• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to
  • The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys
  • It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim Musical ‘Here Lies Love’ Returns Off Broadway: REVIEW

Naveen Kumar May 29, 2014

HLL1

BY NAVEEN KUMAR

Despite its subject’s penchant for designer heels, you’ll want to don comfortable footwear for Here Lies Love, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s immersive rock musical about Imelda Marcos, which returned to the Public Theater this month after a successful run there last season. Under the direction of Alex Timbers, the musical-cum-dance party pulses to its unrelenting beat like a well-oiled machine. Warning: If you’re at all uncomfortable throwing your hands in the air like you just don’t care, you’ll get over it.

HLLAdapted from the musicians’ concept album of the same name, the musical tells of the rise and fall of the former Filipina First Lady, from her humble beginnings as a small-town beauty queen to imperious leader and totem of material excess. Whether you’re wild for Imelda or know nothing about her, the show keeps you on your feet (literally), traversing touchstones of her personal and political history with danceable songs that are both emotionally and physically engaging.

More downtown disco than conventional theatre, the room is lined with stages along its perimeter, outfitted with a stellar sound system, a collage of screens and more than a few lasers. In the center, a rotating platform shifts positions throughout, as the story bounds from one corner of the room to the next.

HLL2Byrne and Cook’s visceral, emotionally driven score completes the show’s maximum sensory immersion. Every song tells an essential part of the story, with club beats, clever poetry and an eclectic mix of influences that Talking Heads and Fatboy Slim fans alike will certainly recognize.

Returning to the roles they created in the Public’s 2013 production, the company is uniformly excellent (and likely having the time of their lives). Ruthie Ann Miles is radiant as Imelda (to whom she bears an almost eerie resemblance), transforming from pretty young thing to persona non grata without losing a moment of sympathy. Jose Llana (as President Marcos) and Conrad Ricamora (as Imelda’s former flame and political rival Benigno Aquino) each have a unique matinee idol quality and a magnetism that’s hard to resist.

HLL3While exposing many of her shortcomings and hypocrisies, the musical celebrates Ms. Marcos and the glamour of her opulent lifestyle. Rather than passing judgment or offering a detailed history lesson, the creators are more focused on capturing the former First Lady’s feelings—of falling in love, living in the fast lane, being betrayed—and recreating them on a teeming dance floor. Incorporating actual transcripts and recordings, the show presents a clear timeline and spans over 30 years in its 90 minutes.

While Evita may elicit a quiet tear, Hear Lies Love makes you feel all the feelings—with a rousing conclusion that ends with, yes, a dance party. If you have any doubt as to your fellow revelers’ enjoyment, look around and you’ll see their faces tilted up to the light—grinning from ear to ear.

Recent theatre features…
Hollywood Snubs and Men in Tights: Rounding Up the 2014 Tony Award Nominations
Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams Open On Broadway in ‘Cabaret:’ REVIEW
Daniel Radcliffe Opens on Broadway in ‘The Cripple of Inishmaan:’ REVIEW
James Franco and Chris O’Dowd Open On Broadway In ‘Of Mice And Men:’ REVIEW
Harvey Fierstein On Straight Men In Stockings And His New Broadway Play 'Casa Valentina': INTERVIEW

Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar (photos:joan marcus)

Topics: Uncategorized More Posts About: Julie Bindel

Related Posts
  • Friday Morning News: NC, Bernie Sanders, Drone Magic, Zayn, Freddy Got Fingered
  • Ontario Becomes First Canadian Province To Ban Conversion Therapy For LGBT Youth: VIDEO
  • Patrick Stewart Announces Support For Northern Ireland Anti-Gay Ashers Bakery: VIDEO
  • The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

    The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

    Published by AFP Beyonce, shown here attending the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, has the most chances at Grammy gold this year Los Angeles (AFP) – The brightest stars in pop music will vie for the …Read More »
  • It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

    It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

    Published by Radar Online Mega Madonna‘s “greatest hits” would tour will be a family affair — with all of her six children joining her on the stage and off, RadarOnline.comhas learned. “Lourdes, David, Mercy, Stella, and …Read More »
  • Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

    Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Channing Tatum had to cover up a blemish on his bum for ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’. Make-up artists on the upcoming movie had to spend 20 minutes every day rubbing concealer …Read More »
  • Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

    Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

    Published by OK Magazine mega Fashionably too late? Lourdes Leon was stopped by security and not allowed inside a Marc Jacobs fashion show event on Thursday, February 2, after she showed up exactly as the show …Read More »
Previous Post: « Two Guys One Pup: VIDEO
Next Post: News: Manhattanhenge, Willis Tower, Starbucks, Jackson Hole »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Trans nonbinary Broadway star withdraws from Tony consideration over gendered categories

    Trans nonbinary Broadway star withdraws from Tony consideration over gendered categories

  • How Orlando’s gay community, after Pulse, helped spur proposed changes to blood donor rules

    How Orlando’s gay community, after Pulse, helped spur proposed changes to blood donor rules

  • Fabiola Santiago: Of course lying George Santos has ties to Florida. It’s where truth ‘comes to die’

    Fabiola Santiago: Of course lying George Santos has ties to Florida. It’s where truth ‘comes to die’

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

    Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

  • James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

    James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

  • Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

    Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

RSS Partner Links

  • George Santos Admits Lying To EVERYONE In Secret Recording
  • Melinda Dillon, A CHRISTMAS STORY Mom, Dies @ 83
  • “Lourdes Leon got blocked from entering the Marc Jacobs show” links
  • Princess Kate released another ‘Shaping Us’ video, this time with Roman Kemp
  • Real Fox News Or Just Some Made Up Bullsh*t?
  • OMG, WATCH: Doja Cat play ‘Smash or Pass’ with looks from the past!
  • Kim Kardashian Rocks Ripped Jeans For North West's Newest Basketball Game in LA

Most Recent

  • Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to

    Rupert Everett claims to know who Prince Harry lost his virginity to

  • The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

    The year of Beyonce? Music’s elite head to the Grammys

  • It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

    It’s A Family Affair! Madonna’s Six Children Will Have Special Roles In Her ‘Celebration’ Tour

  • Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

    Channing Tatum needed make-up on his bum for Magic Mike’s Last Dance

  • Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

    Security Denies Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes Leon Entry To Marc Jacobs Fashion Show Upon Late Arrival

  • Arriving Valentine’s Day: A Pair Of DC Comics Non-Binary Characters

    Arriving Valentine’s Day: A Pair Of DC Comics Non-Binary Characters

  • What is the #MascaraTrend and is it an adequate tool for free speech on TikTok?

    What is the #MascaraTrend and is it an adequate tool for free speech on TikTok?

  • ‘I don’t get canceled, really’: John Waters on his career, conservatives and taboos

    ‘I don’t get canceled, really’: John Waters on his career, conservatives and taboos

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×