Jose Llana Discusses HERE LIES LOVE & Career Beginnings

Popular Broadway performer Jose Llana discusses his participation in the hit Off-Broadway environmental musical HERE LIES LOVE as well as his beginnings in the theatre as part of a new interview.

Reflecting on his arrival in NYC, Llana recalls, "I came to New York straddling the line between legit theater - like Rodgers and Hammerstein - [and] being able to do rock and roll musicals... I've been very fortunate in my career that I've worked with directors that challenge what race is in a show, too."

Elaborating on his controversial role in the historically-based HERE LIES LOVE, Llana candidly asserts, "My job is to be part of the story so we could get to the People Power Revolution. It is not my goal to impersonate Marcos, neither is it my goal to be a book report. I'm here to create an essence of a character. In the story, Marcos is a master charismatic seducer, he was a smart savvy politician that took advantage of the country's trust. Do I have sympathy for him? No. Do I like him? No. But it's not my job to like the character I'm playing. It's my job to create."

Furthermore, Llana says of the multi-cultural authorship of the piece, "He felt he needed to tell that story. To criticize [David] Byrne because he's not Filipino, I think, is short sighted. If Filipinos are up in arms that a white guy is telling a story with such sensitivity and pride, then I challenge them to write it themselves. It's such a reverse sense of racism. If you only supported Filipino art you'd be limited and robbing yourself of fantastic art in the world."

Check out the original article on the matter here.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride