![]() ![]() Others who seem more worthy of sympathy include the unseen dead victims of the Marcos’ mostly unspecified crimes, and the Aquinos - Ricamora’s speak-truth-to-power Ninoy, and his mother, Aurora, played in an arresting 11-o’clock cameo by Lea Salonga (a co-producer on the show and Tony winner for “Miss Saigon”), delivering a haunting ode to her assassinated son. Jacobs gives a lovely performance as Imelda, but does not compensate in charisma what the role lacks in depth. But “Here Lies Love” banks on brevity and formal innovation, forgoing scripted scenes at the expense of factual details and character development. ![]() There’s a precedent in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita” for giving a dictator’s wife the pop-rock treatment. If there is a censorious edge to the show’s depiction of Imelda, it’s tough to discern through the wistful, rose-tinted lens it applies to her coming of age and its trippy, kaleidoscopic treatment of her rise to power. The pair’s duplicity and alleged wrongdoings are distilled into mere headlines, in projection design by Peter Nigrini. But the Marcos’ words have been artfully assembled here without a coherent or critical point of view about their politics or public personas. According to the script, many of the show’s lyrics are drawn from its historical figures’ public remarks. Though their dynamic musicianship is undeniable, it’s hardly clear what the creators make of the Marcos’ fraught legacy. The ingenuity that Bryne demonstrated in “ American Utopia,” an astute compilation of existing hits into a treatise on democracy, is unevenly expressed here. Despite sporadic accompaniment by hand-held drums and an acoustic finale, the score’s sizzle and innovation feel dampened and held at distance, even at rock-concert volume. Still, the show suffers from its decision to forgo live instrumentals for recorded tracks, a move that sparked controversy and a compromise with the musicians’ union. Those not already gyrating around the orchestra may welcome occasional commands from the hype man and DJ (Moses Villarama) to rise up and raise the roof. (A historical overview inserted in the program serves as a thorough plot summary.)īyrne and Fatboy Slim’s sung-through score is the star of the 90-minute production, a hypnotic churn of synth beats, funky rhythms and pop momentum that aims squarely for the pelvis. ![]() A small-town beauty queen with an eager heart, Imelda heads to Manila, where she has a brief fling with the future opposition leader Ninoy Aquino (Conrad Ricamora, on charm offensive) before being swept into a rapid engagement to the young senator Marcos (Jose Llana, all simmer and swagger), eventually adding a touch of elegance to his presidential campaign. Imelda’s affection for beauty and love are espoused early in the score (which features additional music by Tom Gandey and José Luis Pardo), in anthems suffused with romantic nostalgia. Discotheque lighting by Justin Townsend is a whirligig of Barbie-pinks and tropical blues. Second-level seating offers a ringside view for the first few rows, though audiences in the cavernous rear mezzanine are far flung, especially from the recessed proscenium. Ground-floor seats have been removed in David Korins’ total-makeover set design patrons who opt to stay on their feet maneuver around a rotating, cross-shaped runway that ferries actors between peripheral platforms. No wonder the production, directed by Alex Timbers (“Moulin Rouge”), is such an extreme sensory feat, unlike any attempted before on Broadway. She is rather a high-gloss glamazon in a vibrant, infectious and surface-skimming summation of Philippine history - one that distracts from disturbing details with seductive beats and eye-popping dazzle. To the show’s American audiences, many of whom may be learning of the Marcos’ regime for the first time, the character of Imelda (played by Arielle Jacobs) is not a power-hungry, multidimensional world leader. ![]()
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