Here Lies Love, the play about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos as the Philippine dictator’s wife during Martial Law is now playing in Los Angeles. The TFAL crew had the opportunity to watch Here Lies Love when it first opened at the Mark Taper Forum a couple of weeks ago. Love it or hate it, the controversial musical is a part of our community, and many folks are watching it. It reflects the talent, labor, limitations, privileges, complications, and discourses in and of the Filipino American community.

In this TFAL episode, the crew gives their honest takes on Here Lies Love. They also hear the insights of Professor Christine Balance, who has been following David Byrne’s work on Imelda Marcos for close to two decades. Given her research background on Filipino American music and performance, we thought she would be the perfect person to talk to about the musical. Listen as they share their various experiences watching the production, discuss its high points as well as shortcomings, reflect on the limitations of representation, and convey the musical’s broader implications and reflections of Philippine history and the Filipino American community in general.

Listen or download the episode through the embedded player on ThisFilipinoAmericanLife.com, or subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever your favorite podcasts are found.

Did you watch the play in Seattle, New York, or Los Angeles? What did you think? Let us know by emailing us at thisfilipinoamericanlife@gmail.com.

For more accurate and detailed info on the broader Martial Law period, please refer to these resources:

Here Lies Love in Critical Contexts: a Public Syllabus
Ramona Diaz, Imelda (2003)
Jessica Hagedorn, Dogeaters
- (audio version on Audible)
- (play version/print)
Josen Diaz, Postcolonial Configurations: Dictatorship, the Racial Cold War, and Filipino America
Lucy San Pablo Burns, Puro Arte: Filipinos on the Stages of Empire
Amanda Andrei, American Theatre magazine article, “The Complicated Triumph of Here Lies Love”
Sara Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life
Mark John Sanchez, List of published articles

PC: Los Angeles Times