David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s ‘Here Lies Love’ transforms history into a disco
nme.comDavid 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.
Marcos often partied with celebrities at the legendary disco club and acted as one herself, dancing with Andy Warhol and getting The Beatles booted from the Philippines for not visiting her palace, as the people of her country lived under the dire circumstances of her husband’s reign.As the actors portray her life, they intermingle with attendees, shaking their hands and dancing with them (on the night NME attended, Byrne himself was on the dancefloor) and making them part of the performance.
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