THE HANGOVER REPORT – A decade onward, HERE LIES LOVE finally arrives on Broadway, thankfully with its immersive disco staging intact

Arielle Jacobs in “Here Lies Love” at the Broadway Theatre (photo by Matthew Murphy).

I recently had a chance to catch up with the Broadway edition of Here Lies Love, which has finally arrived on the Great White Way a decade after ravishing audiences (including yours truly) Off-Broadway at the Public Theater. Like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Tony-winning musical Evita, Here Lies Love tells the rags to riches story of a notorious First Lady, in this case the Philippines’ Imelda Marcos.

Although some may complain about the show’s lack of depth and clear point of view — the musical is essentially a simply constructed song cycle — it’s an exhilarating spectacle that sweeps you on the churning currents of history itself. Thankfully, visionary director Alex Timbers has retained and ingeniously expanded his immersive, total sensory disco staging for the musical’s Main Stem mounting (the Broadway Theatre has been rendered all but recognizable in its transformation from a musical theater barn to a sleek discotheque), which goes a long way in camouflaging some of the work’s storytelling limitations. Throw into the mix David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s pulsating, insanely catchy electro-pop score as well as Annie-B Parson’s driving choreography, and you have an invigorating experience like no other on Broadway — the show is a rocket ship that blasts off and never looks back.

A good number of the all-Filipino cast are reprising their roles from the musical’s Off-Broadway days, namely Conrad Ricamora as Senator Aquino, the Jose Llana as President Marcos, and Melody Butiu as Imelda’s childhood friend — all give definitive portrayals. To boot, the cast also currently boasts the legendary, (still) clarion-voiced Lea Salonga as Aquino’s grieving mother. Although I admittedly miss Ruthie Ann Miles’ silken portrayal of Imelda Marcos, Arielle Jacobs brings a vibrant youthfulness to the central role that brings a new energy to the show.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

HERE LIES LOVE
Broadway, Musical
Broadway Theatre
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Open run

Categories: Broadway, Theater

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