HERE LIES LOVE closing November 26- Page 5

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 1:30pm

Wouldn't it have potentially made more sense to have cast Lea Salonga as Imelda? Yes, I understand the character is seen as a gitl in the first few minutes but nothing about the play is naturalistic. I think it could have worked and she would have sold some tickets.

[Wick3]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 2:57pm

Just catching up on here. I’m quite sad it’s closing. Hopefully there will be a cast album?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 3:13pm

TBone said: "bwayphreak234 said: "Full house this afternoon, and great energy! I previously saw the show from the dance floor in previews, but I decided to go back and see it from the mezzanine when I won the digital lottery."

Just curious as to where your lottery seats were?"

Rear mezz row R on a center aisle - perfect seat!

[ren598]

Posted: 11/13/23 at 3:34pm

Wick3 said: "Just catching up on here. I’m quite sad it’s closing. Hopefully there will be a cast album?"

Unlikely, most of this cast is already on the Original 2013 Public Theater Cast Recording including Jose Llana and Conrad Ricomora.  .

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 11/14/23 at 12:40am

Anybody know if Conrad is back this week? Missed him my first time and saw that he was out a bunch last week. Didn't see anything on his social media. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 11/14/23 at 6:54am

He was out on Sunday from what I understand. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/14/23 at 9:33am

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "He was out on Sunday from what I understand."

He was out on Sunday and Aaron Alcaraz was on the whole weekend. His voice has been falling out so he took a few days to try to recuperate. I think he tried to come back Friday, but after that performance, he tapped out for the weekend

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 11/14/23 at 12:18pm

Where lies ''Love''? During its roughly 4-month Broadway run, I've seen interviews with Arielle Jacobs, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora and David Byrne online, but is their ONLY live performance the one they did of the title song on ''Good Morning America''? I heard Arielle and Conrad did ''Opposite Attraction'' on a later hour of ''GMA,'' but can't find it on YouTube. Did I miss any others? I wonder why the cast never got to perform on ''The View'' or any of the late-night talk shows (i.e., Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert), which sometimes showcase Broadway shows. In fact, Jo Koy was on ''The View'' to plug ''Here Lies Love,'' and  ditto, Byrne on Seth Meyers. They each could've easily introduced a number. I also wanted to see MTV-styled videos of whole songs. Yet just more of the show's lost opportunities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGCtZ7HQkOs&t=2s

Updated On: 11/14/23 at 12:18 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 11:07am

Who’s visiting Club Millennium one more time today?

I’m really hoping Dave and Fatboy make it for the end of this monumental chapter in their show’s history. 

 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 11:11am

I hope they work out a way for this to tour. 

[The8re phan]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 11:11am

EDSOSLO858 said: "Who’s visiting Club Millennium one more time today?

I’m really hoping Dave and Fatboy make it for the end of this monumental chapter in their show’s history.

"
REALLY hate to see this close, but can’t miss today’s final performance - will be on the dance floor 

 

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 11:41am

Going on the dance floor this afternoon, fan in hand and ready to throw down on the dance floor.

I can’t imagine that David Byrne would skip closing. He’s been there roughly once a week since it opened and I saw him at Vina Morales’ final performance. I also could probably count on seeing Georgina Pazcoguin (the “Rogue Ballerina” and one of the producers) being there since I’ve seen her there almost every time I’ve gone.

[binau]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 11:49am

I can just feel that this is going to be such a cool closing, especially for those on the dance floor! 

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 1:16pm

Hope the producers have learned a valuable lesson. 
hope other producers take notes 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 1:52pm

To Quizking101 and anyone else who's catching the final show: Please give us a full report. You'll have to stand in for those of us who can't make it and loved ''Here Lies Love'' so much. Since I last posted on this thread, it's been, well, ''11 Days,'' but I've been surprised there haven't been any reports here about its closing week. Just a final bravo to the brilliant cast, creative team and crew. Seeing ''Here Lies Love'' again (and again), on Broadway and Off-Broadway, has been one of the greatest joys of my theatergoing days. 

And this just appeared yesterday at NPR.com: Lewis M. Simons, who won a Pulitzer Prize for covering the Marcoses, saw the show and says: ''I loved 'Here Lies Love.' ''

 https://www.npr.org/2023/11/25/1206230028/here-lies-love-imelda-marcos-broadway-philippines

Updated On: 11/26/23 at 01:52 PM

[bear88]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 2:09pm

DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "Hope the producers have learned a valuable lesson.
hope other producers take notes"

Serious questions: What lessons should the producers have learned, and what should the producers of future new musicals learn?

I can think of mistakes I think the producers made, but the truth is that I don’t think any of it would have mattered. My wife and I enjoyed the musical, and it was the sort of ambitious show I want to see on Broadway. Is the lesson: Don’t try that? Because that would be sad, and rather depressing for the future of live theater.

[BOM]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 5:29pm

Audience was electric tonight. I did see David Byrne standing at the back of the dance floor at one point. No speeches or anything like that. 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 6:50pm

DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "Hope the producers have learned a valuable lesson.
hope other producers take notes"

Respectfully this is not the slay you think it is

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 6:50pm

bear88 said: "DrMonicaDeMoneco said: "Hope the producers have learned a valuable lesson.
hope other producers take notes"

Serious questions: What lessons should the producers have learned, and what should the producers of future new musicals learn?

I can think of mistakes I think the producers made, but the truth is that I don’t think any of it would have mattered. My wife and I enjoyed the musical, and it was the sort of ambitious show I want to see on Broadway. Is the lesson: Don’t try that? Because that would be sad, and rather depressing for the future of live theater."

I think the marketing for this was really, really poor at defining exactly what the experience was going to be, so there were a lot of basic questions about the show that went unanswered. Is there a plot? Dialogue? Outstanding choreography? What about it is immersive? Do I have to stand? If I don't stand, am I missing out? Etc, etc. Obviously, you can find these things out with some basic research, but what was essentially communicated was just "you're in a nightclub with Imelda Marcos" and I'm not sure if that's must-see concept for a lot of people.

Updated On: 11/26/23 at 06:50 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 7:13pm

Charley Kringas Inc said: "bear88 said:  can think of mistakes I think the producers made, but the truth is that I don’t think any of it would have mattered. My wife and I enjoyed the musical, and it was the sort of ambitious show I want to see on Broadway. Is the lesson: Don’t try that? Because that would be sad, and rather depressing for the future of live theater."

I think the marketing for this was really, really poor at defining exactly what the experience was going to be, so there were a lot of basic questions about the show that went unanswered. Is there a plot? Dialogue? Outstanding choreography? What about it is immersive? Do I have to stand? If I don't stand, am I missing out? Etc, etc. Obviously, you can find these things out with some basic research, but what was essentially communicated was just "you're in a nightclub with Imelda Marcos" and I'm not sure if that's must-see concept for a lot of people."


I think both these things can be true: It probably wouldn't have fared better with other producers BUT the communication surrounding the immersiveness, story, and tone was unsuccessfully navigated. You could blame the agencies (RPM and Boneau-Bryan-Brown), but this really all falls on the producers who are leading those teams. And when there's a committee of 6 lead producers on the top line of the playbill, that's a great recipe for failure because the decisions are being made by groupthink, and there seemed to be so much tiptoeing around certain elements.

Updated On: 11/26/23 at 07:13 PM

[quizking101]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 7:38pm

As stated, tonight was ELECTRIC. From the first beat of “American Troglodyte”, all of us on the dance floor were locked, loaded, and PRESENT - since most of us were already fans of the show. We were cheering, screaming, dancing like it was the last time. I swear - if every night was like how it was tonight, this show could’ve run forever.

David Byrne was indeed there on the dance floor. I was able to ask him to sign my fan and get a picture with him. He’s like your crazy uncle and all you want to do is hang out and be weird with him. My friend and I actually were dancing with him for the first half of the show. Jaygee Macapugay, all the swings, Clint Ramos, DJ CherishTheLuv, Jose Antonio Vargas, Alex Timbers, and Georgina Pazcoguin were all on the dance floor too. 

Arielle held my hands during "Star & Slave" at the back of the dance floor and I got teary and bowed to her. Conrad got so choked up during “Gate 37” that he wasn’t able to get out the last line before Ninoy was killed. That was the moment my tear ducts busted open.

During the finale of “God Draws Straight”, Moses (the DJ) invited the audience to sing along to the chorus of we knew it, and the whole floor was singing along and it was a truly beautiful moment. What was a lovely little surprise is that every single alternate and swing appeared in the finale in costume and the stage and catwalk were filled with the whole cast and that was particularly moving. 

There was no curtain call speech, which bummed me a little bit because I feel like they all had something valuable to say, but maybe the emotions were just too high.

The stage door was always lovely. Every cast member came out and signed and they were just so thankful for everyone who turned up. I made a little keychain for each cast member with their character or headshot on it as a thank you for such a great run and they loved them. They also signed my fan that I bought at “Imelda’s Fire Sale” (which was everything at the merch stand was being sold for half price or less).

Tonight should not have been the end of this, but I hope they will bring it back again in a future capacity.

Updated On: 11/26/23 at 07:38 PM

[yyys]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 8:14pm

Perhaps it was 10 years too late.

A friend who went recently said it was too idiosyncratic. Perhaps there's really no market for this on Broadway. Perhaps the producers thought David Byrne would sell tickets based on American Utopia. Maybe it's the curse of the Broadway Theater.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 8:20pm

I still think the majority of the Broadway audience didn't want to stand for a Bway show. This should have played off-Broadway and ran for years!!

Updated On: 11/27/23 at 08:20 PM

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

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

yyys said: "Perhaps it was 10 years too late.

A friend who went recently said it was too idiosyncratic. Perhaps there's really no market for this on Broadway. Perhaps the producers thought David Byrne would sell tickets based on American Utopia. Maybe it's the curse of the Broadway Theater."

Agreed.

Too idiosyncratic.

They made a bunch of missteps that have been rehashed here over and over again:

- Thinking there was an sustainable audience for the show

-Opening 10 years too late

-Remodeling costs

-Opening in one of the largest and hardest theatres to fill

-Not hiring musicians (Ridiculous excuses, dragging their feet, pissing off Local 802, and other unions)

-poor marketing (what marketing?)

-Not using David Byrne to their advantage 

- realizing their missteps too late to save the show

It’s a shame 

[NYCtheaterguy]

Posted: 11/26/23 at 9:02pm

I was at the closing performance too and don't have much to add to quizking101's wonderful overview except a few points:

- the audience crying started around 15 min from the end and someone brought a box of tissues and passed it around (how did they get it past the watchful ushers?)

- Unless I just never noticed it before, at the beginning of Eleven Days, ensemble members got to shout out various lines like "what you drinking' baby girl?"

- the dance floor was uncomfortably packed.  In addition to the producers and cast members on the floor mentioned by quizking101 - some of whom may certainly have purchased a ticket - I saw someone duck in from the left-side cast entrance and quietly thank/greet a pink jumpsuited helper, and I spotted both merch people there too. Also many people with lanyards. During the final 1/3 there was a lot less space near the front stage and for moments my arms were touching that of neighbors and you couldn't really move around.  Part of it might have been that many people didn't follow the DJ's entreaties to get on the back platform as everyone wanted to stay up close for the final numbers and curtain call.  But it meant when they need to pull Aurora on the large platform we all had to squeeze together with great difficulty to make room. Thankfully no on panicked.

- we got miniature disco ball ornaments after the show.

It was disappointing there was no curtain call speech.  With so many producers surely one could have said some words about this fantastic, groundbreaking show? Or David Byrne?