The Verdict: Reviews for Off-Broadway Return of Here Lies Love at the Public Theater | Playbill

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The Verdict The Verdict: Reviews for Off-Broadway Return of Here Lies Love at the Public Theater The open-ended, Off-Broadway commercial run of Here Lies Love, the immersive David Byrne-Fatboy Slim musical about the lives of Filipino leaders Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, officially opened May 1 at its original home, the Public Theater.
Ruthie Ann Miles Photo by Joan Marcus

Tony nominee Alex Timbers (Rocky, Peter and the Starcatcher) stages the 90-minute musical, which centers around the First Lady of the Philippines. The original Public Theater production of Here Lies Love was critically acclaimed and extended four times during its initial run.

Set within a dance-club atmosphere, theatregoers stand and move with the actors for the duration of the show. Here Lies Love began previews April 14 in the LuEsther Theater, where it premeired last year.

Here Lies Love has music by David Byrne of The Talking Heads and DJ Fatboy Slim, with lyrics by Byrne. An Off-Broadway cast album will be released May 6.  

Several media outlets returned to review the remounting. The reviews have been filed, and Playbill.com has collected them for our readers. Playbill.com will continue to update our list as the reviews come in.

AMNY Huffington Post

New York Daily News

New York Times

Read all of the reviews from the 2013 premiere here.

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The new, open-ended commercial run is produced by Joey Parnes and Emursive (Randy Weiner, Arthur Karpati, Jonathan Hochwald).

The cast features original stars Ruthie Ann Miles (Avenue Q, Band Geeks) and Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song) as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, respectively, alongside Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino, with Renee Albulario, Carol Angeli, Billy Bustamante, Melody Butiu, Natalie Cortez, Debralee Daco, Kelvin Moon Loh, Jaygee Macapugay, Jeigh Madjus, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Enrico Rodriguez, Vincent Rodriguez III, George Salazar and Janelle Velasquez.

The production received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical; an Obie Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics; Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music, Lighting Design and Projection Design; and Theatre World Awards for Ruthie Ann Miles (Imelda Marcos) and Conrad Ricamora (Aquino). It was recently nominated for a record 11 Lucille Lortel Awards.

According to the Public, "Within a pulsating dance club atmosphere, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim deconstruct the astonishing journey of Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos retracing her meteoric rise from childhood to her subsequent descent into infamy and disgrace at the end of the People Power Revolution. Here Lies Love is neither a period piece nor a biography, neither a play nor a traditional musical but a wholly immersive theatrical event combining songs influenced by four decades of dance music, adrenaline-fueled choreography, and a remarkable 360-degree scenic and video environment to go beyond Imelda’s near-mythic obsession with shoes and explore the true tragic consequences of power and responsibility."

Here Lies Love has set design by David Korins, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Justin Townsend, sound design by M. L. Dogg and Cody Spencer and projection design by Peter Nigrini. Annie-B Parson is choreographer.

Tickets range from $99-$139. For more info., visit herelieslove.com.

A Look at Imelda Marcos Musical Here Lies Love, by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim

 
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