First-look images were released today of the wildly revamped Broadway Theatre that will be transformed, at least in part, into the disco dance club home of Here Lies Love, the immersive David Byrne-Fatboy Slim musical about Imelda Marcos.
In six artist renderings, the Broadway Theatre, a traditional proscenium playhouse built in 1924 and remodeled in 1991, is turned, partially, into a huge dance club, with the actors’ performance space set amidst a standing, dancing crowd on the floor where the front section of seating would normally be.
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See the renderings above and below.
The musical begins performances Saturday, June 17 ahead of an official opening night on Thursday, July 20.
In addition to releasing the renderings today, producers unveiled a multi-part seating and standing plan, with ticket-buyers given four viewing options (descriptions provided by the production):
- Floor – Standing on the dance floor amidst the action, at the center of Here Lies Love’s nightclub-style setting. Dancing is encouraged. You’ll be moving around with the actors throughout the 90-minute performance. There are no seats on the floor. Wheelchair tickets are available on the floor. For stationary wheelchair locations, please see Floorside Seating;
- Floorside Seats – Elevated seating alongside the dance floor, with two rows of chairs located directly above the action happening right in front of you. You’ll enjoy the show from a point of view that was designed specifically for this experience. Accessible seating is located in Floorside Sections 1 and 2;
- Front Mezzanine – Seated in a traditional theater seat, while still close to the action. The performance extends up to you from the dance floor just below, with actors performing throughout the entire space;
- Rear Mezzanine – Seated in a theater seat with a panoramic view of the action. The most traditional, familiar experience for theatergoers.
The production’s scenic designer David Korins said, “Having spent the last 20+ years making both theatrical and immersive/experiential work, I feel confident that Here Lies Love will completely redefine what it means to be an immersive theatrical event on Broadway. Getting to do this show alongside this group of collaborators in this way is not only a dream come true, but I’m sure will prove to be a high-water mark in all our careers.”
Director Alex Timbers said, “Live theater doesn’t exist without an audience, and in Here Lies Love the viewer is placed inside the center of the action. With four completely unique ways to see the show, audience members will be able to select how they want to experience this vibrant 360-degree immersive multimedia club musical. There really is not a bad seat in the house.”
The Shubert Organization venue, located at Broadway and 53rd Street – and one of only five Broadway theaters to actually face Broadway – was most recently home to the international 2022 production of The Little Prince, and before that the inventive 2019 revival of West Side Story directed by Ivo van Hove. In a much earlier era, when the Broadway Theatre was a movie house, it hosted the 1940 premiere of Disney’s Fantasia.
Here Lies Love, which had its 2013 Off Broadway premiere at New York’s Public Theater, tells the story of former Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos and her rise to power and her subsequent fall at the hands of the Philippine People Power Revolution.
The artist rendering at the top of this post shows the view overlooking the Floor as seen from Floorside Seating in the Downstage House Right Section.
See five other renderings, with descriptions, below.
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