2023-08-13 21:12:50
Disco balls were spinning, club music was throbbing, and on the dance floor several members of the Filipino crowd were close to tears.
It was a Saturday night and the Broadway Theater in New York was preparing “Here Lies Love”, the musical by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim about the rise and fall of Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, the former first couple of the Philippines, for its Broadway premiere on July 20. In preliminary performances, the play drew a stream of Filipino-American viewers, drawn by the chance to see the national—and family history, in some cases—told onstage, close enough to touch.
“I’ve never been in a play where I have a personal connection” to the story, said Earl Delfin, a 35-year-old Manhattan resident. “I felt represented on a New York stage for the first time.” He was moved in the opening scenes, he added, “and, of course, I danced.”
“Here Lies Love” came to Broadway after showings in London and Seattle. But now it has added an all-Filipino cast — a first on Broadway, organizers said. There’s also a new cadre of Filipino producers, including Tony Award-winning Lea Salonga; José Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer; Jo Koy, the comedian; and HER, the Grammy Award-winning singer, along with investors from Manila.
The narrative framework of the show still harnesses the glitz of a nightclub—as First Lady, Imelda was a frequent presence at Studio 54, a former nightclub—to reflect the Marcos’ rise to power and the allure of privilege and wealth that brought them to plunge his nation into massive debt, to live in luxury while his constituents suffered.
Arielle Jacobs stars as Imelda, whose journey from naïve pageant contestant to sentimental megalomaniac is at the heart of the story. José Llana is Fernando; his path from charismatic leader to presidential dictator is shorter. “If you want to boo Marcos,” Llana said of the crowd, “then I think I did my job well.”
In the theater, moving platforms transport the actors, with standing spectators surrounding them on the ground; catwalks put them within easy reach for those seated above. The choreography encourages members of the public to interact with the cast, moving their hips in line dances and acting out the role of the faithful at political rallies.
“Growing up, the only thing I really knew about Imelda was about her shoe collection,” Jacobs said. “To be in touch with this part of the Filipino culture and the resilience of the Filipino people — all of that has been an awakening.”
Still, the play has been criticized for spotlighting a couple known for their ruthless corruption. In a statement, the producers said their binational group met “at a time of necessary and welcome evaluation of who is telling what stories,” and that having people with lived experiences from this era imbued the work “with authenticity.”
Salonga hoped that putting a complex story like this on Broadway could serve as inspiration and empowerment.
“I want to see that other communities of color can look at ‘Here Lies Love’ and say, ‘We can do that. We have these stories that we can tell,’” she said.
Melena Ryzik
The New York Times
BBC-NEWS-SRC: IMPORTING DATE: 2023-07-18 20:30:08
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