This past summer I was curious to attend the recent Broadway musical directed by David Byrne on the rise and fall of the infamous First Lady, Imelda Marcos of the Philippines, titled “Here Lies Love”. The musical steps away from the usual typical stage show as the entire theater is converted into a nightclub scene with the audience becoming part of the show. Here is my take on the show….

First, David Byrne, best known as lead vocalist of the Talking Heads pop band, is a musical genius, continuously evolving as a performer in just about every genre you can think of whether it be film, theater, television, concerts you name it. I’m always amazed at how versatile he is, and how uniquely different his music and performances are from each other. There’s something quirky and nerdy, yet brilliant about David Byrne.

Recently, I came across a talk show where David (now in his 60s) is interviewed about this new musical he created based on Imelda Marcos’ life. He remembers learning about her love for disco music and nightclubbing. (A committed disco party queen while the people of her country starved). It led him to think about reconstructing a theatre stage to resemble that of a disco nightclub to tell this story. I was quite intrigued with how he would narrate this story about the Marcos’ autocratic reign when recently their son just became president of the Philippines. Only way to find out was to go see the show.

Here’s what I like and didn’t like about this unique musical experience

Let’s start with the stage. I have never been in a theater where 800 of its seats were removed in order to create a stage with moving platforms for the actors to perform underneath a huge disco ball. This radical stage reconstruction allows the audience to be immersed in the actual musical, much like you would experience in a disco nightclub. For those who didn’t want to stand for 90 minutes, there were seats on the upper level. I chose to be seated, although it probably would’ve been more fun to join the stage. If you decide to see the show, I highly recommend you consider it.

Another aspect about the way the stage was built was how these moving stage platforms work around the audience, allowing for different musical performances to take place directly engaging with the audience. I also like the how the walls were used as movie screens to continuously project newsreels of the Marcos’ troubles and the island turmoil in sync with the performances. It offered interesting historical moments to the performances, which I found fascinating. Although, the musical is not a complete picture of their entire lives.

The performers were all Asian, which made it more authentic since this was about the history of the Philippines.

The music created by both David and Fat Boy Slim was a combination of rock, pop, punk, R&B with some Broadway thrown in. It was a bit too much as I didn’t find the lyrics resonating as much with me.

You learn a lot about who Imelda was as a young woman and the fact that she once dated her nemesis Benigno Aquino when they were young (he kinda dumped her).

Nothing was mentioned regarding her 1,000+ shoe collection????. Although there were numerous photos of Imelda at Studio 54 during its heyday.

What’s not clear is who really killed Aquino? You have to make your best guess.

Overall, I enjoyed the play giving it four stars. I especially like the historical aspect of this musical at a time when the Philippines continue to experience autocratic leaders. Now, with the recent election of Marcos’s son who is married to the former dictator’s daughter, it’s hard to say what is next for the Philippines.  The same can be said of the US and its MAGA leaders. Clearly, a bit of irony for both countries as democracy remains fragile and under pressure to survive.

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