A Triumphant "Here Lies Love" Concert for the Philippines

Last night I went to see Jose and Ruthie Ann Miles, together with the rest of the cast of "Here Lies Love," in a one-night concert performance at Terminal 5 in New York.  I linked up with Erik, Jenn, Rosalie, Hailey and Jenn's friend, Andrew, in the stadium-like theater. 

All proceeds will be donated to Doctors Without Borders for their work with survivors of the typhoon that tore through the Visayas just three weeks ago.  Unofficial reports indicate that the show raised over $140,000 for the relief efforts.  There lies love, indeed!

To say that the show was amazing or over the top or extraordinary would be an understatement.  You just had to be there to feel the love, the passion and the sheer crazy improbability of David Byrne being able to gather together, in less than two weeks, the whole original cast from all over the country for this monumental one night stand. 

The cast was so amped up and the songs so electrifying that the huge space that is Terminal 5 was literally pulsating with energy.  The 3,000 plus standing audience swayed, jumped and rocked with the music for over 90 minutes of happy hysteria.  We were like canned sardines plugged into a 2,000 volt outlet!

David Byrne, who created the show with Fatboy Slim and Alex Timbers, told Kory Grow of the Rolling Stone Magazine that "the show is about the resiliency of the Filipino people--it couldn't be more timely.  Upon hearing about this tragedy, the cast contacted me about doing a show to raise money for relief efforts.  Most of our cast is Filipino, and all of us feel the same way.  It's personal for all of us".

I can attest that this really was "personal".  You could tell from the body language and the infectious smiles that spread between cast members on stage that they were just thrilled to be performing together once again.  They were giving it everything they'd got.  It was literally overwhelming for both the cast and the audience. 

Jose told us that it was actually Ruthie Ann Miles (staying up all night crying while watching the typhoon unfold on CNN) who contacted David Byrne to ask if there was anything they could do to help the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.  After all, the show begins in Imelda's home town of Tacloban in Leyte. The same Tacloban that was almost eradicated by four huge storm surges of unprecedented ferocity.

David Byrne leapt into action.  In less than two weeks, he managed to secure Terminal 5 and to bring the original cast back together.  They really needed no persuading.   David had to rehearse and produce the show on the fly.  The cast hardly had any time to rehearse but squeezed in a few hours here and there--mostly on the day of the performance when the choreographer had to sign off on radical new movements for this one night.  You would never know it.  The show was so smoothly executed and the choreography so fluid that it looked like they had been at it for months. 

Jose came out on stage at the end of the show to thank the audience for their support.  Quite apart from David Byrne, the producers and the whole cast giving their time for free, Jose told us that Terminal 5 had donated the space for free; that all the stage, lighting, sound and theater staff had given their time for free; and that even the beverages sold to the ultra-thirsty audience had been donated for free.  At the time I was wondering whether we were still in Kansas--I mean capitalist America.  

I hope some news organization in the Philippines gets hold of this story because it shows how much the tragedy of Yolanda has touched so many people around the world and in every sphere of life.

The show was termed a "concert".  The word "concert" can conjure up images of of a PBS special for the 25th year of Les Miserables or something!  Would the stars all be neatly lined up in a row singing a few of the big songs?  Of course, not!  This was a full-blooded show complete with original costumes, the original cast album songs (all much longer than in the original Public Theater show), choreography that was "original" in that it was made up that afternoon, staggering lighting effects and a sound system that lifted you off the floor. 

As I watched and listened, I was thinking back to the original show at the Public Theater.  How would this Concert for the Philippines measure up to the surreal show that Regee and I had seen twice at the Public Theater?  How would the concert fare without moving stages, its performers roving from stage to stage and reaching down to shake your hand?  How would the concert "feel" without the myriad screens around you projecting photos and videos of Marcos and Imelda with news headlines superimposed on images of People Power?

The fact is that David Byrne and his players created a brand new show with a very different dynamic and, if at all possible, with even greater depth than the original.  Why?  I was talking to Erik after the show and he said something that crystalized the main difference between the concert and the show.  In the absence of the big screens all around you and the pulsating real life images of Imelda's descent into fantasy, Erik felt that you listened much more carefully to the lyrics.  You went aural instead of visual.

It is true.  While the lighting and constant changes in color tend to emphasize the different moods and circumstances of the songs, the rapidly changing montages can attract attention away from the stage and the performers.  Last night, I focused more on the lyrics and the words outdid the images--or, at least, were just as powerful as the screen images.

This is where I think David Byrne is a true genius.  He has read widely and deeply about Imelda, her words, her fantasies and, ultimately, her self destruction.  He uses her own words and those of Marcos, the newspaper headlines and the martial law decrees to tell the story of their downfall.  He relates a complex and nuanced story through the lyrics which capture the fatal flaws of his two main characters.  The songs are no longer supplemented by the visuals all around you.  Here are the bare bones of the drama--the words--the scaffolding on which Imelda constructed her fantasy world.  I was blown away not just by the music--which is ravishing--but by the lyrics themselves.  Somehow, David Byrne has created two works and both are beautiful.

Jose and Ruthie Ann consume the stage.  They are such powerful presences, pushed forward by the desires, ambitions and perceived destiny of their characters.  They are both rare performers. They are great actors and great singers.  The two don't always go together.  Last night they were on fire.  And the supporting cast were so powerful as well--it is a very small troupe but they give the impression of being a vast Broadway chorus both in terms of movement and song.  

Ah well.  I could go on but Google is now charging for space so I have to limit my outpourings!  Suffice it to say that when I walked out on the street right after the show, I heard people using the words "awesome," "amazing," "astounding," and even words not beginning with an "a".  "Staggering" was one of them.  That about sums it up.

It was an evening and a concert to treasure forever.  The way in which it came about was remarkable and the way in which it was staged and performed was magical.  David Byrne, Jose, Ruthie Ann and the whole cast took the show to a very different level.  The audience knew this and gave them a 90 minute "standing" ovation!