Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 10/8/23 — Page 2

''Here Lies Love'': ''This is a clear example of hemorrhaging money on a show that simply does not work. I understand some people love it and that's great but GP does not care about it.''

This is too simplistic. ''Here Lies Love'' was always going to be a tough sell on Broadway. It has no name recognition. It's not based on a hit movie. it has no big-name stars. There's no world in which any sane person would think a disco-pop musical about a Filipino dictator and his wife would be an instant commercial hit. ... As a piece of thrilling immersive musical theater, ''Here Lies Love'' ''works.'' It's gotten lots of rave reviews; it's received various award nominations and won some prizes. And when it played Off-Broadway a decade ago, it was a hit at the Public.

Broadway, however, presents its own challenges. It's one thing to sell out at the Public, where it played to around 200 people a night. It's a gigantic jump to suddenly fill a big theater with 900 people. I would love to see ''Here Lies Love'' be the Broadway blockbuster it deserves to be. It's groundbreaking showcase for Asian-American talent especially. But let's face it: Not all terrific shows, even acclaimed ones, always find their audiences on Broadway. And I'm sure we all have cult favorites, even Tony-winning ones, that didn't run as long as we would've wanted.

Look, I imagine there are other factors: Some people don't want to stand for a musical. Others are still wary of rubbing shoulders with strangers at a show in this post-COVID era. But something I really haven't seen addressed is the simple fact that Broadway audiences are overwhelming white, and the sad reality, to me, is: I don't think they're interested in seeing an all-Filipino musical, no matter how many rave reviews it has. And it's not for any overtly racist reasons.

Hear me out: They'll go to a rare musical with a lot of Asians if there's a white protagonist: like Anna in ''The King and I'' or Chris in ''Miss Saigon.'' Somehow that's more relatable: the clash of East and West. But stories that are all-Asian? Just look at the history of all-Asian musicals on Broadway: ''Pacific Overtures'' (1976), 193 performances; ''Flower Drum Song'' revival (2002), 169 performances; ''Pacific Overtures'' revival (2004), 69 performances; ''KPOP" (2022), 17 performances. All of 'em flopped financially. Coincidence?

I'm sure the producers of ''Here Lies Love'' are not idiots. They know Broadway history, too. They must realize they face impossible odds. Frankly, I wished "Here Lies Love'' had opened in the spring, in a smaller theater ... but I applaud them for having the bravery, the bucks and the balls for bringing it to the Great White Way. At a time when the norm is more jukebox musicals and stage adaptations of hit movies, here's an original show with an original score that celebrates diversity, storytelling and showmanship. And because Broadway is still seen as the epitome of theater, ''Here Lies Love'' deserves its time in the spotlight, fleeting as it might be. I believe Broadway will be better for it having played there, and maybe it'll even help expand and pave the way for the next exciting experiment in musical theater.

For now, I'll give ''Here Lies Love'' all the love I can.

Updated On: 10/11/23 at 02:42 AM

Wayman_Wong said: "''Here Lies Love'': ''This is a clear example of hemorrhaging money on a show that simply does not work. I understand some people love it and that's great but GP does not care about it.''

This is too simplistic. ''Here Lies Love'' was always going to be a tough sell on Broadway. It has no name recognition. It's not based on a hit movie. it has no big-name stars. There's no world in which any sane person would think a disco-pop musical about a Filipino dictator and his wife would be an instant commercial hit. ... As a piece of thrilling immersive musical theater, ''Here Lies Love'' ''works.'' It's gotten lots of rave reviews; it's received various award nominations and won some prizes. And when it played Off-Broadway a decade ago, it was a hit at the Public.

Broadway, however, presents its own challenges. It's one thing to sell out at the Public, where it played to around 200 people a night. It's a gigantic jump to suddenly fill a big theater with 900 people. I would love to see ''Here Lies Love'' be the Broadway blockbuster it deserves to be. It's groundbreaking showcase for Asian-American talent especially. But let's face it: Not all terrific shows, even acclaimed ones, always find their audiences on Broadway. And I'm sure we all have cult favorites, even Tony-winning ones, that didn't run as long as we would've wanted.

Look, I imagine there are other factors: Some people don't want to stand for a musical. Others are still wary of rubbing shoulders with strangers at a show in this post-COVID era. But something I really haven't seen addressed is the simple fact that Broadway audiences are overwhelming white, and the sad reality, to me, is: I don't think they're interested in seeing an all-Filipino musical, no matter how many rave reviews it has. And it's not for any overtly racist reasons.

Hear me out: They'll go to a rare musical with a lot of Asians if there's a white protagonist: like Anna in ''The King and I'' or Chris in ''Miss Saigon.'' Somehow that's more relatable: the clash of East and West. But stories that are all-Asian? Just look at the history of all-Asian musicals on Broadway: ''Pacific Overtures'' (1976),193 performances; ''Flower Drum Song'' revival (2002), 169 performances; ''Pacific Overtures'' revival (2004), 69 performances; ''KPOP" (2022), 17 performances. All of 'em flopped financially. Coincidence?

I'm sure the producers of ''Here Lies Love'' are not idiots. They know Broadway history, too. They must realize they face impossible odds. Frankly, I wished "Here Lies Love'' had opened in the spring, in a smaller theater ... but I applaud them for having the bravery, the bucks and the balls for bringing it to the Great White Way. At a time when the norm is more jukebox musicals and stage adaptations of hit movies, here's an original show with an original score that celebrates diversity, storytelling and showmanship. And because Broadway is still seen as the epitome of theater, ''Here Lies Love'' deserves its time in the spotlight, fleeting as it might be. I believe Broadway will be better for it having played there, and maybe it'll even help expand and pave the way for the next exciting experiment in musical theater.

For now, I'll give ''Here Lies Love'' all the love I can.



"

or perhaps not everyone likes David Byrne's music or the fact they tried to use a pre-recorded soundtrack and no live musicians claiming the show some sort of 'karaoke'. Or perhaps people don't want to sing and dance along in a show that tries to humanize someone accused of human rights violations among other crimes. This show started with the wrong foot imo

Updated On: 10/11/23 at 08:34 AM

Buzz & WOM is built in many ways, and HERE LIES LOVE has a few things going against it:

1) The musicians situation was a rare moment of bad optics for this production.

2) At the Public, the buzz was as much for the production as it was for its leading lady's performance. Now, without Ruthie Ann Miles and a competent performance in Arielle Jacobs, it has lost some luster. There's also been a lot more large-scale immersive theatre since 2013, so some of the uniqueness is gone.

3) They seem scared or hyper-conscious of promoting certain elements of the show. They seem to be trying to play down the Marcos angle and the white male creative team angle in much of the advertising/press. It's not happy subject matter.

4) Older folks may be turned off by the immersive elements; people who want to go to a club may be turned off by cramming a historical musical into a club setting.