David Byrne’s latest musical opposed by Musicians Union
For the past few years, David Byrne has taken some of his musical visions to the Broadway stage. As he prepares for his latest production, Here Lies Love, he is currently getting opposed by the Broadway Musicians’ Union.
The production follows the life of Imelda Marcos, who served as the first lady of The Philippines from 1965 to 1986. The dance-driven affair was also set to be Byrne’s collaboration with British DJ Fatboy Slim, playing pre-recorded backing tracks to accompany the story on the stage.
While the musical had done well in various off-Broadway performances, the Union has come down on it for violating traditional Broadway regulations. Since the production relies on pre-recorded audio samples, Byrne’s production is said to violate ordinances requiring at least 19 performing musicians.
When talking about the production, spokesman Adrian Bryan-Brown talked about the pre-recorded being a cornerstone of the production, explaining to The New York Times, “Every production has been performed to pre-recorded track; this is part of the karaoke genre inherent to the musical and the production concept.”
In keeping with Broadway’s record for live performances, the Union has held firm in their decision to have musicians as part of the act, with spokesman Tino Gagliardi claiming, “We’re not going to stand by and let this happen. It’s not fair to the public.” So far, the production was set to star Arielle Jacobs in the lead role of Marcos alongside Conrad Ricamora and Lea Salonga.
This is not the first time that Byrne has brought one of his productions to the live stage, making a stage version of his album American Utopia. Ever since the stint on Broadway, there has been no word on any new solo material outside of his collaboration on the soundtrack to the film Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Although some Broadway musicians have expressed their disapproval, Bryan-Brown has commented, “This process is ongoing and may ultimately culminate in a final and binding arbitration decision, but until that time, we will continue to work in good faith with the union to move through the steps of the contractual process.”
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