David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim's 'Here Lies Love' to Close on Broadway

Here Lies Love, the immersive Broadway musical about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, will be ending its Broadway run on Nov. 26. 

The musical, which features a score by David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim, opened at the Broadway Theatre on July 20. The theater was transformed for the production, which was capitalized for up to $22 million, to create a disco-inspired dance floor to allow audiences members to dance and interact with cast members, who are often on moving platforms, as well as a catwalk and small stages in the mezzanine. 

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The musical originally made its world premiere at the Public Theater in 2013, and later played London’s Royal National Theatre in 2014, and Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2017.

While this production received mostly positive reviews, the musical failed to catch on with audiences. Capacity numbers hovered between the 70 percent to 80 percent range in the past several weeks and the production never grossed $1 million or above. In the most recent week of grosses, ended Nov. 5, the production grossed $768,244 and played to 79 percent capacity. The production also had to change course and use 12 live musicians, rather than perform to pre-recorded tracks, after a union grievance.

The musical featured the first all-Filipino cast on Broadway, led by Arielle Jacobs, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora, and the producers, led by Hal Luftig, Kevin Connor, Patrick Catullo, Clint Ramos, Jose Antonio Vargas, and Diana DiMenna, tried various methods to bring in audiences, including after-show DJ parties, 2,500 tickets distributed to Asian American-affiliated groups and a matinee with free childcare.

“When we started this journey to bring this bold and original work to Broadway, we asked ourselves: Can anyone produce on Broadway in a new way? Is there a new path forward? What does the template look like? Will audiences want something radically new? Who will those audiences be?,” the producers said in a statement.

“We have learned a great deal about the answers to those questions. Yes, new ways can work. Artistic excellence can be achieved. But the reality is, succeeding on Broadway means not only producing excellent work with artistic merit––it also means creating the audience for it. And how much time it takes to find and grow new audiences is out of sync with the tight timeframes for audience-building and awareness,” the statement continued. 

In addition to Byrne and Slim, the musical’s creative team includes scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Justin Townsend, sound design by M.L. Dogg & Cody Spencer, and projection design by Peter Nigrini.

Producers say the production will be taped for the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center before the end of its run. International productions in Japan and Australia are also under discussion.

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