HERE LIES LOVE - Broadway Previews- Page 9

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 5:15pm

Just saw the entire show this afternoon - WOW. I have waited many years for Here Lies Love after missing it at the Public, and it blew me away. This is Alex Timbers’ magnum opus, no question. 

It’s in wonderful shape already but it will get even better with Lea. The other nine musicians have had recent rehearsals, per an ensemble member, and I assume they will be added into the show before opening as well.

I was on the dance floor, which was awesome, but the action happens all around you no matter where you sit. The moving around was a little awkward and disjointed but didn’t completely detract me from any of the action.

I was intrigued by every minute of this musical, from electric start to mournful finish. The largely EDM-tinged score is incredible.

Everything I said about Arielle before remains true. Jose Llana goes shirtless for a couple of minutes! I also must shout out Jasmine Forsberg and Moses Villarama, who both do some very fine work in their Broadway debuts. 

Good thing I brought earplugs to the show, because there are at least a couple of VERY loud moments throughout.

The timing is just about right - today’s preview started at 2:04, and the curtain call encore ended at 3:39.

Stage door was not very crazy today, thank God. Arielle, Jose, Conrad, Moses, Reanne Acasio, Melody Butiu, Shea Renne, Aaron Alcaraz, Kristina Doucette, Roy Flores, Timothy Matthew Flores, Sarah Kay all came out and signed most Playbills. Jasmine and Julia Abueva only signed a few, though I did get to have a nice conversation with the latter (who I really liked in last season’s KPOP).

Run to the Broadway Theatre.

 

 


 

[ShowBro]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 5:16pm

I enjoyed/didn’t mind standing multiple times for both De La Guarda and Fuerza Bruta, but bc the floor is narrower at the Broadway, it’s harder to maneuver such a large crowd into so many different configurations. While I think the floor staging is ambitious, it’s ultimately unsuccessful from a functional angle as a standing audience member in my opinion.

 

[Shubert Alley Cat]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 6:09pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "Just saw the entire show this afternoon - WOW. I have waited many years for Here Lies Loveafter missing it at the Public, and it blew me away. This is Alex Timbers’ magnum opus, no question.

It’s in wonderful shape already but it will get even better with Lea. The other nine musicians have had recent rehearsals, per an ensemble member, and I assume they will be added into the show before opening as well.

I was on the dance floor, which was awesome, but the action happens all around you no matter where you sit. The moving around was a little awkward and disjointed but didn’t completely detract me from any of the action.

I was intrigued by every minute of this musical, from electric start to mournful finish. The largely EDM-tinged score is incredible.

Everything I said about Arielle before remains true. Jose Llana goes shirtless for a couple of minutes! I also must shout out Jasmine Forsberg and Moses Villarama, who both do some very fine work in their Broadway debuts.

Good thing I brought earplugs to the show, because there are at least a couple of VERY loud moments throughout.

The timing is just about right - today’s preview started at 2:04, and the curtain call encore ended at 3:39.

Stage door was not very crazy today, thank God. Arielle, Jose, Conrad, Moses, Reanne Acasio, Melody Butiu, Shea Renne, Aaron Alcaraz, Kristina Doucette, Roy Flores, Timothy Matthew Flores, Sarah Kay all came out and signed most Playbills. Jasmine and Julia Abueva only signed a few, though I did get to have a nice conversation with the latter (who I really liked in last season’sKPOP).

Run to the Broadway Theatre.


I also saw the show this afternoon and was blown away with the transformation of the Broadway as well as the staging of the piece.  I am so glad I chose Front Mezz (I was in Row E on the center aisle) as so much action including moments with each of the lead performances happens up there.  Plus I got to sit!  But you are encouraged to stand and dance by the DJ at three moments in the show, so it was nice to stand and stretch at those times.  I think this section is truly the best to experience the show.

Performances all around were pretty great.  I will say that Ms. Jacobs was not terribly charismatic but her vocals were superb.

The score has a few really terrific numbers (the title number is a definite ear worm) but after a while I felt some of it started to sound the same.

But I can't say enough about the unique experience you have at this show.  Highly recommend the experience.

Updated On: 7/2/23 at 06:09 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 6:42pm

I’ll also say that Jacobs showed me a different side of her in those final 20-30 minutes or so.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 8:09pm

I saw it today from the dance floor, and genuinely enjoyed it. 

That said... 

1.  The consent moving around of the stage and the audience seems like an accident waiting to happen. I think they're putting a lot of thought into safety, but I can very easily see accidents happening involving audience members.

2. I was fine with the trade off, but it was much harder to follow the narrative from the dance floor, when you're worrying about where you're supposed to move next, or being moved mid-song. 

3. I came away from the show with only a vague understanding of what made Imelda Marcos so notorious. I didn't think the musical conveyed the scale of graft going on. 

  

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 8:10pm

I was also at the matinee this afternoon and wow, it was incredible, better than I had ever imagined, based on all the positive comments here. 

I was at left front mezz row F. While I had initially wanted to be on the floor, I think front mezz is really the best location. It seems quite hectic to be constantly moving around on the floor and you have to frequently rotate on the floor as action could be happening behind you. I loved that the actors would often walk up from the floor to the front mezz, giving you the feeling of a center orchestra seat. 

I listened to the cast album on my way to NYC and wasn't sure how they could all fit all these songs into a 90 min show. The pace was quick but the combination of photo and text projections on screen and staging really helped to convey the story. I had also read up on Imelda before the show. There's so much you could cover, but I like that they kept the plot line relatively linear and focused. I also like how they handled some of the transitions by getting the audience on their feet. The DJ was really engaging and perfect in the direction. 

The transformation of the theater and the lighting was really impressive. Sound was incredible, much better than I expected based on the recordings. I think this is going to be held as a model for all future immersive shows. 

In some ways, I think like this is what KPOP wanted to achieve, but never quite made it. There's so much they could learn from this production. 

Updated On: 7/2/23 at 08:10 PM

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 8:23pm

Phillyguy said: "In some ways, I think like this is what KPOP wanted to achieve, but never quite made it. There's so much they could learn from this production."

I was thinking about KPOP watching it. Like they've sunk so much money into reconfiguring the Broadway Theatre, when Here Lies Love finishes it's run, maybe there'd be a way to resurrect KPOP in the space? This configuration would be perfect for KPOP. 

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 8:50pm

Jonathan Cohen said: "Phillyguy said: "In some ways, I think like this is what KPOP wanted to achieve, but never quite made it. There's so much they could learn from this production."

I was thinking about KPOP watching it. Like they've sunk so much money into reconfiguring theBroadway Theatre, when Here Lies Love finishes it's run, maybe there'd be a way to resurrect KPOP in the space? This configuration would be perfect for KPOP."

Unfortunately, KPOP had way too many issues that need to be fixed before it can be revived. 

For example, the whole premise of a documentary camera crew just seemed distracting and unnecessary. They could've told the entire story without it at all. Vs in HLL, I really like the use of camera projections both to allow audience in upper mezz to see the faces more clearly, and the little detail like having a TV news channel overlay to make you feel like you are watching the campaign footage live on TV. 

I also really dislike the use of a camera projection ion KPOP to show what happened backstage. This is live theater! Bring action to the stage. 

There was way too much spoken dialogue in KPOP. I was amazed how little dialogue there is in HLL, but I was able to get a sense of time, location, and people through projections and inferences. The use of the DJ as a narrator in the beginning was brilliant. The few dialogues really projected well in a musical theater kind of way which was in strong contrast to KPOP which felt like a play with singing. 

If they rewrite the book, then perhaps KPOP would make a comeback. 

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 9:33pm

Phillyguy said: "Unfortunately, KPOP had way too many issues that need to be fixed before it can be revived.

For example, the whole premise of a documentary camera crew just seemed distracting and unnecessary. They could've told the entire story without it at all. Vs in HLL, I really like the use of camera projections both to allow audience in upper mezz to see the faces more clearly, and the little detail like having a TV news channel overlay to make you feel like you are watching the campaign footage live on TV.

I also really dislike the use of a camera projection ion KPOP to show what happened backstage. This is live theater! Bring action to the stage.

There was way too much spoken dialogue in KPOP. I was amazed how little dialogue there is in HLL, but I was able to get a sense of time, location, and people through projections and inferences. The use of the DJ as a narrator in the beginning was brilliant. The few dialogues really projected well in a musical theater kind of way which was in strong contrast to KPOP which felt like a play with singing.

If they rewrite the book, then perhaps KPOP would make a comeback."

For sure KPOP would need to rewrite the book to be brought back... in any context. But considering people seemed to like the book for the 2017 Off-Broadway version (I didn't see it myself) a lot more than the Broadway version, I think that's realistically something the creative team could solve. 

To your point on how Here Lies Love successfully incorporated video footage, if a new version of KPOP used the Mezzanine as "backstage" that would be way more interesting than it literally happening backstage.

I think you can still have backstage scenes without using the documentary plot which didn't work.    

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/2/23 at 10:51pm

Jonathan Cohen said: "Phillyguy said: "Unfortunately, KPOP had way too many issues that need to be fixed before it can be revived.

For example, the whole premise of a documentary camera crew just seemed distracting and unnecessary. They could've told the entire story without it at all. Vs in HLL, I really like the use of camera projections both to allow audience in upper mezz to see the faces more clearly, and the little detail like having a TV news channel overlay to make you feel like you are watching the campaign footage live on TV.

I also really dislike the use of a camera projection ion KPOP to show what happened backstage. This is live theater! Bring action to the stage.

There was way too much spoken dialogue in KPOP. I was amazed how little dialogue there is in HLL, but I was able to get a sense of time, location, and people through projections and inferences. The use of the DJ as a narrator in the beginning was brilliant. The few dialogues really projected well in a musical theater kind of way which was in strong contrast to KPOP which felt like a play with singing.

If they rewrite the book, then perhaps KPOP would make a comeback."

For sure KPOP would need to rewrite the book to be brought back... in any context. But considering people seemed to like the book for the2017 Off-Broadway version (I didn't see it myself) a lot more than the Broadway version, I think that's realistically something the creative team could solve.

To your point on how Here Lies Love successfully incorporated video footage, if a new version of KPOP used theMezzanine as "backstage" that would be way more interesting than it literally happening backstage.

I think you can still have backstage scenes without using the documentary plot which didn't work."

I also didn't see the off-Broadway version, but I think what was missing was the immersive element of physically moving between locations. In creating linear storytelling, they decided to tell the story through the lens of a camera crew which didn't work. 

I don't think it's necessary to change location to show the backage. The set design (and perhaps with the help of projection) should be able to convey location. KPOP has basically two stages, so they could've brought the backstage on stage, or perhaps open the backscreen to reveal the backstage. So many different ways they could've approached this. 

[ardiem]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 12:28am

I can't unhear how "Walk Like a Woman" (https://open.spotify.com/track/120pmqRYGkL5S0FoVhxsWO) sounds like Janet Jackson's When I Think of You. Am I the only one?

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 10:00am

The songs are all very catchy. I have the lines “I’m a child of the Philippines” and “just say here lies love” stuck in my head  

The sound projection was incredible in the theater. I feel like the recordings really don’t do justice to how amazing they sound live. 
 

Are the live musicians playing during the performances yet?

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 10:55am

Saw it saturday. Not clear to me that the Broadway was the right venue for this--they've reconfigured it well, but the back mezz is so deep that you can't bring it into the action. Lots of empty seats in the back. I feel like a wider, shorter theater with a shallow mezz would have worked better (Vivian Beaumont?).  I'm not sure I see this making $$ with the back half of the mezz being such a tough sell.

As for the show, really enjoyed it. Agree with some of the above, that it doesn't really get into the degree of graft (just the degree of oppression). Find the dance steps (the time warp v2) to be difficult in the packed Broadway seats.

As for KPOP, night and day. This is in much better shape.

Updated On: 7/3/23 at 10:55 AM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 11:08am

I hear musicians are being added tonight. 

[arcolley]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 11:20am

On the note of "very loud moments throughout" - can anyone elaborate on them? Are they sudden and jarring or is there build up to them/can they be anticipated? (Assuming at least one of them is based on Ninoy's history, but would love to know more specifics; in a spoiler if needed)

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 11:37am

I did not notice or remember any sudden or jarring loud noises from where I was sitting in front mezz 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 11:48am

arcolley said: "On the note of "very loud moments throughout" - can anyone elaborate on them? Are they sudden and jarring or is there build up to them/can they be anticipated? (Assuming at least one of them is based on Ninoy's history, but would love to know more specifics; in a spoiler if needed)"

If you look at the song list, I don't remember if it was during the song or directly before/after, but Riots and Bombs had some pretty sudden loud noises (of essentially bombs, as the song title describes).  I remember jumping in my seat a bit in rear mezz as it was much louder than I was expecting, and it went on for a bit longer than I would've thought too.  fwiw, this was the first week of previews so not sure if they've adjusted the level or anything.  There are also some gun shots between Gate 37 and Just Ask the Flowers, but I didn't think those were nearly as loud or jarring (especially if you know the history)

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 11:52am

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

“Riots and Bombs” is a loud solid minute - this is the Plaza Miranda bombing; which occurs just over an hour into the show. 

There is a loud, sudden gunshot about 15 minutes later, when Ninoy gets assassinated at the end of “Gate 37”, an otherwise calm song. The timing of it gave yesterday’s audience a big-time shocker. 

 

 

Updated On: 7/3/23 at 11:52 AM

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 7/3/23 at 12:30pm

HeyMrMusic said: "I hear musicians are being added tonight."

I was very confused on this point because I was looking at my Playbill after the fact, and was like, wait didn't they agree to hire musicians? Where are they? 

According to the details of the initial statement by the Here Lies Love producers about reaching a settlement with the Local 802 Union, there is supposed to be live musicians starting Saturday, June 17. 

 

 

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 7/5/23 at 8:03pm

Breaking. Lea is going on TONIGHT. My friend Ben is there and tweeted the cast board. Is this her debut? A week early? Listed as an understudy?

https://twitter.com/ItsRainingBen/status/1676737162950193153?s=20

Updated On: 7/5/23 at 08:03 PM

[Voter]

Posted: 7/5/23 at 10:24pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

“Riots and Bombs” is a loud solid minute - this is the Plaza Miranda bombing; which occurs just over an hour into the show.

There is a loud, sudden gunshot about 15 minutes later, when Ninoy gets assassinated at the end of “Gate 37”, an otherwise calm song. The timing of it gave yesterday’s audience a big-time shocker.
 

"


Was the gunshot pre-recorded?

 

assuimg the sounds of the bombs are from a sound board?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 7/5/23 at 10:29pm

Voter said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

“Riots and Bombs” is a loud solid minute - this is the Plaza Miranda bombing; which occurs just over an hour into the show.

There is a loud, sudden gunshot about 15 minutes later, when Ninoy gets assassinated at the end of “Gate 37”, an otherwise calm song. The timing of it gave yesterday’s audience a big-time shocker.

"


Was the gunshot pre-recorded?



assuimg the sounds of the bombs are from a sound board?"

I believe it was pre-recorded, but I don’t remember. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 7/5/23 at 10:39pm

HeyMrMusic said: "I hear musicians are being added tonight."

Are the musicians the drum line?

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/5/23 at 11:15pm

Lea was on tonight unannounced, the audience was very excited, not sure if she is now just IN early or popping in and out but she makes a great impression in the five minutes she is onstage 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 7/5/23 at 11:41pm

Call_me_jorge said: "HeyMrMusic said: "I hear musicians are being added tonight."

Are the musicians the drum line?"

Yes. The prerecorded tracks remain.