‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Arielle Jacobs & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

HERE LIES LOVE
Concept, music & lyrics by David Byrne
Music by Fatboy Slim
Developed & directed by Alex Timbers
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street
(212-239-6200), www.HereLiesLoveBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Sitting through Here Lies Love, one cannot help but see the parallel lives of Eva Peron in Evita—which coincidentally also played at this same theatre—and Imelda Marcos (Arielle Jacobs) in this musical. They both started with poor origins, became working women, married men who sought power, and they both were the women who stood behind their men and got them to the top. And yes, they were both corrupt and landed their countries into poverty while they both enriched themselves through greed. Imelda did to the Philippines what Eva did to Argentina, and both were “High Flying Adored” by their countrymen—to quote a great song title from Evita.

The similarities end here. Whereas Evita was a cohesive musical with a brilliant, straightforward narrative and score, Here Lies Love is literally all over the place. I mean it; it plays all around and through the Broadway Theatre. The orchestra section has been gutted out, and you have an empty dance floor with a runway jutting out through the middle of the theatre. The runway has a life of its own and revolves all around the floor, thus making the audience move around the theatre with it. For some strange reason, the creators of Here Lies Love felt it should be an interactive musical. If you have a bad back or can’t stand for 90 minutes, I suggest you sit in the front mezzanine. Even the people who are in the mezzanine or balcony are not immune to all this interaction; they are brought in to join in the revelry and made to stand up and participate in some dance moves on two separate occasions.

After all, this is a David Byrne musical, and like his Broadway concert mega-hit American Utopia, he wants the audience to participate and be part of the experience. Truth be told, he has captured the essence of Imelda Marcos and added a layer of theatricality to her. This layer is in large part due to the direction of Alex Timbers who made it possible to have Imelda presented as a theatrical extravaganza. All you have to do is remember Mr. Timbers’ Moulin Rouge and Beetlejuice and you know the excesses that he can present.

When so much is going on all around you, through sound effects, projections, a giant disco ball, glowing neon lights, a DJ, even helicopter sounds airlifting the Marcos, it is difficult to concentrate on the performances. Arielle Jacobs does a valiant and admirable job of capturing Imelda’s essence, and her voice is powerful. Jose Llana as Marcos isn’t given much to make him interesting amidst all the goings on. However, Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino manages to break from all the noise around him and give an excellent performance as Imelda’s first love and her political rival. Alas, Lea Salonga has a very small part near the end, as Aurora Aquino, Ninoy’s mother, singing the haunting “Just Ask the Flowers.” Ms. Salonga is still in splendid form and voice.

Here Lies Love is one of those musicals that one cannot just label as “gimmicky.” It all depends on whether you’re into the gimmick of audience participation or not.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 27, 2023
Reviewed at July 26, 2023 press performance.

‘HERE LIES LOVE’ Lea Salonga & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Conrad Ricamora. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Conrad Ricamora (left) & Arielle Jacobs (right) & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Arielle Jacobs, Jose Llana & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: The cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

The post ‘Here Lies Love’: Interactive Marcos muscial appeared first on StageZine.

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: David Byrne (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA
Performed by David Byrne & cast
Production consultant Alex Timbers
Choreography & musical staging by Annie-B Parson
St. James Theatre
246 West 44th Street
(877) 250-2929, https://americanutopiabroadway.com/

Editor’s note: This review is from the 2019 production at the Hudson Theatre.

By Scott Harrah

Way back in my university days, there were many “cool” musicians that students at my large Midwestern college admired. However, there was one guy in particular everybody loved listening to: David Byrne of the Talking Heads. He was artsy, edgy and nerdy enough to appeal to the “left-wing liberals” I worked with on the college newspaper, but mainstream enough to be heard at virtually every party on campus. His videos were on MTV all the time and his songs were all over the radio. Everybody loved David Byrne. With his crazy big suits and David Bowie-style whine of a voice, he was that proverbial man all the girls wanted to be with (or so I was told) and all the guys wanted to be. Fast forward more than three decades later, not much has changed. David Byrne, looking great and in fine voice at age 67, is an indie artist for the masses, starring in one of the hottest shows on Broadway in David Byrne’s American Utopia.

Mr. Byrne still wears the funky suits, as do the other 11 musicians and performers on stage, most in their bare feet. The show opens with Mr. Byrne on a stage surrounding by industrial-looking metal curtains. He’s holding a plastic brain and talking about how babies have more “neural connections” than adults, asking if that means babies might be smarter and if we get “stupider” as we age. The stage is bare but what happens over the next 100 minutes is consistently amazing, inspiring and upbeat.

The 11 performers seen and heard with Mr. Byrne include a guitarist, a bassist, two singers who double as dancers, and a variety of percussionists. With clever, innovative and razor-sharp choreography and musical staging by Annie-B Parson, Byrne and company constantly move, with some singing while others play instruments. The show is based on a 2018 album of the same name and, although many of the songs will be unfamiliar to most, it doesn’t matter because American Utopia is all about the experience of seeing 12 people, Byrne included, performing live music without any prerecorded tracks. He even includes a short speech about how everything in the show is live when he introduces his performers.

Mr. Byrne truly delivers when he performs his biggest hits, including “Once in a Lifetime,” “Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)” and the iconic “Burning Down the House.” He encourages people to get up and dance if they want, despite what fire marshals would say. At the performance I attended, audience members were bopping, clapping and singing along to “Burning Down the House,”a cherished golden oldie and his signature song.

Politics also play a role in the show. A native of Scotland who naturalized as a U.S. citizen years ago, Mr. Byrne says he appreciates immigrants and notes many of his cast are from all over the world. He also discusses working to help register voters in North Carolina in 2016. He notes that the average age of voters in the last election was 57 and most will be dead before the full effects of climate change wreak havoc. He explains that voter registration workers are camped out in the lobby of the Hudson Theatre and can register anyone in any state. In addition, he shines a spotlight on part of the audience, in the orchestra, mezzanine and balcony and states that this is 20 percent of the audience and in local elections, only an average of 20 percent vote. By avoiding voting, people are letting only a fraction of the public decide their fate, he notes. It is a chilling thought but also underscores the zeal and faith Mr. Byrne obviously has regarding today’s youth and their ability to make a difference.

Politics are also part of a cover Mr. Byrne does of Janelle Monae’s song “Hell You Talmbout” for which he said he had to get permission from the artist because he wasn’t sure she wanted a “white man of a certain age” singing the tune, a protest anthem that mentions famous victims of racist violence from Trayvon Martin to Eric Garner. For some reason, Mr. Byrne did not include his classic hit “Psycho Killer,” possibly due to all the mass shootings in America lately, and he knows gun control is such a divisive issue and might make the evening too heavy-handed.

Overall, American Utopia is a celebration of life and Mr. Byrne’s quirky perspectives about the world. Everyone in the cast is in perfect sync, whether they are dancing, singing or playing instruments, and the collective synergy of Mr. Byrne’s company is mind-blowing. Most of his performers were probably either babies or not even born yet when he was doing all his iconic MTV videos back in the 1980s. In a sense, the show is a tribute to the younger generation, giving them hope in these dark days of America.

For the encore, Mr. Byrne and company do a rousing rendition of the 1985 Talking Heads classic “Road to Nowhere,” but in the dynamic 100 minutes of American Utopia, Mr. Byrne shows us that by believing in ourselves and our nation and voting in leaders who care about the planet and ways to advance us as conscientious human beings, the road to the future does not have to lead to “nowhere.” David Byrne believes Americans all have a chance for a better tomorrow, and that’s a trenchant and encouraging notion everyone needs to know right now.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 1, 2019
Reviewed at October 30, 2019 press performance.

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: (from left to right): Daniel Freedman, Bobby Wooten III, Chris Giarmo, David Byrne (center),Tendayi Kuumba & Stéphane San Juan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: (left to right) Mauro Refosco, David Byrne (center) & Gustavo Di Dalva. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: The company (left) & (right) David Byrne. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: David Byrne (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’ : (from left to right): Jacquelene Acevedo, David Byrne, Mauro Refosco, Chris Giarmo, Angie Swan & Bobby Wooten III. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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