New York City. It’s a place where hopefuls and prosperous alike cross paths and ride the trains together, shoulder-to-shoulder, only separating after ascending from the subway underneaths. But, in a city as big as New York, it can be the complete opposite, too, when picturing the famed theater district, Broadway, one likely imagines opulence: velveteen seats, elaborate sets and stories of flawed-but-heroic characters. The disco musical “Here Lies Love,” written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, leads us down a different path, a direction more reminiscent of the city’s have and have not nature. The stage set is that of a disco club, a dance floor has replaced chairs and our protagonists are responsible for some of the most horrific times in Filipino history.
This is where Conrad Ricamora comes in. Best known for playing Oliver Hampton in the Viola Davis-led series, “How To Get Away With Murder,” and, lest we forget, his dashing demeanor as Darcy-esque Will in Emmy-nominated “Fire Island” (2022,) Ricamora stars in “Here Lies Love” at the historical Broadway Theatre, which opened June 20. The show follows the rise and fall of the first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos (Arielle Jacobs,) who (while citizens suffer poverty) lives lavishly alongside her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos (Jose Llana.) Eventually, the pair implemented a state of marital law that lasted from 1972 to 1981, resulting in the torture and murder of thousands of Filipino people. Ricamora plays the couple’s chief political opposition, Senator Ninoy Aquino.
It isn’t…
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