Staged by Tony Award-nominated Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Peter and the Starcatcher director Alex Timers, the immersive, 90-minute production opened to acclaim April 23. It has extended four times.
There have been reports that the New York production will live on in a new venue following the Public run. A representative for the Public previously told Playbill.com that there were no definite plans in place for a New York transfer, but the Public was in discussions about a possible future life for the musical. The New York Times first reported that Public artistic director Oskar Eustis was in talks with commercial producers about a potential transfer.
The Daily Mail now reports that the musical based on the rise and fall of Filipino political leaders Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos will play the National Theatre's Dorfman Theatre in June or July of next year. The Daily Mail states that formal negotiations between London's National and the Public are currently underway.
The Dorfman, formerly the Cottlesoe, is currently being renovated. The musical requires a non-conventional playing space capable of housing multiple moving platforms which swirl about the audience.
Here Lies Love, which centers around the shoe-obsessed First Lady of the Philippines, encourages audiences to wear a comfortable pair of their own footwear for the performance. Set within a dance-club atmosphere, theatregoers stand and move with the actors for the duration of the show. Dancing is also encouraged. Read what critics thought about Here Lies Love in The Verdict, Playbill.com's new feature that puts all the reviews at your fingertips.
Ruthie Ann Miles (Avenue Q, Band Geeks) and Jose Llana (Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song) co-star as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos, respectively. The cast also features Renee Albulario, Melody Butiu, Natalie Cortez, Debralee Daco, Joshua Dela Cruz, Kelvin Moon Loh, Jeigh Madjus, Ruthie Ann Miles, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Conrad Ricamora, Trevor Salter and Janelle Velasquez.
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.
For tickets phone (212) 967-7555, or visit PublicTheater. The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street in Manhattan.
