![]() ![]() was elected president last year and their family continues to polarize the Philippines. Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos's son, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. ![]() "We're hopefully adding now to the library of Asian roles that Filipinos can play."ĭuration 3:45 David Byrne talks about how the show's message will resonate in 2023, now that a Marcos is back in power in the Phillipines, and why the production is more relevant now than ever.īyrne said he would have never predicted when he created the show that it would re-open, at a time when the Marcos family is back in power. "You know, the opportunities for Asian Americans, particularly Filipino Americans, are very small," he said. He's been in the industry almost as long as Salonga and has a long list of credits on big musicals such as Rent and The King and I. Jose Llana, who plays former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos in Here Lies Love, feels the same way. "I was told that I couldn't audition for certain shows because of my racial background." "I was in for a rude awakening," she said. ![]() But even with her Tony win and other accolades, she says she still experienced many rejections. More than 30 years ago, Salonga was cast as the leading actress on Broadway's Miss Saigon, playing a Vietnamese girl who falls in love with an American soldier. "We're in the middle of a Filipino Renaissance not only in the Americas, but all over the world."ĭuration 3:40 Lea Salonga reflects on the struggle for representation during her decades-long career, and why Here Lies Love's all-Filipino cast gives her hope for the future. And we also feel like this is the time," said Ramos. They include a pair of Filipino Tony winners – Lea Salonga of Miss Saigon fame and theatre and film designer Clint Ramos, who were both instrumental in finding the talent. The show will make its Broadway debut this July with Filipino producers at the helm. But not with an all-Filipino cast like this. Here Lies Love first opened off Broadway in 2013. It centres on the Philippines' infamous first lady Imelda Marcos and her late dictator husband, Ferdinand Marcos, during a pivotal moment in the country's history – their rise and fall from power, ending in the People's Power revolution in 1986. But the story is decidedly Filipino - albeit a controversial interpretation of the country's history. The disco-themed musical was conceived by Grammy-winning musicians David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, and written and developed by Alex Timbers. That may have a lot to do with the historic nature of the musical's all-Filipino company, a Broadway first. In a church basement on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the cast of Broadway's Here Lies Love is gathering for the show's first press conference.īut the atmosphere feels more like a big family party than an official engagement. ![]()
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