Here Lies Love, the new David Byrne musical set to premiere on Broadway next week, has given in to union objections and agreed that 12 musicians will be involved in the production.
The producers of the musical, which is a dance club-like show about Imelda Marcos, and the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 802 union announced the agreement late Friday afternoon.
“On behalf of our entire cast, company and creative team, we have reached an agreement with the Musicians Union Local 802 in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement,” the musical’s producers said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming audiences to the Broadway Theater beginning Saturday, June 17 for the revolutionary musical experience Here Lies Love.”
The union issued a similarly succinct but slightly more detailed statement, saying, “After negotiations, we have reached an agreement that will bring live music to ‘Here Lies Love,’ and will include 12 musicians on the show.” Broadway is a very special place with the best musicians and performances in the world and we are delighted that this agreement honors that tradition.”
Eric Koch, communications adviser for the union, said three of the company’s actors would be counted among the 12 musicians.
The show, with Hal Luftig as lead producer, is one of the larger productions slated for Broadway this summer, with a large budget refurbishing the Broadway Theater to enable the production to be staged in an immersive manner with much of the audience on a dance floor, surrounded by the action.
Byrne and Fatboy Slim wrote Here Lies Love, about Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines. It has been around for more than 15 years and has been acclaimed by critics and loved by audiences. It was presented as a song cycle at Carnegie Hall in 2007 and performed at Mass MoCA, an art museum in the Berkshires, in 2012. 2013 at the Public Theater in New York; 2014 at the National Theater in London and again at the Public Theater for a second engagement; and in 2017 at the Seattle Repertory Theater.
The production has used pre-recorded music with live singers in the past, but as the Broadway opening neared, the union protested, saying their Broadway League contract required the use of live musicians. The union had threatened to protest this weekend’s Tony Awards and upcoming previews of the show; Both sides settled the dispute on Friday.