'Here Lies Love' among Entertainment Weekly's best Broadway shows in 2023
Here Lies Love was among American news website Entertainment Weekly (EW)’s list of 10 best Broadway shows of 2023.
Here Lies Love placed fifth in EW’s list, with the website commending how it “manages to feel ahead of its time” despite “being based on real history and originally produced off-Broadway 10 years ago.”
It noted how the production team “literally rearranged the seating of the Broadway Theatre to make it feel more like both a dance club and a political arena.”
The move, it said, “perfectly” fits the story of how the Marcoses dominated the Philippines for decades.
“Far from engaging in apologia, Here Lies Love uses its format to show how the Marcoses clung to power through corruption and superficial celebrity,” EW said.
It also gave a shout-out to its stars—Filipino talent Lea Salonga and How to Get Away With Murder actor Conrad Ricamora—describing them as “charismatic.”
Noting the show is “never didactic,” EW said its “innovative stage design reminds us that we are a part of history—and that we must always be on the lookout for would-be dictators.”
The remake of the 1979 mystery classic Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street topped EW’s list.
Here Lies Love narrates Imelda Marcos' rise and fall from power after the EDSA People Power Revolution by transforming the theater "into a dance club where the audience is immersed in the story."
In the show, Jose Llana portrayed Ferdinand, while Arielle Jacobs portrayed Imelda.
Ricamora assumed the assassinated senator Ninoy Aquino, while Lea Salonga served as his mother Aurora Aquino, and the show’s co-producer alongside Filipino-blooded personalities H.E.R and Jo Koy.
Los Angeles-based Pinoy artist Garth Garcia is also a community investor in the play.
Here Lies Love was created by '80s greats David Byrne of Talking Heads and Fatboy Slim.
The musical was directed by the award-winning Alex Timbers, whose Broadway credits include Moulin Rouge! The Musical Beetlejuice, and American Utopia.
