Third Time’s the Charm for Arielle Jacobs in ‘Here Lies Love’
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When she gets off stage each night at the Broadway Theater, Arielle Jacobs shifts somewhat into therapist mode.
“By the end of the show, people are crying,” the Broadway performer says. “The journey of the show is not what people in the audience are expecting. You come in thinking it’s just going to be a fun disco dance party. And then you really get taken on a wild ride.”
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After a run at the Public Theater, as well as out of town, the David Byrne and Fatboy Slim musical “Here Lies Love” has opened on Broadway, telling the story of former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos — set in a disco-like setting. The production features an all-Filipino cast and for Jacobs, each night at the state door is an opportunity to connect with Filipino audience members about the show’s story.
“I get to experience people say how their parents went through martial law. Or how they’re related to the Ninoy Aquino family or how they grew up in a household where their parents never talked about this, and so they didn’t even know this happened, but they’re Filipinos. And so a lot of people have been having crazy reactions to our show in a wonderful way because they’re so moved by it,” she says. “And it’s really moving for me to hear how we’re affecting everybody.”
Jacobs, best known for playing Jasmine in “Aladdin” on Broadway, has been circling “Here Lies Love” for more than 10 years now. She originally auditioned with a self tape for the Public Theater production back in 2011, and auditioned again when they revealed an extension of the show. The Broadway production was her third time trying for the part.
“It’s funny because they had told me early on, ‘we love your audition, but it’s not going to work out now, but maybe for a possible future production.’ And they didn’t know what the future productions would be,” she says. “And now that it’s here on Broadway, and I finally get the chance to do it, it’s pretty wild.”
Prior to the show, her knowledge of Imelda Marcos was mostly limited to the former first lady’s shoe collection.
“My family never talked about Filipino history growing up. And I’ve always had a lot of shoes, and so people in my family used to joke with me that I was like Imelda with her 3,000 pairs of shoes,” Jacobs says.
“What was exciting to me then — and still now — is just being able to tell a Filipino story on stage and being able to play a Filipino for the first time in my career,” she says. “I’ve played everything under the sun. I have played Mexican and Puerto Rican and Middle Eastern and Chinese, and Native American and Colombian, and Afghani, but I’ve never played Filipino. There’s never been the opportunity to do it. So now that I’m actually getting to connect to my culture in this way, that’s really exciting for me.”
Jacobs hopes that people come away from the show loving the music, but also having taken something inspiring from the story of the political unrest — and revolution — that occurred in the Philippines.
“I hope that people leave the theater with a feeling of hope because they witnessed something that really happened in the Philippines, where there was a full country of people who did a very peaceful revolution and took back their country after martial law. And how that’s so rare and in the world today.
“I think democracies are at stake everywhere around the world. I think that our show is very pro-democracy, and I think it’s also a cautionary story because it’s shining a light on a very charismatic political couple who everyone was excited about, and then they became corrupted by power and started to really negatively affect their country, and how that is a story that happens and again and again,” Jacobs says.
“So I think the story that we tell every night is cautionary, but I also think it’s hopeful. And I think that, I hope that people leave the theater feeling a sense of hope and empowerment because if we really are staying educated and clear headed about who will be elected into power, hopefully we can maintain our democracy and keep things like this from happening again.”
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