The Imelda Marcos musical, written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim is coming to Broadway. I’m excited about it, but it’s a surprise, to say the least.
Is it a sin to love too much?
Is it a sin to care?
I do it all for you
How can it be unfair?
I saw Here Lies Love at the Public Theater in 2014, and it was one of my favorite experiences in New York. The theater was a big box with multiple stages. The audience stood, for the whole show, in 4 sections. Occasionally, our sections were corralled from one corner of the room to the next. It was wild. Who does that? But this gave the audience the opportunity to have all vantage points and experience the show is different ways. (Julia Louis-Dreyfus was in our section. Fun!)
I saw this on the same trip as Hamilton, and it’s certainly not that, but I found the show engaging, FUN and memorable. There are some funny moments, some sad moments. Spoiler alert, the end is maybe a tad bit heavy-handed.
Musically, I felt that the songs aren’t quite as amazing as the promise of Byrne + Fatboy, but they have grown on me over time. I feel that David Byrne’s songwriting is great, as always. Fatboy Slim, who handled the beats and sounds, made some… choices.
I was first introduced to the music through the all-star concept album. Here’s a clip of Florence Welch singing the title song.
It’s a quirky show. I’m curious to see what will happen to it on Broadway. According to the New York Times, the show will be sticking with the standing-in-sections format. I love that there is still room on Broadway for experimental theater.
The producers said in a statement that they planned to “transform the venue’s traditional proscenium floor space into a dance club environment, where audiences will stand and move with the actors,” but promised that “a wide variety of standing and seating options will be available.”
Here Lies Love opens at the Broadway Theater July 20th, 2023.