Here Lies Love
Opening Night: May 1, 2014
Closing: January 3, 2015
Theater: The Public Theater
Within a pulsating dance club atmosphere, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim deconstruct the astonishing journey of Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos retracing her meteoric rise to power and subsequent descent into infamy and disgrace at the end of the People Power Revolution. Here Lies Love is neither a period piece nor a biography, neither a play nor a traditional musical but an immersive theatrical event combining songs influenced by four decades of dance music, adrenaline-fueled choreography, and a remarkable 360-degree scenic and video environment to go beyond Imelda’s near-mythic obsession with shoes and explore the tragic consequences of the abuse of power.
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May 1, 2014
Of the characteristics that musicals and nightclubs share, perhaps the most enticing — and the most frustrating — is their tendency to be there one moment and gone the next. I’m not necessarily speaking just of their tendency to close the instance you turn your head, though that does happen, but the way they can change character in the blink of a bleary eye based on your mood, the people around you, and even the time of year. The show you see — or are a part of — tonight probably won’t be the same one you see if you go back, say, a year from now. So tread lightly, if you tread at all, back to the Millennium. Wait, sorry, that’s technically only the club-within-the-play that’s used as the unifying and energizing concept of Here Lies Love, the musical by David Byrne (concept and lyrics) and Fatboy Slim (music) that just reopened at The Public Theater following a triumphant run there last summer. But at this fast-forward evening, you won’t be able to separate the disco from the drama, partly because you’re intimately entangled in both and partly because this sumptuous-looking but wafer-thin outing would otherwise fall apart.
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May 1, 2014
It was inevitable that Here Lies Love, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s electronic pop, dance club-style musical about former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos, would return following its short hit run at the Public Theater one year ago. But where could it be done? As inventively staged by wunderkind director Alex Timbers (Rocky, Peter and the Starcatcher), Here Lies Love is a high-energy, immersive experience not unlike Sleep No More and Fuerza Bruta where audience members stand throughout the show and can freely move around. But it is also a smart, edgy musical about a celebrity-seeking political leader, her rags-to-riches journey, the corruption of her regime and her relationship with those around her. In essence, Here Lies Love is a discotheque revamp of Evita.
READ THE REVIEWMay 2, 2014
Imelda Marcos was a world-class shoe junkie. And though footwear doesn’t figure into Here Lies Love, this giddiness-inducing musical about her rise and fall will leave you walking on air. Credit creator David Byrne of Talking Heads fame. He came up with the idea and lyrics and wrote the disco-happy music with Fatboy Slim. Director Alex Timbers’ ingenious staging puts the audience in the middle the action. Be ready to move and groove with the ace ensemble led by Jose Llana as Ferdinand Marcos, Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino and the incandescent Ruthie Ann Miles as the Philippine First Lady.
READ THE REVIEWMay 2, 2014
I’d wager that many New Yorkers have a limited grasp of Philippine history, beyond Imelda Marcos and her shoe obsession, or the details surrounding the demise of opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, which thrust his widow, Corazon, or just “Cory,” into the political limelight. Musicians David Byrne and Fatboy Slim changed that last year with Here Lies Love, a 360-degree “immersive” experience akin to Fuerza Bruta or Sleep No More that had Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos storming The Public Theater while rubbing shoulders with a small audience. This month, the musical—think of it as a history lesson by way of Studio 54—returns for an open run in the same space, and it remains an attention-demanding and exhilarating night out.
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May 1, 2014
Discothèques make strange bedfellows. To confirm this dangerous fact of life, just boogie on down — and you must — to the glittery dance palace at the Public Theater. There you’ll find yourself dancing hip by pelvis with one of the most notorious power couples of the 20th century. I mean Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, the former president and first lady of the Philippines, who turn out to be a lot of fun if you just go with the sweaty flow. After all, who’s thinking about morality in politics when the music’s this loud and catchy? Be careful how close you get to them, though, or you might wake up to one hell of a morning after. Here Lies Love, the exciting poperetta conceived by the musician (and former Talking Head) David Byrne, sets a new standard for audience participation. Or do I mean coercion? In this heady show about the heady life of Mrs. Marcos — which has been staged with infinite inventiveness by Alex Timbers and one of the hardest-working tech crews in town — all the world’s a dance floor, and all the men and women merely disco rats.
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