LEA Salonga is aware of the negative reactions about her latest musical from the Filipino community.
But the Tony Award winner is standing by “Here Lies Love,” which is about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos.
“We’re not oblivious to what’s happening out there. And I know that there are a bunch of people who don’t like me at the moment,” Salonga said in an interview with the theater magazine Playbill.
Salonga said she understands where her fellow Filipinos are coming from, but the theater star stressed that “Here Lies Love” does not glorify Imelda or the Marcoses, and instead explores how a dictatorship can take hold.
“There has been a lot of commentary that has come out. And I can’t exactly say, ‘No, you’re wrong.’ In my head, it’s like, ‘I absolutely understand, you do have a point, you have every right to be angry, and you have every right to feel the way you’re feeling,'” Salonga said.
“People think it’s nostalgic, it’s gonna be fun, it’s the ’70s into the ’80s,” she added. “But they have no idea what’s about to hit them.”
In “Here Lies Love,” Salonga plays the role of Aurora, the mother of senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino III whose assassination in 1983 led to the bloodless People Power Revolution three years later.
She spoke with Aquino’s brother-in-law, Ken Kashiwahara, as part of her research for the role.
“[Aurora] was the one who had to make the decision to have his body on display,” she said. “So that left such an indelible mark on so many people, and then just sparked an awakening in many folks from home.”
Arielle Jacobs, meanwhile, plays the role of Imelda in “Here Lies Love.”
Jacobs said she is similarly aware that her character “represents a lot of pain for a lot of people.”
Aside from being one of the stars of “Here Lies Love,” Salonga is also a producer on the show. (ABS-CBN News)
