Jose Llana’s not-so-secret power & growing up from young male lover to strapping leading man
Here Lies Love, big things come in big packages. The new Broadway musical charts the Marcos regime in the Philippines with a blinding spotlight on First Lady Imelda Marcos — butterfly sleeves and all.But this isn’t your three-hour, sit-in-the-dark Les Miserábles kind of night.
Featuring a pop score by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, producers turned to scenic designer David Korins to reimagine the historic Broadway Theatre and reconfigure the space into a shape-shifting nightclub, complete with towering disco balls, live video feed, and dance floor ticketing for those who want to be in the middle of the action.Based on a 2010 concept album by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, the immersive show co-stars ‘Fire Island‘ hottie Conrad Ricamora.And while Imelda (played by Arielle Jacobs) receives much of the narrative attention, your eyes will undoubtedly lock on Jose Llana as Ferdinand Marcos.
Returning to a role he created at Mass MoCA in 2012 and later reprised in The Public Theater’s critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run, Llana brings the corrupt politician (who ruled the country from December 30, 1965 until he fled the country on February 25, 1986) to life.
Martial law, embezzlement, and voter fraud were among Marcos’s political manipulations (sound familiar?), typically executed with an uncanny air of confidence alongside his former beauty queen wife.
