![]() ![]() Salonga, the first Asian woman to win a Tony (in 1991, for “Miss Saigon”) is stepping in as Aurora Aquino, the mother of Benigno Aquino Jr., Ferdinand’s chief political rival, in a guest spot this summer. (The production has a cultural and community liaison, Giselle Töngi, who plans Filipino community events even on regular nights, it attracted attendees who had direct dealings with the Marcos and Aquino clans, organizers said.) ![]() It adds more depth.”Īn untranslated moment when Imelda curses at Ferdinand in Tagalog has gotten a more consistent laugh on Broadway than it ever did downtown, cast members said. “Especially for a Filipino American, it’s best to be on the floor. The experience of being surrounded by the actors as they told this native story was almost surreal - he felt like part of the show - “but it’s also very poignant,” he said. “How do you combine joy with tragedy?” said Alex Timbers, the director, in a joint interview with Ramos.Įlizer Caballero, a fan who came from San Francisco, was practically vibrating with delight as he sang and bopped along to the score. The challenge - engineered by Byrne, who hoped that the nightlife setting would give audiences a taste of the limitlessness of power - is formidable. (Moses Villarama) acts as an emcee.Įvery day, Ramos said, as the creative team worked out the massive lighting rigs and costume transitions, they also asked the question: “Are we looking at history correctly here?” There is no book the action is driven by Byrne’s soaring tunes (with beats by Fatboy Slim) and by the exuberant choreography of Annie-B Parson, Byrne’s frequent collaborator. “If they want to boo Marcos,” Llana said of audiences, “then I think I did my job right.” Jose Llana reprises Ferdinand from the Public his path from charismatic leader to presidential despot is shorter. The narrative framework of the show has not changed: It still harnesses the gloss of a discothèque - as first lady, Imelda was a denizen of Studio 54 - to reflect the Marcoses’ dizzying rise to power, and the glittery allure of privilege and wealth that led the couple to spend their nation into massive debt, to live lavishly as their constituents suffered.Īrielle Jacobs, a new addition to the cast, plays Imelda, whose journey from naïve beauty pageant contestant to sentimental megalomaniac - “Why Don’t You Love Me?” goes a signature song - is the focus of the story. “Having cultural capital from the motherland, but also financial capital from the motherland, it feels like the authorship and ownership of the show are holding hands very tightly. “It only felt responsible, to fully engage with the motherland,” said the costume designer and creative consultant Clint Ramos, a native of Cebu, Philippines, who has worked on the show since its inception. Also new are a cadre of Filipino producers, including the Tony winner Lea Salonga, the Pulitzer-winning writer Jose Antonio Vargas, the comedian Jo Koy and the Grammy-winning musician H.E.R., along with investors from Manila. ![]() But only now has it added a fully Filipino cast - the first-ever on Broadway, organizers say. “Here Lies Love,” which opened to critical raves and sold-out crowds at the Public Theater downtown in 2013, arrives on Broadway after sojourns in London and Seattle, each time expanding its house and fine tuning its immersive staging. ![]()
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