Photo by Alana Jacoby

The precision of writer-director Patrick Harrison’s “Butterfly, Butterfly, Kill Kill Kill!” rarely fails to impress. He deploys a talented ensemble (sporting Kabuki whiteface) with skill as the play, inspired by Seijun Suzuki’s avant-garde spy flick “Branded to Kill,” charts the exploits of Hanada (Patrick Harrison), a Japanese hit man who’s striving to become the country’s number one killer.

Alas, the slight shoot-’em-up story, which is tinged with sexual intrigue once Hanada’s been hired by Misako (Margaret Odette Perkins), never seems to merit the care that’s been given to the staging, where even campy, patience-straining dance breaks and chase scenes are executed with incredible style. Harrison’s exacting work seems more warranted by such metaphorical sequences as a dream in which Hanada is devoured by his nymphomaniac wife (Alexandra Hellquist), who has turned into a giant winged insect, and the midair pas de deux that a bullet and a butterfly (just two of Jeff Wood’s grand puppets) perform as Hanada carries out one of his jobs.
 
Presented by Depth Charge as part of the New York International Fringe Festival at La MaMa E.T.C., 74A E. Fourth St., NYC. Aug. 13–19. Remaining performances: Mon., Aug. 16, 8:30 p.m.; Wed., Aug. 18, 8 p.m.; Thu., Aug. 19, 2 p.m. (866) 468-7619 or www.fringenyc.org.