Lea Salonga as Aurora Aquino in “Here Lies Love”
“Here Lies Love” — a Broadway musical which revolves around the rise and fall of former first lady Imelda Marcos — will close on Nov. 26 due to “lackluster ticket sales,” according to producers.
Originally made to be a concept album, the musical’s transfer to Broadway went through “venue reconstruction” to replace its orchestra seating with a dance floor, per US-based media outlet The Washington Post. The traditional arrangement was also converted into some sort of a dance floor to fit in with its party ambiance.
But the report said the changes were “expensive to maintain” throughout its run, and the show was “losing money” because of low sales.
Theater costs amounted to “$700,000 per week” which “exceeded its weekly box office take of $500,000 to $620,000,” per report.
The producers also told entertainment media outlet Variety that “Here Lies Love” is meant to create “bold and original work for Broadway” where “new ways and artistic excellence can be achieved.”
“But the reality is, succeeding on Broadway means not only producing excellent work with artistic merit, it also means creating the audience for it. And how much time it takes to find and grow new audiences is out of sync with the tight timeframes for audience-building and awareness,” producers added.
The musical was co-written by David Byrne, who was inspired by a video of Imelda dancing with a Saudi Arabian magnate and arms dealer, and Fatboy Slim.
Award-winning theater actress Lea Salonga is among the show’s producers, and also starred as Aurora Aquino from its July 11 to August 13 run. Aurora is the mother of the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.