| The Tony nominators should've shown more love to 'Here Lies Love' | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 05:19 pm EDT 05/09/24 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 05:03 pm EDT 05/09/24 | |
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| Last week, the Tony nominators failed to nominate the historic "Here Lies Love" for Best Musical and to me, it showed a disappointing lack of judgment. This acclaimed, Obie-winning, one-of-a-kind spectacle was more than just another closed show. Under Alex Timbers' dynamic direction, his immensely immersive vision blazed a bold new way a musical could be staged. With theatergoers grooving to a beat on the dance floor and spectators seated in the mezzanine, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's incredibly catchy disco-pop musical played all over the reconfigured Broadway Theatre. It turned the audience into witnesses and participants in the rise and fall of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, and became a cautionary fable about fascism and the fragility of democracy. And the amazing ensemble that brought it all to life was making its own history as the first all-Filipino cast on Broadway. It's their passion and power that has energized ''Here Lies Love'': from winning the 2013 Outer Critics Circle prize for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical at the Public, to getting nominated for Best New Musical at the 2015 Olivier Awards in London, to its current 2024 Drama League nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Musical. Unfortunately, the Tony nominators didn't show "Here Lies Love'' the kind of love I had hoped for. Yes, it got 4 nominations: Byrne and Slim for Score; David Korins for Scenic Design; Annie B. Parsons for Choreography, and M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer for Sound. And bravo to them all, but "Here Lies Love" deserved much more. You know what was glaringly missing? Any Tony recognition of the Asian and Asian-American contributions to the show. No Best Musical nod, which would've included Filipino producers Jose Antonio Vargas and Clint Ramos, who also designed the costumes, not to mention co-producers H.E.R., Jo Koy or Lea Salonga, who also played Aurora Aquino. No acting nominations for Arielle Jacobs, Jose Llana or Conrad Ricamora. Let's be clear: I'm not implying the Tony nominators did anything anti-Asian regarding ''Here Lies Love.'' What's awards-worthy is always subjective. That's just how the votes fell. Nor do I believe Asians automatically deserve Tony nominations just for being Asian. But it's not a great look when not a single Filipino in ''Here Lies Love'' gets noticed or nominated. Especially at a time when Broadway aims to be more inclusive and celebrate diversity. The sad lack of Tony acknowledgment of any of its all-Filipino cast also underscores the lack of opportunities for Asian-Americans to be seen and literally prized on Broadway. Jacobs had such a Herculean role as Imelda: She acted, sang and danced her way from one end of the theater to the other, climbing up and down stairs to the mezzanine. In addition, Jacobs pulled off 18 costume changes during the 90-minute show. If Jacobs had been nominated, she would've been only the fifth Asian woman up for Leading Actress in a Musical in Tony's 77-year history. Llana, a past Drama Desk winner, played Marcos, and Ricamora, a 2024 Drama League nominee for both his work in ''Here Lies Love'' and ''Oh, Mary!,'' played Ninoy Aquino. If Llana or Ricamora had been Tony-nominated, he would've been the first Asian man up for Featured Actor in a Musical since Isao Sato in ''Pacific Overtures'' - almost 50 years ago! (And had Eva Noblezada been nominated for ''The Great Gatsby,'' she would've been the first Asian performer with 3 Tony nominations.) Contrast that with the progress Asian performers are making elsewhere at other showbiz awards: Last year, Michelle Yeoh became the first Southeast Asian to win the Best Actress Oscar (for ''Everything Everywhere All at Once'') in the Academy's nearly century-old history. And her co-star, Ke Huy Quan, became the first Asian man to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor since Haing S. Ngor (''The Killing Fields'') in 1985 - almost 40 years ago! Earlier this January, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong became the first Asian pair of performers to win Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Limited Series for ''Beef'' on Netflix. Meantime, Asian performers still have to fight to get nominated at the Tonys. Back in 1991, Jonathan Pryce, a Caucasian actor in "yellow face," won the Tony for playing the Engineer in "Miss Saigon." Over 25 years later, Jon Jon Briones, a Filipino-American actor who was a Drama Desk and Olivier nominee and Theatre World Award recipient, couldn't even get a Tony nomination for the same role in the 2017 revival. What's sad is "Here Lies Love" was poised to make MORE history. It was playing the Broadway Theatre, the same theater where "Miss Saigon" had its casting controversy 33 years ago (a story I broke in the New York Daily News). Now more than 3 decades later, "Here Lies Love" opened with an all-Filipino cast that included Salonga, who first starred in ''Miss Saigon.'' What a wonderful, full-circle story it would've been if the Tonys had recognized that history and progress with a Best Musical nomination. Instead, it's like what Imelda sings in ''Here Lies Love'': ''Why don't you love me?'' Oh, well. In the graveyard of shuttered shows that deserved better, here lies ''Love.'' Gone but not forgotten, at least not by its most fervent fans. May its short-lived stay of nearly 200 performances someday inspire a long-running, Asian-American hit musical on Broadway and beyond! |
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