Broadway musical about Imelda Marcos earns Tony nominations

Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas (top row, left) and Tony Award winner Clint Ramos (top row, 3rd from left) led the Fil-Am producing team for “Here Lies Love.” CONTRIBUTED

NEW YORK — The disco pop musical about Imelda Marcos, “Here Lies Love,” has earned four Tony Award nominations.

According to the producers of the show, “We are deeply proud and honored to have brought this pioneering theatrical event to Broadway. The first all-Filipino acting company on Broadway received universal critical acclaim, celebrated by thousands of people from diverse backgrounds, including record numbers who experienced going to a Broadway show for the first time.”

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim received a nomination for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics).

David Korins was nominated for Best Scenic Design of a Musical. Korns’s unique set design required removing seats from the venue’s existing space in order to transform it into a dance club environment. In what would have been traditionally the orchestra seating area, audiences stood instead on a “dance floor” and moved around with the actors who stood on a variety of moving platforms.

Korins previously designed “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Beetlejuice.”

The show also received nominations for Best Sound Design of a Musical for M. L. Dogg and Cody Spencer and Best Choreography for Annie-B Parson.

The 77^th Tony Awards will be held in June to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2023-24 season.

Tony winners

Even before earning this year’s nominations, the show already had two Filipino American Tony Award winners involved in the show, Lea Salonga was part of the cast (playing the mother of Ninoy Aquino) and Clint Ramos was the costume designer. Both were part of the producing team.

Salonga won the Tony for best actress for playing Kim in the Broadway premiere of “Miss Saigon” in 1991. Ramos won in 2016 for his costume design for “Eclipsed” (for which he also designed the set), a play that starred Lupita N’yongo.

(The last Broadway show where Salonga and Ramos worked together was the 2017 revival of “Once on This Island” where Salonga played Erzulie, the deity of love and Ramos handled costume design.)

Bigwigs

“Here Lies Love” ran from June to November last year at the Broadway Theatre and had notable Filipino American personalities among its producing team, including Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas, cultural impresario Giselle Tongi, recording artist H.E.R. (Gabriella Wilson), Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.de.Ap. and stand up comic Jo Koy.

It took a decade for the show to reach Broadway. The show first opened off-Broadway in 2013 and won the Village Voice Obie Award for Music (Byrne and Fatboy Slim) and Lyrics (Byrne).

It then had critically acclaimed runs at the National Theater (London’s West End) in 2014 and Seattle Rep (Washington) in 2017.

Ramos won the 2014 Lucille Lortel award for his costume design for the show’s original 2013 run.

Reactions

In response to the show’s 2024 Tony nominations, Ramos posted on Instagram, “Could not be prouder!”

Also on Instagram, Vargas wrote, “Theatre is that rarest thing: at once ephemeral and everlasting.

“And award nominations are one measure of success. Grateful for the much-deserved recognition of these extraordinary artists. And equally grateful for the unforgettable experience that is ‘Here Lies Love.’

“You cannot erase the history that was made with ‘Here Lies Love’ and I’m thankful to everyone, all the wonderful artists involved, all the performers who poured their hearts, all the producers who believed in the show, for this singular journey.”

Walter Ang is the author of Barangay to Broadway: Filipino American Theater. Available at Amazon, Bookshop and other online booksellers.