The Making of ‘Here Lies Love’: How David Byrne, Disco, Dictators and Filipino Pride Come Together in Broadway’s Boldest New Musical

David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s historical musical Here Lies Love is currently running on Broadway in New York and, last month, NME attended an exclusive preview of the show.Based on the duo’s album of the same name – which was released in 2010 and featured a host of guest vocalists, including Florence + The Machine’s Florence Welch, Santigold, and Tori Amos – Here Lies Love tells the sensational and true story of Imelda Marcos.Marcos was the wife of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the country’s “first lady” from 1965 to 1986. An all-Filipino cast, quickly shifting immersive stage design (stagehands in pink jumpsuits directed the crowd as the catwalk took on different configurations during the show) and state-of-the-art sound technology help bring the biography to life.The Broadway Theatre, where the musical has been running in previews since June 17 before opening on July 20, has been transformed into a retro club, with the orchestra converted into a standing-room-only nightclub (all 900 of the seats that are typically housed there have been removed) under a towering mirror ball and fuschia neon lights in homage to Studio 54.

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EXCLUSIVE: Paramount’s Republic Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the inspirational documentary Lift, from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker David Petersen, slating it for release via Paramount Global Content Distribution. In the U.S., the film will hit select theaters on September 15th and bow on digital on the 22nd. Pic will also soon hit the UK, debuting on digital on the 25th.

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Penn and Teller are leaving Sin City and heading Northeast for a pair of shows this summer and fall.The duo, who typically perform a long-standing residency at the Penn and Teller Theater in the Rio Las Vegas Hotel and Casino will play Brookville, NY’s Tilles Center Concert Hall on Friday, July 28 and New Brunswick, NJ’s State Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 23.According to The Guardian, the current iteration of their show is “enjoyable greatest-hits package that includes several new spins on old tricks.”And if you don’t want to see too much money disappear from your bank account, it may behoove you to attend the show in the Garden State.At the time of publication, tickets for the night in Brookville start at $150 before fees on Vivid Seats; $76 before fees is the starting price in New Brunswick.In addition to these shows, the inimitable pair have a number of additional performances lined up across the country these next few months.Want to see where and how much it will cost to see them live?Here’s everything you need to know and more about Penn and Teller’s 2023 tour.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete calendar including all upcoming U.S.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Award-winning scenic designer David Korins calls his work on Broadway’s newest sensation “Here Lies Love” the “most ambitious piece of theater I’ve ever done.” And that’s a high bar: Korins counts The Oscars, “Beetlejuice” and “Hamilton” among his credits. Set to throbbing beats from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, “Here Lies Love” centers on the Philippines’ controversial former First Lady, Imelda Marcos. The idea was to make the show as immersive as possible and turn a Midtown Manhattan theater into a disco ballroom.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Dave Matthews Band is on the road in support of their 10th studio album — the first in five years — titled “Walk Around the Moon. The alt-rock group kicked off the U.S trek in Mexico City in May, and will conclude the run with a Sept.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines who became notorious for the way she used her position to fund a lavish lifestyle, will be at the center of a new limited series that is being developed by producer Lisa Saltzman. “Chasing Imelda” is inspired by journalist Katherine Ellison’s biography, “Imelda: Steel Butterfly of the Philippines.” The announcement comes in a moment of, I guess, rediscovery for Imelda. After all, Marcos is the central figure in a new Broadway musical “Here Lies Love” from David Byrne and Fatboy Slim (there’s just something about all those shoes).

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The highly-anticipated new musical Here Lies Love has officially opened on Broadway!

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Here Lies Love (★★★★★) works so well. Patrons expecting the ambiance of a standard theater will be shocked to see the major transformation that has occurred at the Broadway Theater, which for 10 years was home to both the original production and revival of Miss Saigon.Gone are the plush crimson-red orchestra seats.

Naveen Kumar Imelda Marcos demands to know, near the end of “Here Lies Love,” why we don’t love her. The unlikely belle of this propulsive and glittering ball, from musicians David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, is perched in the front mezzanine of the radically transformed Broadway Theatre, where the immersive musical opened on Thursday night. The answer to her question seems all too obvious.  In the world of “Here Lies Love” — a title that refers to the convicted former first lady’s desired epitaph — Marcos is addressing the Filipino people, over whom she ruled alongside president-turned-dictator Ferdinand Marcos until they were airlifted out of the country in 1986, after two decades of corruption, scandal and human rights abuses.