HERE LIES LOVE Reviews- Page 4

[inception]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 9:47am

Did anyone post this glowing review from The Guardian?

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jul/20/here-lies-love-review-imelda-marcos-broadway

It is super positive, but then says things like:

"Its production values hew low-key, sometimes calling to mind a high school theater production."

"The latest theatrical iteration fails to transform any of the songs into unforgettable anthems."

If that's what someone who likes it has to say, is it any wonder it isn't selling better?

[kurtal]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 10:15am

I've now seen the Broadway production twice, once fairly early in preview (pre-Lea) from the mezzanine and once yesterday from the floor (both tickets TDF).  I also saw the show at the Public.

While I think the show has flaws (the middle drags, the songs feel repetitive at times, we don't really get a sense of what causes Imelda to turn evil), I am so glad it is happening.  I think it's a breathtaking transformation of the theatre, and I don't mind that the songs are relatively simple.  That simplicity allows for the audience to be more attuned to the innovative staging and design.  I certainly wouldn't be able to process Sondheimesque lyrics while trying to also figure out where in the theatre the scene was taking place.

And I don't think the show venerates Imelda as much as it mourns her.  I certainly celebrated her ascendance, because why not?  Who doesn't love a rags to riches story?  But from Riots and Bombs on...I don't see how anyone could leave this show thinking that it is celebrating Imelda.  To me, it's so clear that the whole purpose is to catch the audience getting caught up in her rise and then having to quickly realize the atrocities that came thereafter.  It's a perfect theatricalization of what happens so often in politics (particularly populist politics) -- the masses get caught up in some hype or rhetoric or a good story and before they know it, democracy is under attack and fascism is here. 

Sound familiar?  I think that's the whole point.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 11:01am

WldKingdomHM said: "Did they have to tear up the Broadway for this? It could of been amazing in the Circle or somewhere else.
"

Variations on "it should be in Circle in the Square" are so exhausting. Let's open up minds to new venues, people. And how would Here Lies Love work in the Circle exactly? There's no room for this type of staging.

So glad that with the lack of versatile venues, they took a big chance and expense to do something so inventive to a traditional venue.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/3/23 at 10:17am

Seeing Salonga was out last night. Hope she’s alright! I can’t imagine she’d miss a performance in this unless she absolutely had to. 

[Voter]

Posted: 8/3/23 at 10:39am

Do we know if Lea's Tony eligible? Tony voter tickets are being booked through end of September, so I'd assume not.

 

Also, they were advised Jaygee is on/Arielle is off on Tuesday performances. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/3/23 at 10:20pm

Both Lea and Arielle out tonight. I was disappointed initially but the show is just so damn good it’s hard to be disappointed for too long. 

[DearTheodosia]

Posted: 8/5/23 at 12:13am

[DearTheodosia]

Posted: 8/5/23 at 12:15am

Lea Salonga and Conrad Ricamora were out tonight. I also tried to see him in Little Shop, and he was out then, so I was sad to miss him again. Anyone know anything about whether either will be back this weekend?

[JasonC3]

Posted: 8/5/23 at 1:12pm

Excerpt from conversation with David Byrne in 8-5 Financial Times (paywall):

https://www.ft.com/content/affeea99-3b87-4049-b7ae-97098ba5cb10

It took Byrne five years to get it made and 10 more to get it to Broadway, mostly because who wants to touch a disco musical about a brutal dictator’s wife? As he puts it, “That is where I sometimes get in trouble.” Some reviews say the show glazes over too many details and makes Imelda a little too sympathetic. But he insists that’s the point. The Filipino people were betrayed by their leaders, and he wants us to feel that betrayal.

He realised in creating the show that he’d written a story that was flipped. Normally in theatre, the audience watches a character change. In this show, they change. “The audience has an insight at some point during the show and realises that what they thought was real is not real,” he says. “You have to have been seduced. You have to have kind of fallen in love with these people for it to hurt.”

[Voter]

Posted: 8/5/23 at 5:13pm

Both Lea and Conrad out again and a big number of split tracks and swing debuts 

I’ll have to come back for Conrad, but won’t make it back for Lea. I hope everything’s okay, that’s a lot of tony voter/nominator tickets to reschedule 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 8/5/23 at 11:26pm

Did they ever put the live musicians in?

[pethian]

Posted: 8/5/23 at 11:30pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Did they ever put the live musicians in?"

Yes, Percussionists.

[bear88]

Posted: 8/5/23 at 11:40pm

Voter said: "Do we know if Lea's Tony eligible? Tony voter tickets are being booked through end of September, so I'd assume not.



Also, they were advised Jaygee is on/Arielle is off on Tuesday performances."

So Arielle Jacobs is off for all Tuesday performances?

 

[starlightlocamotion]

Posted: 8/6/23 at 12:15am

Saw it again last night. Caught the show during previews from the mezz & decided to give the dance floor a whirl this time around...loved it just as much. Though I will say...the HLL reprise is sorely missed, and I would almost rather no post bows dance at all then what we ended up with ?? But that issue aside...just love this show.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 8/6/23 at 5:57am

"Jose Llana (a.k.a. Ferdinand Marcos) Makes a Home in the Hamptons"

Nice NYT profile.  Gift link.

[OMG U Guyz]

Posted: 8/6/23 at 3:46pm

Because she was in the show on opening night she’s eligible. 

[3NU]

Posted: 8/6/23 at 11:55pm

I saw tonight's show (Sunday 8/6). Lea and Conrad were out, which was a huge bummer for me, as they were the two actors I was most looking forward to seeing. The primary DJ was also out. 

I saw the show from Floorside 2, Seat B13, which is second row floorside, house left, all the way to the front. You definitely felt close to the action but also strangely detached (particularly with some partial view scenes, like the beauty pageant). I wonder if my seat placement affected my reaction to the show because, I mostly felt exhausted and a bit bored by it all, particularly in the draggy middle sections. Most of the songs (with the exception of the beautiful God Draws Straight) felt repetitive and tiring. Having wanted to see this show for nearly a decade since it first premiered Off-Broadway (I live out of state and don't make it to New York that often), I was disappointed by the fact that I didn't really like it. The song lyrics came across as largely shallow, making the characterizations feel weak and the plotting very stop-and-start with each musical number (and there are a lot of them). 

Arielle is an incredible vocalist, but I didn't think she added much depth to Imelda, acting-wise, making her turn of character feel unearned. I found myself thinking throughout the show what more Ruthie Ann Miles might have brought. Jose Llana did his best with a poorly written part. No one else really stood out to me. 

Some additional thoughts:

• If you have the chance, get to the theater early to watch the video slide deck of Philippines history (in the main lobby) and photos of Imelda's dioramas (downstairs near the bar and bathrooms). Both were informative and provided engaging material as a quick prep for the show.
• I got my seat as a rush ticket just under an hour before showtime. When I tried for rush tickets soon after the box office opened earlier in the day, I was told that there were none left. Not sure how common it is for additional rush tickets to be released later in the day, but clearly my experience shows that it's worth checking! 

[yyys]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 6:29am

Lea Salonga had COVID and won't be back until tomorrow 8/8.

[BdwyFan]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 6:49am

We also got rush 10 minutes before the performance. $35. On the floor. 

[Voter]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 8:54am

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Did they ever put the live musicians in?"

Only percussionists towards the end of the show. Which is a shame, because that score would’ve been beautiful live (and help situations where the actors may get off with the track&hellip

honestly? There’s no room backstage for a full orchestra or even partial. The drummers really wait in the green room until the last 20 mins or so

[Voter]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 8:55am

OMG U Guyz said: "Because she was in the show on opening night she’s eligible."

Makes sense but she’s been gone for a week with a stint that’s done in 2. Majority of nominators and voters will have missed her performance, making her ineligible if they missed her performance to vote for her. Tony voters are booking tix through the fall …

[Voter]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 8:58am

While I’m thinking about it, another question:

i was taught that if you were non-eq and hopped into a show as an emergency cover (see TOACM last perf in 2021), you must now join equity

how does that work with bringing the audience onstage? I’d assume equity granted a waiver of sorts, but I had the question in my mind when I saw the show the other day

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 9:02am

Voter said: "OMG U Guyz said: "Because she was in the show on opening night she’s eligible."

Makes sense but she’s been gone for a week with a stint that’s done in 2. Majority of nominators and voters will have missed her performance, making her ineligible if they missed her performance to vote for her. Tony voters are booking tix through the fall …"

My [baseless] assumption has always been that Lea will return to HLL after the Sondheim piece is done in London. At least for like...March to May.

She was in during press nights, which is when the majority of Tony nominators attend. As for the voters, shows that open this early in the season usually extend Tony voter invites a second time in the spring closer to the awards (even HAMILTON did this).

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 9:05am

Voter said: "i was taught that if you were non-eq and hopped into a show as an emergency cover (see TOACM last perf in 2021), you must now join equity
how does that work with bringing the audience onstage? I’d assume equity granted a waiver of sorts, but I had the question in my mind when I saw the show the other day"

?

The audience is not performing and is not being paid. There have been many shows throughout Bway history that have audience seated onstage, and while that causes certain complications related to traffic flow or liability, AEA status is a moot point.

[DearTheodosia]

Posted: 8/7/23 at 9:22am

Voter said: "BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Did they ever put the live musicians in?"

Only percussionists towards the end of the show. Which is a shame, because that score would’ve been beautiful live (and help situations where the actors may get off with the track&hellip

honestly? There’s no room backstage for a full orchestra or even partial. The drummers really wait in the green room until the last 20 mins or so"

After seeing the show last week, I listened to the off-Broadway album. IMO, the music is much more effective with the instrumentation heard on the album. I wish that they had planned for live musicians on Broadway from the beginning- it would have been a better show.