Posted: 8/24/23 at 7:09am
I saw this the other day. I love immersive theater but this didn’t hit the mark.
Crowds like to flow naturally, not be pushed around.
Posted: 8/24/23 at 11:20am
EDSOSLO858 said: "" +1 for you. I highly appreciated.
Posted: 8/31/23 at 1:07am
Saw it for the second time tonight.
First time I saw it was in the VIP box but I enjoyed it a lot.
Saw it standing tonight and thought it was so unreal. An imperfect musical but such a mesmerizing production. I enjoyed the music a lot more the second time as well - not that I didn't enjoy it the first time.
Arielle Jacobs is really doing incredible work. Her in the beginning of the show is unrecognizable to who she is at the end. Brava! Get her back in Wicked eventually to do a stint as Elphaba please.
Really wish I had better words to describe it but it just left me so excited about theatre and reminded me how good of a director Alex Timbers is.
I don't really understand how people think this show glorifies the Marcos. Granted I am not Filipino but not knowing much about them before this show, I left thinking about how evil they were.
Posted: 8/31/23 at 2:30am
starlightlocamotion said: "Relieved they reworked the post bows finale."
Saw this again tonight and was surprised about the new post-bow music. I love the new medley! OI wish they thought of this earlier. Hopefully it will be in the new cast recording (if one is planned).
Updated On: 9/1/23 at 02:30 AM
Posted: 9/2/23 at 2:04am
Second time at Club Millennium tonight, another wonderful experience, this time from the VIP lounge. Renée Albulario was on for Dovie as Carol Angeli took on Estrella and delivered a splendid "When She Passed By."
Show remains incredible — honestly could just be 90 mins of Jacobs and Llana in their swim trunks and I'd still probably be amused. I noticed some new video projections, most of which worked.
Comfy seating in the lounge but I couldn't see some of the floorside action and anything in the mezzanine and the DJ booth; those moments were screened for us. Moses came over about 10 mins before the show started and said a quick hi. Got to go on the dance floor for the final 15 mins of the musical ("Gate 37" until the end).
The DJ's remarks leading into "God Draws Straight" are slightly different compared to early in previews, and better IMO:
As of 7/2: Today, history repeats itself: Imelda's son is now President of the Philippines. We can all be easily seduced by shiny things. These are the actual words of the participants of the 1986 People Power Revolution.
Final version: Today, history repeats itself: Imelda's son is now President of the Philippines. Here in America — and all over the world — democracies are under threat. Democracies are only as strong as the people. These are the actual words of the participants of the 1986 People Power Revolution.
"God Draws Straight" sounds more complete with the expanded instrumentation. I also took a liking to the new curtain call medley.
Stage door wasn't packed, and everyone on stage today came out and signed except for Albulario and Geena Quintos. Nice and quick like last time. They were all pumped from Fatboy; nothing yet on a potential OBCR.
Updated On: 9/2/23 at 02:04 AM
Posted: 9/7/23 at 4:24pm
I don't usually ask for seating advice, but the staging here is so unique, I was looking for input.
I know I do NOT want standing seats, and I also want reasonable priced tix (I'm using code HLRISE - but if someone has another that would be great.
I was wondering what row G of the Mezz....off to either side are like. For perspective, Row G is the first row after the aisle break in the mezz. The seats to the side (the last 4 of the row on either side) are only 100 bucks...but I don't want to sit there if we're going to feel to removed.
Looking for any and all advice. TIA
Posted: 9/7/23 at 6:39pm
dramamama611 said: "I don't usually ask for seating advice, but the staging here is so unique, I was looking for input.
I know I do NOT want standing seats, and I also want reasonable priced tix (I'm using code HLRISE - but if someone has another that would be great.
I was wondering what row G of the Mezz....off to either side are like. For perspective, Row G is the first row after the aisle break in the mezz. The seats to the side (the last 4 of the row on either side) are only 100 bucks...but I don't want to sit there if we're going to feel to removed.
Looking for any and all advice. TIA"
Definitely sit towards the center of the mezz even if that means going a few rows back. The stage is very deep and narrow, and you will have a better vantage point and experience of immersion in the middle.
That said, they try and make every seat feel a part of the action. If you do pick a side, go with house right.
Posted: 9/7/23 at 7:18pm
Seeing this tonight,
floor seats.
will report back
Posted: 9/13/23 at 3:04am
Video of "Here Lies Love's'' new medley at curtain call ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzDYqAkZSFQ
Posted: 9/20/23 at 4:09am
dramamama611 said: "I don't usually ask for seating advice, but the staging here is so unique, I was looking for input.
I know I do NOT want standing seats, and I also want reasonable priced tix (I'm using code HLRISE - but if someone has another that would be great.
I was wondering what row G of the Mezz....off to either side are like. For perspective, Row G is the first row after the aisle break in the mezz. The seats to the side (the last 4 of the row on either side) are only 100 bucks...but I don't want to sit there if we're going to feel to removed.
Looking for any and all advice. TIA"
I think you should be fine. I got rush tickets and was further back than you would be. Between the video screens and the action all around, I didn’t feel nearly as removed as I thought I might.
It’s a flawed show, in my view, but well worth seeing.
Posted: 9/21/23 at 10:34pm
They actually restored the reprise of the title song for the curtain call? Like they did at the Public? And the cast and creators are still sticking to their talking points that they’re not glorifying a plundering murderess?
When I saw the Public production in 2015, there was some credence to HLL being a cautionary tale. But 8 years later, intervening events such as the rise of autocrats including Rodrigo Duterte, a Marcos crony as well as a murderer, the release of the must-see documentary THE KING MAKER in which Imelda Marcos all but admits her corruption (she tells the interviewer that she did not want her son to work in any other field besides politics because in her delusional opinion, politics is where you make real money - the concept of the humble public servant is nonexistent in her putrid mind), and her son was elected president without ever apologizing and taking responsibility for his and his family’s misdeeds. The show is no longer a cautionary tale. Instead, it is a painful reminder that Filipinos have not learned their lesson and are seemingly doomed to repeat their mistakes of electing corrupt men as presidents.
I saw the current production twice to give it a fair shot. The show concluded without any reprises unlike at the Public, which I felt was appropriate because any further cheering on of Imelda is just plain gross. HLL omits many of Imelda’s atrocities, her adultery, and her so-called “relationship” with Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino was merely the subject of gossip and innuendo yet the show treats that “relationship” as if it were an undisputed historical fact.
If you’re dancing to and cheering on Imelda Marcos, that is the ultimate insult to anyone who fought back and died resisting the Marcoses’ tyranny. The show rubs salt in the wounds of those who did all they can to prevent strongmen like Duterte and Marcos’s useless son from holding the highest office in the Republic. HLL is playing Broadway partly because it appears relevant due to the timing of the relatively recent election of Marcos’s son into office. But make no mistake: Lea Salonga and her fellow producers are exploiting the suffering of millions caused by Imelda’s and her family’s actions while dancing and singing all the way to the bank.
Posted: 9/22/23 at 1:55pm
I saw last Sunday’s matinee. I rushed one hour before curtain and we got great gallery seats . The show was meh. But worth a rush ticket for..Also;I think what they did to the theater is an abomination. Hopefully it gets restored. That theater has tons of history for me.
Updated On: 9/22/23 at 01:55 PM
Posted: 9/22/23 at 6:29pm
jsg03jd said: "…
If you’re dancing to and cheering on Imelda Marcos, that is the ultimate insult to anyone who fought back and died resisting the Marcoses’ tyranny. The show rubs salt in the wounds of those who did all they can to prevent strongmen like Duterte and Marcos’s useless son from holding the highest office in the Republic. HLL is playing Broadway partly because it appears relevant due to the timing of the relatively recent election of Marcos’s son into office. But make no mistake: Lea Salonga and her fellow producers are exploiting the suffering of millions caused by Imelda’s and her family’s actions while dancing and singing all the way to the bank."
Bravo!
I play tennis in CA with a group of Filipinos. The other day I told one of them about HLL. He has a civil engineering degree from the Philippines, went far out of his way for years to transport his three children to the best public education program in our area (IB), and generously encourages my feeble tennis. He knows exactly what Marcos did and completely supports him. He believes only a strong dictator can govern the Philippines. (That was the reason Nixon gave for approving Marcos’ request for support in establishing martial law.)
Has anyone noticed Filipinos cheering at seemingly inappropriate moments during the show. If so, it may be because they consider the murders and tortures of their countrymen to be features, not bugs. HLL is a show for:
Americans ignorant of the role their own country has played in the 20th century in bringing the Philippines to this dystopia, and
Filipino fascists in the diaspora.
Posted: 9/22/23 at 10:37pm
The show will perform on Good Morning America and GMA3 this Thursday.
Did anyone see Vina Morales’s first performance as Aurora tonight?
Posted: 9/22/23 at 11:25pm
EDSOSLO858 said: "The show will perform on Good Morning America and GMA3 this Thursday.
Did anyone see Vina Morales’s first performance as Aurora tonight?"
Are they actually finally performing or just more talking about it?
Posted: 9/22/23 at 11:41pm
jkcohen626 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "The show will perform on Good Morning America and GMA3 this Thursday.
Did anyone see Vina Morales’s first performance as Aurora tonight?"
Are they actually finally performing or just more talking about it?"
It’s an actual performance!
Posted: 9/23/23 at 12:39am
Any word on which numbers will be done on ''GMA''?
I've been waiting for this, especially since it opened July 20.
I also was happy that ''Here Lies Love'' had a full-page ad in last Sunday's N.Y. Times. I only wished that they had identified Arielle Jacobs, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora.
Updated On: 9/23/23 at 12:39 AM
Posted: 9/26/23 at 10:26pm
Juju Chang's wonderful ABC ''Nightline'' feature on ''HLL''
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRf4m9UdexA
Updated On: 9/26/23 at 10:26 PM
Posted: 9/28/23 at 10:31am
Just watched the GMA performance ... I am the biggest HLL fan & want nothing more than for it to succeed. However ... the big talking point of getting people to see this show is the immersive aspect of it all. Why did they not perform from their theatre. I truly don't think that performance is going to give any sort of significant boost. What a missed opportunity. HLL deserves to be seen! sigh.
Posted: 9/28/23 at 11:42am
Arielle Jacobs and the company performing the title song / “Eleven Days” on GMA:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxvTftAuBOy/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I echo the fact this would’ve worked better in their theatre, with invited audience members (and perhaps Moses pumping them up to dance along?).
Posted: 9/28/23 at 11:57am
starlightlocamotion said: "Just watched the GMA performance ... I am the biggest HLL fan & want nothing more than for it to succeed. However ... the big talking point of getting people to see this show is the immersive aspect of it all. Why did they not perform from their theatre. I truly don't think that performance is going to give any sort of significant boost. What a missed opportunity. HLL deserves to be seen! sigh."
Agreed. Couple that with the fact that Arielle…never left her mark the entire time. Not her fault at all - it was some really bad camera blocking
Posted: 9/28/23 at 12:57pm
To its credit, ''Good Morning America'' has interviewed David Byrne, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora in the recent past plugging ''Here Lies Love.'' As far as I can tell, this was the show's first live performance, and Arielle Jacobs looked and sounded wonderful. But I agree: It would've been much better shot at the theater. It's very hard to capture the unique, immersive experience of the show. So why didn't ''GMA'' do that? Was that ''GMA's'' call or the show's?
For a real contrast, I looked up ''Moulin Rouge's'' appearance a few years ago on ''GMA'' on YouTube. That was shot at the Hirschfeld, on its spectacular set, and there was even an invited audience. Robin Roberts gave the segment a big buildup from the ABC studio and then ''tossed'' it to Sam Champion at the theater. (''GMA'' also once did a behind-the-scenes feature on ''Moulin Rouge!,'' showing off the set, with interviews with Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo.) What a pity ''Here Lies Love'' isn't getting the same kind of love!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTbPslvdYa8
Updated On: 9/28/23 at 12:57 PM
Posted: 9/28/23 at 5:04pm
Jacobs and Conrad Ricamora performing “Opposite Attraction” on GMA3:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cxv7Tt5Ppo1/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Posted: 9/28/23 at 7:02pm
As much as I want to see this and know that the immersive vibe will help overall but oof these performances were really flat and lackluster.
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