![]() Wrote Variety of the Seattle show, “What stands now is a 26-song score that proves needless any concerns about (Byrne’s) ability to transcend his rock idiosyncrasies for a medium demanding more in the way of both formality and variety. By the time the official cast album came out in 2014, Byrne had replaced about a third of the music. “Here Lies Love” was initially unveiled to the public in the form of a 2010 concept album that had artists like Sia, Tori Amos, Florence Welch, Natalie Merchant, Steve Earle, and the late Sharon Jones contributing vocals. … Byrne’s show is undeniably in the tradition of ‘Evita,’ the mother of all royal rags-to-bitches shows, except it’s a lot more fun in the audience-participation telling, before it then - ironically - becomes more serious (than ‘Evita’) about the death toll tallied while dictators and their complicit spouses shake their fascist groove thang.” Variety enthusiastically reviewed the Seattle engagement five years ago, calling the show “one of the more creatively satisfying rock-to-theater crossover projects yet … an immediate destination for anyone with a serious interest in immersive theater, Talking Heads, the underserved intersection of show tunes and club beats, or the whole subgenre of dystopian-diva musicals. ![]() ![]() ![]() The show was staged again in America at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2017. Its biggest staging to date came at London’s Royal National Theatre in 2014. “Here Lies Love” opened at the off-Broadway Public Theatre in 2013 and had a return engagement there in 2014-15. A wide variety of standing and seating options will be available throughout the theater’s reconstructed space, with more details to be announced soon.” The announcement for this production says that “will transform the venue’s traditional proscenium floor space into a dance club environment, where audiences will stand and move with the actors. It seats 1,765, according to the Schubert Organization’s web page for the theater - but how many it will actually “seat” for this show is open for question, given that “Here Lies Love” has heretofore played in settings where an open SRO floor is augmented by a lesser amount of traditional seating on the sides or in a balcony. The 1924-circa Broadway Theatre is one of the most visible pieces of real estate in New York theater, being one of only five Broadway houses that actually sits on the street of that name. I’m thrilled to help break barriers on what has historically been an exclusive stage: Broadway.” While the Asian diaspora can no longer be denied in American popular culture, Filipinas and Filipinos remain woefully outside the spotlight. Said Jose Antonio Vargas, one of the show’s producers, and the founder of the immigration organization Define American: “Filipinos are among the largest immigrant groups in America –– and also among the most invisible culturally, despite the two nations’ shared colonial histories. The strong involvement of Filipinos at all levels has proven key in engaging that community in previous productions, especially given the controversial subject matter, the oppressive regime led by Ferdinand Marcos and his wife for decades before they were finally driven from power in the 1980s. Ramos is also one of the many Filipino creative team members, reflecting to a large extent behind the scenes what will be visible on stage, as all of the principal roles in “Here Lies Love” are Filipino (although no actors have been announced, casting is likely to proceed accordingly, as it has in other productions). Much of the team that has been involved with the show in prior productions will return, including Tony-winning director Alex Timbers, choreographer Annie-B Parson and Clint Ramos, a Tony winner who has served as designer and a creative director as well as a producer. ![]() Preview performances will begin June 17, with the show’s official opening night set for July 20. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |