Posted: 7/27/23 at 1:42pm
If memory serves me correctly, the production at The Public ended differently:
At the end of the production at the Public,, it ended with the whole cast doing a rousing rendition of "Here Lies Love". Not so on Bway.
Posted: 7/27/23 at 3:15pm
I believe that's how it still ended in early previews. They changed it when they realized it wasn't really ending the show on the right note if the piece is supposed to be criticizing the Marcos fam. A rousing rendition of the evil main character's title song doesn't really do that.
Posted: 7/28/23 at 8:36am
BuddyStarr said: "If memory serves me correctly, the production at The Public ended differently:
"
That was the ending I saw on Broadway during preview
Posted: 7/28/23 at 9:56am
Sorry if this was asked before but does anyone know if the alternate will be on Sunday matinee ? Thank you
Posted: 7/28/23 at 1:01pm
Looks like Conrad Ricamora is officially married:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvP2THFrwvi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Posted: 7/28/23 at 1:31pm
He announced he "just got married" in an interview I think this week, and I was like, "Where's the pics?" How exciting for him.
Posted: 7/28/23 at 2:26pm
fisheyelenses said: "Possibly of some interest -- a review from the Philippine news site Rappler."
Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for.
Posted: 7/28/23 at 2:45pm
fisheyelenses said: "Possibly of some interest -- a review from the Philippine news site Rappler. This site was founded by Maria Ressa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in journalism for her work reporting in the politically fraught climate of present day Philippines, so that colors the nuances of this review.
https://www.rappler.com/entertainment/theater/inventing-imelda-review-here-lies-love-broadway/#:~:text=The%20production%20itself%20is%20excellent,tumultuous%20years%20in%20Philippine%20history.
EDIT: and another from a different POVhttps://www.rappler.com/entertainment/theater/here-lies-love-review-messiness-discord-dance-floor/"
Here's another review from a Filipina-American theater critic:
http://www.theasy.com/Reviews/2023/H/herelieslove.php
I have been invested and interested in the varied responses of the Filipino mainland and diaspora communities, and I thought some in this thread may be interested too. The show was always going to be polarizing -- how could a musical about the Marcos family not be? Lea Salonga and many others on the team acknowledge it in interviews. For what it's worth, even knowing the criticisms going in, when I saw it myself I found myself sobbing through most of it and left eager to dig deeper into this moment of Philippine history. Still, I understand that the material and its treatment is callous to one viewer while being cathartic to another.
Posted: 7/28/23 at 7:34pm
Lea Salonga has just extended her run to August 19.
Posted: 7/29/23 at 5:53am
fisheyelenses said:
I have been invested and interested in the varied responses of the Filipino mainland and diaspora communities, and I thought some in this thread may be interested too. The show was always going to be polarizing -- how could a musical about the Marcos family not be? Lea Salonga and many others on the team acknowledge it in interviews. For what it's worth, even knowing the criticisms going in, when I saw it myself I found myself sobbing through most of it and left eager to dig deeper into this moment of Philippine history. Still, I understand that the material and its treatment is callous to one viewer while being cathartic to another."
Very well put. I'm glad someone else appreciates the fact that this show - any show - is going to have a wide variety of reactions to it. That show you think absolutely everyone hates - there are people who found it meh, liked it or loved it. Isn't that amazing???
Posted: 7/29/23 at 8:58am
EDSOSLO858 said: "Lea Salonga has just extended her run to August 19."
desperation for this show.
Posted: 7/29/23 at 9:35am
ACL2006 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "Lea Salonga has just extended her run to August 19."
desperation for this show."
Wtf?
Posted: 7/29/23 at 10:17am
I assume the comment means that the show know they have financial problems and are trying to squeeze as much out of Lea’s name as possible (before she goes to London to do the Sondheim Old Friends show/concert with Bernadette, otherwise I’m sure the show could use her around).
Posted: 7/29/23 at 10:29am
everythingtaboo said: "He announced he "just got married" in an interview I think this week, and I was like, "Where's the pics?" How exciting for him."
You are correct. He was on What You Kneed to Know this past week and talked about it. If I remember correctly, it was held at a courthouse. He mentioned that they bumped into Billy Crudup and Naomi Watts as they were leaving. He talks about it starting around the 2 minute mark and there is a flash of some cute photos of him and his husband.
https://youtu.be/6n0pcpw6lW4
Updated On: 7/29/23 at 10:29 AM
Posted: 7/29/23 at 11:50am
Warmest congratulations to this very handsome and talented couple.
Posted: 7/30/23 at 8:03am
Saw this last night via lottery win. I won the "seated ticket" lottery and was in rear mezz row G. The seat was great for the most part and I didn't feel too removed from the action. I think the rear mezz projection screens were having issues because they were off for a decent chunk of the show.
I've been thinking all night and this morning about how I ultimately feel...I WANT to love it, a lot, but somehow I can't quite land on that conclusion. There is a lot to love - excellent performances, a great score, the inventive use of the transformed theater - but I wish the show was longer and was able to explore its complicated point of view in greater detail.
As a millennial white guy with (until now) only a vague knowledge of the Marcos regime, I left the show feeling more sympathy toward Imelda than the Filipino people. We spend the vast majority of the show's runtime following Imelda's rise and fall, and ending it with Why Don't You Love Me? solidified that POV for me. The final song, which I understand contains actual eyewitness statements, was a bit of an eye roll - a "hey everyone, wasn't that just awful? Can you believe it's happening again and all over the world?" cop out. And the curtain call felt very clunky since cutting the Here Lies Love reprise.
All that being said, I do think I want to see it again and experience it from the floor. To see if I feel more swept up in the chaos, feeling immersed in the party and not feeling the darkness creep in until it's too late. From the mezzanine, while it is a fine view, I can see how I became an outsider looking in. And hey, at least this show made me feel SOMETHING.
Updated On: 7/30/23 at 08:03 AM
Posted: 7/30/23 at 12:58pm
Thank you kwoc91 for sharing your thoughts. I last watched this in previews back in June and am planning to see it again next week with a few friends (hoping for the floor this time!)
I thought it was interesting how at the end of the show they mentioned Marcos's son is now the current president. They didn't really talk about the son at all during the show and he is not his father; but mentioning him made me think that despite all that happened, there are still clearly Marcos family supporters in the Philippines given he won by election last year. Were there good aspects to their regime that was not shown in the show? It made me also want to research more as to how the son won last year's election despite his father's crimes.
Posted: 7/30/23 at 4:20pm
Just got out of the show. I found it to be ok. The cattaling was alittle much towards the end on the dance floor. My neck hurts like crazy.
Did they have to tear up the Broadway for this? It could of been amazing in the Circle or somewhere else.
Lea in her two mintue cameo was the best part and got the biggest applause of the day. She looked timeless all in black.
The alternate I thought did a beautiful job but something was lacking. I needed a little more presence.
Let’s revive Taboo and do it like this
Updated On: 7/30/23 at 04:20 PM
Posted: 7/30/23 at 6:36pm
WldKingdomHM said: "Did they have to tear up the Broadway for this? "
This is such a dumb line of thought, whether you like the show or not. First of all, there was VERY little "tearing up." The seats were removed, but everything else is intact. All of the stuff that was added is part of the steel structure that they built. Nothing was destroyed to accommodate it. Second, find me something that can fill the Broadway!!! This theatre just sat empty for over a year and I can almost guarantee you that when this show closes the theatre will sit empty for an extended period of time. The vast majority of shows don't want and can't fill a theatre that big and we're only going to have more of them available soon with the conclusions of the Palace and Majestic renovations! I just do not understand why you would want this theatre to continue to sit vacant!
Updated On: 7/30/23 at 06:36 PM
Posted: 7/30/23 at 9:14pm
jkcohen626 said: "WldKingdomHM said: "Did they have to tear up the Broadway for this? "
This is such a dumb line of thought, whether you like the show or not. First of all, there was VERY little "tearing up." The seats were removed, but everything else is intact. All of the stuff that was added is part of the steel structure that they built. Nothing was destroyed to accommodate it. Second, find me something that can fill the Broadway!!! This theatre just sat empty for over a year and I can almost guarantee you that when this show closes the theatre will sit empty for an extended period of time. The vast majority of shows don't want and can't fill a theatre that big and we're only going to have more of them available soon with the conclusions of the Palace and Majestic renovations! I just do not understand why you wouldwantthis theatre to continue to sit vacant!"
Whooooooa calm down. I don’t think the person you’re replying to is advocating the Broadway Theatre sit vacant. I think what they’re saying is the show might have worked better in a smaller, more intimate space, like Circle in the Square.
The Broadway is a tough theatre to fill because it’s huuuge. I wish the show luck because they have a huge hill to climb. It’s a good thing they have TONS of big name celebrity producers.
anyone know how much it costs to run the show?
Posted: 7/30/23 at 10:06pm
Anyways, I also saw the matinee! Wanted to see it again this week anyways, but saw Jaygee would be on and thought I'd go today to get to see her.
I loved the show once again, but I do think it also solidified my criticisms of it. The last 30 minutes of this show (the end of Please Don't onward) is PERFECT and the first 35 minutes (culminating in When She Passed By) is great. It's that middle section (with the exception of Fabulous One) that I think doesn't work as well. I love a lot of the songs in that section and Jasmine Forsberg is INCREDIBLE, but it's basically an Imelda pity session that undermines the message of the last 30 minutes of the show. That should be when we see the cunning political climber Imelda, but we just don't.
I'm so glad I got to see Jaygee and really enjoyed her performance. There was def something going on with her ear pieces because she kept fiddling with them. Sometimes she'd have them both in, sometimes neither, and sometimes just one. I think she really excelled in the first two thirds of the show, but I was let down a bit by her last third. She just does not have intensity or the evil (or the crazy eyes) that Arielle does. It makes her Why Don't You Love Me especially come across in a very different way. I don't think the mask ever slips for Jaygee's Imelda in the way it does for Arielle's. When Arielle asks, "why don't you love me?," it's not a genuine question. She knows the answer and it pisses her off. When Jaygee asks, either she refuses to reveal that she does know and is feigning ignorance or it's a genuine question and she really doesn't get it. To me, both of those are less effective than giving us one final moment where the mask slips and Imelda's true rotten self is revealed.
The supporting cast is in fine form. Jose still makes you fall in love with him, Conrad is an extremely compelling leader, Melody breaks your heart, Jasmine steals every scene she's in, and Lea is Lea. She has an opt-up on that last "And get 'em all together" that she's added since I last saw the show and it was amazing. My jaw dropped. I didn't think of him originally when typing this out. But, Moses (the DJ) also does a fantastic job with the final song.
Posted: 7/30/23 at 10:11pm
DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "Whooooooa calm down. I don’t think the person you’re replying to is advocating the Broadway Theatre sit vacant. I think what they’re saying is the show might have worked better in a smaller, more intimate space, like Circle in the Square. The Broadway is a tough theatre to fill because it’s huuuge. I wish the show luck because they have a huge hill to climb. It’s a good thing they have TONS of big name celebrity producers.
anyone know how much it costs to run the show?"
The Broadway isn't huge anymore. It's 1037 seats. If they did it in the CITS and found a way to lower the stage and make the dance floor, they'd probably end up with a pretty comparable number of seats.
Posted: 7/30/23 at 11:54pm
It could of been amazing in the Circle or somewhere else.
I would have loved to see what they would have done at Circle in the Square. I'm glad Lea extended, she is pretty wonderful.
Posted: 7/31/23 at 9:14am
I, too, love ''Here Lies Love'' and saw it multiple times at the Public. I've been waiting for its Broadway debut for years. And though I wish it were playing at a smaller theater, I imagine the show's producers and creative team have thoroughly and exhaustively considered the pros and cons of each viable playing space on the Great White Way. The logistics, the economics, etc. I also wished they could've opened in the spring, closer to Tony time, but it is where it is, and I'm thrilled for ''Here Lies Love'' and for everyone onstage and behind the scenes making its magic. I'll enjoy it as much as I can, while i can, because this kind of theatricality is rare & comes once in a Broadway lifetime.
Updated On: 7/31/23 at 09:14 AM
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