There’s a lot of history to unpack in Here Lies Love, the disco musical about the rise and fall of former Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos: not just the long and winding story of Marcos, but the long and winding story of this show itself. Here Lies Love began as a 2010 concept album with music and lyrics by the Talking Heads’s David Byrne and additional beats by Fatboy Slim. In its 2013 Off Broadway premiere, the audience moved around amid a fully immersive, 360-degree staging; similar productions followed in London and Seattle. When the musical moved to Broadway in 2023, producers spent millions of dollars to radically transform the Broadway Theatre into a gleaming nightclub space.
Here Lies Love’s Los Angeles premiere at the Mark Taper Forum, where it is playing through April 5, is the first attempt to mount the show in a traditional proscenium space. Director Snehal Desai occasionally places actors on platforms within the audience, but that’s very different from the immersion in previous versions. Time Out awarded both the Off Broadway and Broadway productions four stars; theater critic Adam Feldman, reviewing the “sensational” staging of the latter, noted that “audience members—often literally standing in the middle of the action—get swept up in the shifting tides and undertows of history.” In the absence of that dynamic, the storytelling isn’t always strong enough to create a satisfying theater experience.
The L.A. iteration trades the discotheque setting for that of a TV studio filming a “noontime show” based on the popular Filipino variety show Wowowee. We’re introduced to the story by host Imeldific, played by drag performer (and RuPaul’s Drag Race alumna) Aura Mayari. This framing device muddles rather than enhances the story; I spent the first couple of numbers confused about the connection between the conceit and the actual narrative. And though the program includes a glossary of terms relevant to the history and culture of the Philippines, the show expects you to be at least somewhat familiar with Filipino history in advance; there is no dialogue, and the narrative beats can get lost. Video screens above the action provide welcome context, but sometimes seem like crutches.
Where this production really shines is in its all-Filipino cast. Carol Angeli as Imelda’s former friend and Joshua Dela Cruz (of Blue’s Clues) as rival politician Ninoy Aquino give memorable performances, and Reanne Acasio is wonderful as Imelda; she’s onstage for nearly every number, and her singing and stamina are truly impressive. Surprisingly, and perhaps significantly, Imelda is in neither of the two numbers that stand out most for me in the score: the mournful “Just Ask the Flowers” and the finale, “God Draws Straight,” which is made up of real quotes from protesters and in which the video screens are used to their greatest effect. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the peaceful People Power Revolution that overthrew the Marcos regime, yet the play’s warnings about fascism, celebrity, economic inequality and the fragility of democracy seem as relevant as ever. Here Lies Love may present itself as a party, but it packs a sobering punch.
Here Lies Love. Mark Taper Forum. Concept and lyrics by David Byrne. Music by Byrne and Fatboy Slim. Directed by Snehal Desai. With Reanne Acasio, Chris Renfro, Joshua Dela Cruz, Carol Angeli, Joan Almedilla, Sarah Kay, Aura Mayari. Running time: 1hr 30mins. No intermission.
Buy tickets to Here Lies Love: CenterTheatreGroup.org
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