Diane Phelan
This fall, Diane Phelan joined the cast of The Public Theater’s production of David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s smash hit musical, Here Lies Love, as the stand by for the role of Imelda. On December 3rd, Phelan will be featured as the “Men Will Do Anything” soloist.
Under the direction of Alex Timbers, Here Lies Love played a critically raved-about, sold-out run last year at the same space, which was extended by popular demand four times. The current commercial run of Here Lies Love, produced by Joey Parnes Productions and EMURSIVE (Jonathan Hochwald, Arthur Karpati, and Randy Weiner, principals), stars Jaygee Macapugay as Imelda Marcos, Jose Llana as Ferdinand Marcos and Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino, at The Public Theater’s LuEsther Hall (425 Lafayette Street, New York City), and will have performances through January 4, 2014.
First Row: Kate Wallace, New York Post writer Michael Riedel, Carol Angeli
Second Row: Diane Phelan, Tobia Wong, Rob Laqui, Debralee Daco, Melody Butiu, Jaygee Macapugay, Renée Abulario, Janelle Velasquez
Third Row: Enrico Rodriguez, Craig Ryan Freeman, David Byrne, Jose LLana, Conrad Ricamora, Ryan Gohsman at the Here Lies Love Apple Store Soho Event in New York on October 25, 2014. Photo by Lia Chang
The current cast of Here Lies Love features, in alphabetical order: Renee Albulario, Carol Angeli, Billy Bustamante, Melody Butiu, Natalie Cortez, Debralee Daco, Rob Laqui, Jose Llana, Jaygee Macapugay, Jeigh Madjus, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Diane Phelan, Conrad Ricamora, Enrico Rodriguez, Janelle Velasquez, and Tobias Wong.
Tickets for Here Lies Love range from $99-$139. A limited number of $40 day-of-performance rush tickets will be available at The Public’s Taub Box Office (425 Lafayette Street, NYC) one hour before the start of each performance. The Fall performance schedule is as follows: Mondays and Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm, Fridays at 7 pm and 10:30 (the Late Night Disco!) and Saturdays at 5 pm and 9:30 pm. Tickets subject to availability, and the offer is good for two tickets per person, cash or credit cards. For more info and tickets to Here Lies Love, please visit http://www.herelieslove.com/.
Diane Phelan made her New York debut at Lincoln Center Theater in Michael John LaChiusa’s Bernarda Alba, and will make her Broadway debut in Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of The King and I, starring Ken Watanabe and Kelli O’Hara, covering the role of Tuptim. Performances begin Thursday, March 12, 2015, and the show opens on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York.
“SO thrilled to be making my *official* Broadway debut with a show so dear to me. *(I still count LCT’s Bernard Alba even though we were downstairs;)!) The King and I was my first professional show out of college as well as one of the very first musicals I did as a teeny royal child. I remember looking up at Tuptim saying to myself, “I’m going to be her when I grow up”. I’m beyond excited to cover the role ON BROADWAY. What?! Dreams come true…,” shared Phelan on her Facebook page.
Raised as an expat in Taipei, Phelan began her music studies early after admission into the preeminent school for musicians in Taiwan. She went on to study voice and acting at New York University.
In the international arena, Phelan has played the role of Maria in West Side Story at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris, and Bopha in the world premiere of Where Elephants Weep in Phnom Penh. It was filmed and televised nationally in Cambodia then banned by the censors before a third airing.
Stateside, Phelan has performed with the first Broadway national touring companies of South Pacific (Lincoln Center/Bartlett Sher), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1st National/Michael Mayer).
Other favorites roles include: Julie Jordan in Carousel (NAAP, dir. Baayork Lee), Cinderella in Cinderella (Paper Mill Playhouse), Mable in The Pirates of Penzance (CRT, dir. Terrence Mann), Belen in Long Season (Huntington Theatre Co, dir. Peter Dubois), Tuptim in The King And I (Sacramento, dir. Stafford Arima).
David Byrne at the Here Lies Love event at the Apple Store Soho in New York on October 25, 2014. Photo by Lia Chang
Here Lies Love was conceived by David Byrne, and features lyrics by Byrne, music by Byrne and Fatboy Slim, additional music by Tom Gandey and J Pardo, and choreography by Annie-B Parson.
Within a pulsating dance club atmosphere, David Byrne and Fatboy Slim deconstruct the astonishing journey of Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos retracing her meteoric rise to power and subsequent descent into infamy and disgrace at the end of the People Power Revolution. Here Lies Love is neither a period piece nor a biography, neither a play nor a traditional musical but an immersive theatrical event combining songs influenced by four decades of dance music, adrenaline-fueled choreography, and a remarkable 360-degree scenic and video environment to go beyond Imelda’s near-mythic obsession with shoes and explore the tragic consequences of the abuse of power. Here Lies Love is a 90-minute theatrical experience. Set within a dance club atmosphere, audiences stand and move with the actors.
Here Lies Love received the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical; an Obie Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics; Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Music, Lighting Design and Projection Design and Theatre World Awards for Ruthie Ann Miles (Imelda Marcos) and Conrad Ricamora (Aquino). Here Lies Love received a record 11 Lucille Lortel Awards nominations, and garnered 5 Lortel Awards, including Alex Timbers for Outstanding Director, Ruthie Ann Miles for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical, Clint Ramos for Outstanding Costume Design, Justin Townsend for Outstanding Lighting Design and M.L. Dogg and Cody Spencer for Outstanding Sound Design.
The new production of Here Lies Love at London’s National Theatre won the London Evening Standard‘s Beyond Theatre award for pushing the boundaries of musicals, and has performances through January 8, 2015. Here Lies Love will open in Sydney in May 2015 as the theatrical center piece of the Vivid Festival. Click here to read about the Sydney production.
Related articles:
Diane Phelan and Julian Cihi Lead Cast of 2g’s Galois at the New Ohio Theatre’s Ice Factory Festival 2014
Six Questions for Melody Butiu, Currently Appearing as Estrella in David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim’s Here Lies Love at The Public
Apple Video Podcast: New York Post Writer Michael Riedel Interviews David Byrne, Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora of Here Lies Love
Meet David Byrne, Here Lies Love Creator and Cast members Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana, and Conrad Ricamora at the Apple Store Soho
Jaygee Macapugay stars as Imeda Marcos in Here Lies Love at The Public, Beginning October 20, 2014
Catch Jaygee Macapugay as Imeda Marcos in Here Lies Love at The Public through August 23, 2014
Photos: Christine Toy Johnson, Baayork Lee, Jose Llana, Ann Harada, Dodie Pettit and More at Charles Randolph-Wright’s “Three Voices” concert series at Stage 72
Jaygee Macapugay to appear as Imeda Marcos in Here Lies Love at The Public, July 5-7, 2013
Lucille Lortel Awards for Here Lies Love, Fun Home, The Open House, Good Person of Szechwan
Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Melody Butiu, Conrad Ricamora and More Open in David Byrne- Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love on May 1
Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Melody Butiu, Conrad Ricamora and More Return for Here Lies Love; Previews Begin April 14, 2014
Nov. 25: David Byrne and the Cast of The Public Theater’s HERE LIES LOVE including Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu and More to Host Benefit Concert for the Philippines at Terminal 5
Here Lies Love, Starring Jose Llana and Ruthie Ann Miles, Extends at The Public through July 28, 2013
Christine Toy Johnson, Thom Sesma, Ali Ewoldt, Jose Llana, Ann Harada, Telly Leung and More Set for The Asian American Composers and Lyricists Project at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre
Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Conrad Ricamora, Kelvin Moon Loh and More Set for World Premiere of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love at The Public, April 2 – May 19, 2013
Other articles by Lia Chang:
Q & A with Playwright Camille Darby, 2014-15 Dramatists Guild Playwrighting Fellow
The Fortress of Solitude, starring Adam Chanler-Berat, André De Shields, Kyle Beltran, Kevin Mambo, Rebecca Naomi Jones ends extended run 11/16; Ghostlight to Record Cast Album
Costume Institute’s Spring 2015 Exhibition at Metropolitan Museum to Focus on Chinese Imagery in Art, Film, and Fashion, May 7–August 16, 2015
Signature Theatre Presents World Premiere of OUR LADY OF KIBEHO by Katori Hall through December 7, 2014
Suzan-Lori Parks’ Father Comes Home From The Wars, Extends at The Public Theater through November 30
Opening Night Photos: Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) by Suzan-Lori Parks at The Public Theater
Photos: David Byrne, Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana and Conrad Ricamora Bring the ‘Here Lies Love’ Disco to the Apple Store Soho
Multimedia: Ambassador Attalah Shabazz, Tomie Arai, Jamal Joseph, Janice Robinson, Soh Daiko, Taiyo Na and More Celebrate the Life of Yuri Kochiyama in New York
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Joe Mantegna to Helm ‘Criminal Minds’ Season 10 Episode to Honor the late Meshach Taylor
Joe Mantegna, Delta Burke, Gerald McRaney, President Bill Clinton and More Remember Meshach Taylor
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Photos: Maxine Hong Kingston, Billie Tsien, Bill T. Jones, Linda Ronstadt, John Kander, Julia Alvarez, Jeffrey Katzenberg Receive 2013 National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama
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Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia made her jazz vocalist debut in Rome Neal’s Banana Puddin’ Jazz “LADY” at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York.
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