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'Now it is our turn for our country, our people, and our story to stand in the spotlight,' says actor Conrad Ricamora, who plays Ninoy Aquino in the musical.
LOS ANGELES, USA – Conrad Ricamora, as Ninoy Aquino, proudly intones that he is a “Child of the Philippines.” Arielle Jacobs, originating the Imelda role on Broadway, implores, “Why Don’t You Love Me?”
After three tries to land the plum former First Lady part , Arielle gets to originate the complex, challenging Imelda character on Broadway.Wicked Lea is also on the musical’s producing team alongside such luminaries as Oscar and Grammy winner H.E.R., Pulitzer Prize recipient Jose Antonio Vargas, actor-comedian Jo Koy, and Tony winner Clint Ramos, who is also the show’s costume designer., which officially opens on July 20, is an immersive dance musical. DJ Moses Villarama helps ensure the club ambience .
How do your big songs in the show resonate with you now or perhaps give you a deeper meaning in this latest staging of Here Lies Love? Which one of your songs moves you the most every night? The footage of Aquino inside the plane that just landed in Manila – with that look on his face – is haunting and unforgettable for viewers, especially knowing what happened afterward on the tarmac. What was your reaction when you first saw that footage?
There is an overall assault on the truth, not only in the Philippines but all over the world. Even here in America. Political leaders denying the truth or rewriting history is something we cannot allow as citizens of the world. So often in our history, we have been overlooked and colonized over and over again. Now it is our turn for our country, our people, and our story to stand in the spotlight.
And I do think of Estrella, while she’s based on a very real person , someone who raised Imelda, loved Imelda, considered her family, and then felt betrayed by Imelda, I feel like she is a representation of the heart of the people because the people loved and trusted the Marcoses when they were elected very popularly and then were subsequently betrayed by them over the years.
There are people who put their faith in very popular politicians. They put their trust in them and they believe everything that they say. A lot of audience members whose parents immigrated to the States and just didn’t focus on what was happening in the past, didn’t really talk about their time in the Philippines, it opens up that communication and stories and how impactful that time was.
So to share that with other Filipinos for the first time…. Filipinos have been on Broadway for so many years, as demonstrated by Lea Salonga, Jose, and their long careers, but playing other ethnicities. So to be able to share our history and tell our story is so powerful and impactful. A lot of that helps fill my heart with joy, pride, and excitement, and yeah, it really is just such a fun story to tell. It moves so quickly and takes you on all of the emotions.What does Arielle Jacobs bring to the role of Imelda?
So it’s very exciting trying to create an immersive experience for everyone. But I also feel like then it’s our duty to deepen and expand the work and reach out to everyone in the audience. You don’t have to be Filipino to enjoy the show. You can really follow and then walk away and want to learn perhaps more about the history of the Philippines but also how it affects and impacts what’s going on all over the world.
I was overwhelmed with gratitude and I also felt an immediate and immense responsibility all at once. To make my family proud. To give it all that I have. To make our people proud.My earliest memory about Imelda Marcos was, of course, hearing about her immense shoe collection whenever someone had “too many shoes.”
In this role, Imelda’s actions create more and more conflict and the show ends with her being banished from her country during the People Power Revolution. There is a deep internal conflict, a need for loyalty, a sense of betrayal, and denial of circumstance, that I need to tap into every night onstage.
I sincerely love all three of them. Everyone knows they are brilliant artists but they are also absolutely wonderful as people. Conrad Ricamora is a dream. His ability to tap into so many emotional colors as an actor is inspiring to me. And he has an energy and “it factor” that just allows his charisma to fill these massive spaces in a way that feels so effortless.For you as a singer-actor, which one of your songs moves you the most every night and why?
How do the costumes of Clint Ramos help in your portrayal of Imelda and how do they transform you? What does wearing that white terno bring on in you? Wearing the white terno at the end of the show brings a regality and a sort of otherworldly glamor, showing how she is now transformed into this new state that is clearly different from who she once was. It absolutely affects my performance very much.
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