music, songs, dance, costumes and masks. Tashiro's previous play, Sakura/The Bandit Princess, will be presented at the Dallas International Theatre Festival in December.

For tickets ($15) and information on Kensuke (pronounced Ken'sukay), call (212) 765-4813.

-- By David Lefkowitz