HERE LIES LOVE Reviews — Page 4

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?

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.

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.

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.”

Did they ever put the live musicians in?

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?

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

Nice NYT profile. Gift link.

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!

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

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 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).

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.