50 Favourite Musicals: 36: HERE LIES LOVE (2013) (David Byrne, Fatboy Slim)

The 50 shows that have stood out down the years and, as we get up among the paint cards, the shows that have become the cast recording of my life: 

First performed: 2013, Public Theater, NY

First seen by me: 2014, Dorfman, London

Productions seen: one

Score: David Byrne, Fatboy Slim
Book: David Byrne

Plot:  Inside the Club Millennium disco, we see the rise and fall of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos 

Five memorable numbers: HERE LIES LOVE, WHEN SHE PASSED BY, CHILD OF THE PHILIPPINES, WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME, PLEASE DON'T

From one club-set musical to another, from Pet Shop Boys to David Byrne and Fatboy Slim.  However HERE LIES LOVE trumps CLOSER TO HEAVEN with it's focused story-telling and concept.  The spark for composer David Byrne's vision was when he heard that the notorious Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos had been a disco dolly, visiting discos like Studio 54 and installing her own club on the top floor of the presidential palace in Manila while having a glitter-ball installed in her NY apartment.  Of course there are comparisons with the other first lady musical EVITA but they show how sometimes history has a way of repeating - it's basis in a concept album, the vengeful leading character and in the title song it has her sugar-coating her actions as in DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA.  The odd thing is that my criticism of CLOSER TO HEAVEN - facile book, paper-thin characters - could be levelled at HERE LIES LOVE with it's almost totally sung-through score but here it really doesn't impinge on your enjoyment as Byrne isn't asking you to engage in that way with his characters.  However the success of the show is that it changes your idea of Imelda Marcos... without a single reference to her shoe collection, her drive and ambition to be someone at the expense of others may not make her likeable but it does make her understandable - and a great musical bitch!  Alex Timbers' production provided an all-encompassing world within the club setting utilizing sound, lighting and design - the idea to present it as a mostly promenade production with the standing audience marshalled by the cast around different podiums worked excellently as a lot of the numbers have Imelda, Ferdinand Marcos or their nemesis Ninoy Aquino making speeches or justifying their actions to their supporters - and all to an excellent driving dance beat.   It's a shame that HERE LIES LOVE - a genuine ground breaker in advancing the musical form - looks like it might be overlooked in the rush to over-praise HAMILTON as the way forward.

This extended trailer for the Public's production - which won 10 off-Broadway awards - gives you a taste of the show's kinetic, immersive excitement: