Here Lies Love and Live Musicians- Page 4

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 12:01pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: 
"People are already causing fake-controversy (I’ve already seen over a dozen “wow they’re glamorizing the family how dare they” posts online by people who haven’t even looked up the plot or listened to a second of the score despite both being available for a decade), and now this is spreading like wildfire. People have also been pointing out the white creatives which is a whole other can of worms. I highly doubt this is the first time there has been negotiations regarding special cases for changing the minimum."

I think it's far from fake controversy. I have seen the original show 4 times, so I know the score and the content of the show. I had no knowledge of the Marcos aside from pop culture and shoe jokes. The producers have made whitewashed statements over the years saying the show doesn't glamorize Imelda and is an indictment of the Marcos regime. That is insulting. It is far from that. That's a total stretch. 

Just like their karaoke comments now seem self-serving and a reach.

Imelda Marcos is an authoritarian dictator with blood, theft, torture and sexual assault on her hands. The family is terrifying. Not my cup of tea for a musical at this time in history. 

 

[pablitonizer]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 12:05pm

This is an interesting topic. I was reading the IG statement they released where they claimed it's not a traditional Broadway show but rather a nightclub experience. Could they get away with that excuse? I wonder if this type of experiences might work better in Vegas instead of Broadway

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 12:22pm

blaxx said: "It's just a bunch of people who realized that removing hundreds of seats from a theater and paying musicians didn't really add up.

So now they think they found a loophole and added a sprinkle of victimization to it for dramatic effect."

That seems to be the long and short of it.

I don't understand why reporting on this mess fails to mention that the Hal Luftig Company is in bankruptcy proceedings. It might not be the whole story but it is certainly a big part of it.

It was reported here in BW back in February.

 

 

 

Updated On: 5/31/23 at 12:22 PM

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 12:22pm

“Not my cup of tea for a musical at this time in history.”

Not your cup of tea but you saw it four times? Which is it, Bettyboy72. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 12:32pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "“Not my cup of tea for a musical at this time in history.”

Not your cup of tea but you saw it four times? Which is it, Bettyboy72."

Did you read what I wrote? Apparently not. I saw the ORIGINAL production 4x almost 10 years ago now. I liked the music and the cast. 

I was uninformed and blinded by my privilege at that time. I didn't concern myself with the people of the Philippines. I just liked the funky musical. As I wrote, since that time (almost a decade later) I have been educating myself about the Marcos family and the regime. I noted the show is not the best AT THIS TIME IN HISTORY. The Marcos are often compared to the Trumps. It sits differently. I wouldn't support it now. 

I continue to work on myself to be less blind to the suffering of others, work on being a better anti-racist person and challenge myself to do better. That's what this is about for me. 

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 1:14pm

blaxx said: "It's just a bunch of people who realized that removing hundreds of seats from a theater and paying musicians didn't really add up.

So now they think they found a loophole and added a sprinkle of victimization to it for dramatic effect."

1000%

I don't know if this will be the monster hit they think it will be. But, at least there is variety of seating and standing options. Still don't know why they waited a decade to bring this uptown. 

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 3:55pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Strictly out of curiosity - if this is an immersive experience, and they are to have a live band, won’t they then need to install monitors all over the space for the cast to watch for conductor cues? I imagine that would be very distracting and take audiences out of the moment. They’d probably have to restate/block just to get that sorted out.”

Why wouldn’t they be able to get cued in the same way they are going to be with the tracks? 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 9:57pm

pablitonizer said: "This is an interesting topic. I was reading the IG statement they released where they claimed it's not a traditional Broadway show but rather a nightclub experience. Could they get away with that excuse? I wonder if this type of experiences might work better in Vegas instead of Broadway"

People think that about Vegas. But Vegas is a lot of, uh, bigger Americans there to gamble not there for an artistic experience. It wouldn’t work. 
 

i

[kdogg36]

Posted: 5/31/23 at 10:47pm

I'm sympathetic to those who feel the theater minimums may be dated, but the Broadway League negotiated these minimums and should be held to them, unless another agreement can be reached.

If the producers of Here Lies Love truly believe that this show calls for a different esthetic, perhaps they could promise to produce an unnamed musical or two with a large orchestra in the future.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 6/6/23 at 12:07pm

I didn't see this article from yesterday posted.

‘Here Lies Love’ Producers and Union Demanding a Live Orchestra Explain What’s at Stake for Broadway’s Future (EXCLUSIVE)

https://variety.com/2023/legit/news/here-lies-love-dispute-live-musicians-union-filipino-producers-1235632857/

 

I did find one producer's insistence about how important the show is to Filipinos interesting, especially this point:

"The show’s meaning to the Filipino community is one that Vargas and Ramos continually state, in relation to but also apart from the current dispute. Ironically, perhaps, the controversy that was headed off when the show was first produced in the 2010s was whether, as a so-called “disco musical,” it would trivialize or even glorify the Marcos regime. With a historic number of Filipinos ultimately involved in the creative and production teams as well as, obviously, the cast, the danger of the show being misunderstood in that regard seemed to have been happily overcome… only for a wholly different controversy to arise."

 

I'm pretty sure that same controversy is still around... It seems like there are plenty of Filipinos who aren't onboard with this, which makes all his claims of cultural significance questionable (if not tacky).

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/6/23 at 12:34pm

Jose Vargas and Clint Ramos had better be getting big weekly fees to be trotted out for optics purposes by the 3 producers actually pulling the strings (Hal Luftig, Patrick Catullo, Diana DiMenna), the GM firm (Foresight Theatrical/Aaron Lustbader), and the press agent (Adrian Bryan-Brown).

Updated On: 6/6/23 at 12:34 PM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 6/6/23 at 8:13pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Jose Vargas and Clint Ramos had better be getting big weekly fees to be trotted out for optics purposes by the 3 producers actually pulling the strings (Hal Luftig,Patrick Catullo,Diana DiMenna), the GM firm (Foresight Theatrical/Aaron Lustbader), and the press agent (Adrian Bryan-Brown)."

Hal Luftig, He's still producing? He filed for bankruptcy!

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 6/6/23 at 8:32pm

I thought the same thing about Hal a few months ago, but turns out his company filed for bankruptcy rather than him as an individual. I guess they just grow right back…

[Sauja]

Posted: 6/6/23 at 8:48pm

The argument that the show is rooted in karaoke, and that this is a celebration of that art is…wild. It’s been a decade since I saw the show, but to the best of my memory, there are zero references to karaoke—visually, sonically, in the text. It feels like an excuse being trotted out in order to make people feel racist for demanding that live musicians get paid AS GUARANTEED. It’s repugnant and makes me distinctly less interested in the show, even if I AM really curious to see what’s been done to the space.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/6/23 at 11:24pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Jose Vargas and Clint Ramos had better be getting big weekly fees to be trotted out for optics purposes by the 3 producers actually pulling the strings (Hal Luftig,Patrick Catullo,Diana DiMenna), the GM firm (Foresight Theatrical/Aaron Lustbader), and the press agent (Adrian Bryan-Brown)."

It's neither here nor there really, but my understanding is that you've got it backwards, i.e., that Vargas and Ramos were behind this. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/6/23 at 11:40pm

Sauja said: "The argument that the show is rooted in karaoke, and that this is a celebration of that art is…wild. It’s been a decade since I saw the show, but to the best of my memory, there are zero references to karaoke—visually, sonically, in the text."

Sorry, but your memory is playing tricks on you. 

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 12:51am

Hire live musicians. Period. 
If not, move to Terminal 5 like the article said. 
On a side note - whhhhy book the Broadway theatre? It’s massive. Good luck selling tickets

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 12:55am

HogansHero said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Jose Vargas and Clint Ramos had better be getting big weekly fees to be trotted out for optics purposes by the 3 producers actually pulling the strings (Hal Luftig,Patrick Catullo,Diana DiMenna), the GM firm (Foresight Theatrical/Aaron Lustbader), and the press agent (Adrian Bryan-Brown)."

It's neither here nor there really, but my understanding is that you've got it backwards, i.e., that Vargas and Ramos were behind this."

I haven't seen anything about who was involved when and what their specific roles and responsibilities are. However, it seems hasty to me to jump to conclusions that the white producers are somehow using the Filipino producers and not at least consider that the Filipino producers are the ones with the passion for the show, they're willingly working with white producers who have the know-how to bring a show to Broadway, and they're happy to represent the show as the highest "ranked" Filipinos among the whole show. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 1:50am

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-byrne-history-of-union-avoidance_n_647e6c0fe4b0047ed782e1ad

[bear88]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 3:55am

I’m not sure what will matter in this whole saga, but David Byrne’s old quotes about seeking out a right-to-work state for his movie more than three decades ago and then calling it a creative decision really blows a hole in the producers’ whole argument about Here Lies Love.

[DrMonicaDeMoneco]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 8:24am

AGAIN,

HIRE MUSICIANS. PAY THEM. End of story. 
This shouldn’t be up for debate. What next? Oh the actors are going to wear their own clothes and do their own hair so…no need for a costume designer, wig designer, wardrobe, dressers, hair department?? 

[Sauja]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 8:39am

HogansHero said: "Sauja said: "The argument that the show is rooted in karaoke, and that this is a celebration of that art is…wild. It’s been a decade since I saw the show, but to the best of my memory, there are zero references to karaoke—visually, sonically, in the text."

Sorry, but your memory is playing tricks on you. "

Very sincerely, can you refresh my memory? I don’t remember it AT ALL, but a decade is a long time, and I’m genuinely interested.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 9:46am

Sauja said: "HogansHero said: "Sauja said: "The argument that the show is rooted in karaoke, and that this is a celebration of that art is…wild. It’s been a decade since I saw the show, but to the best of my memory, there are zero references to karaoke—visually, sonically, in the text."

Sorry, but your memory is playing tricks on you. "

Very sincerely, can you refresh my memory? I don’t remember it AT ALL, but a decade is a long time, and I’m genuinely interested."

As I alluded to in a post earlier in the thread, I recall the title song using karaoke staging (possibly with some projections of the sort of stock footage you’d see in Asian karaoke lyric videos, can’t really remember) and then the curtain call reprise using it again with lyrics projected on the walls to allow for singing along. But that’s all I remember- hardly enough to say it’s the concept on which the production hinges. And frankly, I think much of the content of the score itself doesn’t line up with this “concept” either. 

Updated On: 6/7/23 at 09:46 AM

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 9:47am

The DJ says something like, “Did you know Filipinos invented karaoke?” in his opening speech.

Characters sometimes use handheld mics but not all the time.

The audience is invited to sing at the curtain call and they display lyrics on the screens.

Those are literally the only moments I could think of that could possibly hint at karaoke. I’ve seen the show multiple times and it’s so vivid in my mind. It was not a conceit of the show back then in my opinion.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/7/23 at 10:06am

Yeah, handheld mics are used a lot- but they never really read as karaoke. They read as singers using handheld mics like they would in a club setting. And I would say that’s the concept that is most successful and obvious about the show: it’s a club setting. 
 

The attempts by the production to spin the complaints as both artistic gatekeeping and culturally insensitive are gross and hollow.