April 2 - May 19: 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

Jose Llana (Ferdinand Marcos), Ruthie Ann Miles (Imelda Marcos), Renée Albulario (Ensemble), Melody Butiu (Ensemble), Natalie Cortez (Ensemble), Debralee Daco (Ensemble), Joshua Dela Cruz (Ensemble), Kelvin Moon Loh (Ensemble), Jeigh Madjus (Ensemble), Maria-Christina Oliveras (Ensemble), Conrad Ricamora (Aquino), Trevor Salter (Ensemble), and Janelle Velasquez (Ensemble) are featured in the cast of The Public Theater’s World Premiere ofHere Lies Love, with concept and lyrics by David Byrne, music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, additional music by Tom Gandey and J Pardo, and choreography by Annie-B Parson.

Jose Llana

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.

Maria-Christina Oliveras

Directed by Alex Timbers, Here Lies Love begins performances on Tuesday, April 2 and was originally scheduled to close on Sunday, May 5. It has been extended and will now run an additional two weeks through Sunday, May 19, 2013.

Here Lies Love is described as an 85-minute theatrical experience, all filtered through the remarkable vision of David Byrne, one of the great American artists of the last half century. Set within a dance club atmosphere, audiences will stand and move with the actors. Comfortable shoes and clothing are recommended since the audience stands and moves with the actors. Dancing is encouraged.

Kelvin Moon Loh

With an audience capacity of only 150 people a night, theater space is limited. Single tickets for the two week extension (May 6-19) go on sale Tuesday, April 2. Tickets are on sale now for performances through May 5 at (212) 967-7555,www.publictheater.org, or in person at The Public Theater at Astor Place at 425 Lafayette Street. The Library at The Public will be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Special funding for Here Lies Love was made possible by The Blavatnik Family Foundation, Hans and Kate Morris and Andrea and Marc Glimcher.

Here Lies Love features set design by David Korins; costume design by Clint Ramos; lighting design by Justin Townsend; sound design by M. L. Dogg and Cody Spencer; and projection design by Peter Nigrini.

Alex Timbers (Director). For The Public, Timbers wrote the book and directed the critically acclaimed musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. He will also direct The Public’s upcoming production of Love’s Labour’s Lost, A New Musical for Shakespeare in the Park in July. Timbers is the Artistic Director of Les Freres Corbusier and his additional Broadway credits includePeter and the Starcatcher, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which earned him a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. His additional Off-Broadway directing credits include A Very Merry Unauthorized Pageant; Gutenberg! The Musical!; and Hell House. He is a Tony-nominated writer-director and is the recipient of Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, as well as two Obie Awards.

David Byrne (Concept, Music, Lyrics). Known as the force behind Talking Heads and later as creator of the highly-regarded record-label Luaka Bop, David Byrne also works as a photographer, film director, author, and solo artist; he has published and exhibited visual art for more than a decade. Among Byrne’s works are Playing the Building, an interactive sound installation at New York’s Battery Maritime Building and London’s Roundhouse; Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, Byrne’s first collaboration with co-writer Brian Eno since 1981′s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts; a series of unique bike racks installed throughout New York City in conjunction with the New York City Department of Transportation; Bicycle Diaries, a chronicle of David’s travels on his bicycle published by Viking Press and available as an audio book featuring narration and original music by Byrne; Talking Heads: Chronology, a DVD featuring live performances spanning 1976-1983; a soundwork created while in residence at Living Architecture and Artangel’s A Room for London installation; and a collaboration with Will Oldham for the soundtrack to the new Sean Penn film This Must be the Place. Most recently Love This Giant, Byrne’s collaboration with St. Vincent was released on September 11 and his latest book How Music Works was published on September 12 by McSweeney’s.

FATBOY SLIM (Music), also known Norman Cook, is a Grammy Award-winning DJ, musician and record producer. He first rose to prominence in the 1980s as a bassist of the indie rock band The Housemartins, and went on to form the band, Beats International. In 1996, as Fatboy Slim, he released Better Living Through Chemistry, and his follow up successes include You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby, and Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. These albums helped to popularize the “big beat” genre which achieved mainstream popularity in the 90s. In 2008, along with David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal, they released a collaboration entitled The Brighton Port Authority. His additional credits with David Byrne include the concept album, Here Lies Love.

Annie-B Parson (Choreographer) is a founder of Big Dance Theater with Molly Hickok and Paul Lazar. She has choreographed and co-created over 15 works for the company, ranging from pure dance pieces, to adaptations of plays and literature, to original works combining wildly disparate materials. Her work with Big Dance has been commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, The National Theater of Paris/Chaillot, The Japan Society, The Walker Art Center, and has performed in scores of other venues. Her awards include a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship in Choreography, 2002 and 2010 BESSIE awards, two Lucille Lortel nominations, and NYFA Fellowships in 2005 and 2000. BDT received an OBIE in 2000 and the first Creativity Award from Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 2007. She has been nominated for the CalArts/Alpert Award seven times. Ms. Parson was a YCC choreographer at The American Dance Festival where she worked with composer Richard Einhorn to create City of Brides. Outside of Big Dance, Ms. Parson created choreography for David Byrne in 2008/09 for his world tour. She directed and choreographed for the string quartet ETHEL in their first foray into dance. This piece premiered, and was then remounted at the Winter Garden. She created two works for The Othershore dance company that were seen at Ringling Festival and BAC. Her dances are featured in the film Ride, Roar, Rise about David Byrne. She choreographed for Nico Muhly’s new opera Dark Sisters, Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando, Futurity at ART, and The Broken Heart at TFNA. Since 1993 Parson has been an instructor of choreography at New York University’s Experimental Theater Wing. She has also taught nationally and internationally including Tokyo and Spoleto, Italy. She was featured in BOMB magazine, and wrote a piece for Dance USA on the state of dance/theater in the U.S. As an artist curator, she has curated shows including: the Merce Cunningham memorial, Dancer Crush at NYLA and Sourcing Stravinsky at DTW. Parson tours a lecture on abstraction called “The Structure of Virtuosity” to universities and for audience development.

RENEE ALBULARIO (Ensemble) has appeared regionally in Hairspray, The King and I, Adventures from Ezra Jack Keats, Nate the Great, The Ballad of Noah’s Ark, Radiant Baby, The Sound of Plaid, and Unholy Acts, among others. Her television credits include “One Life to Live” and “Guiding Light.”

Melody Butiu (Ensemble) has appeared regionally in Euripides’ Helen, A Little Night Music, Calligraphy, Nightmare Alley, Long Story Short, A View of the Harbor, and Language Rooms. Her film and television credits include Untold,Blood Ransom, “True Blood,” “Melissa and Joey,” “No Ordinary Family,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Modern Family.”

Natalie Cortez (Ensemble) recently appeared at The Public Theater in the new musical Giant. Her Broadway credits include West Side Story and A Chorus Line. Her additional Off-Broadway credits include Fame on 42nd Street and Sid. Regionally, she has appeared in Giant, In The Heights, The Mambo Kings, and Pippin.

DEBRALEE DACO (Ensemble) has toured nationally in Miss Saigon. Her additional theater credits include Where Elephants Weep, Nawala, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs. She also appeared on film in Farm Girl in New York and When Things Get Fishy.

Joshua Dela Cruz (Ensemble) has appeared in City Center’s Encores! production of Merrily We Roll Along. His regional credits include The King and I, Suburbia, Cats, Cabaret, and Elmer Gantry.

Jose Llana (Ferdinand Marcos) has appeared at The Public in On the Townand Saturn Returns. His Broadway credits include Wonderland, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song, Rent, Streetcorner Symphony, and The King and I. He has also appeared Off-Broadway inFalling For Eve. His film and television credits include Hitch, Unconscious, and “Sex and the City.”

Kelvin Moon Loh (Ensemble) has appeared in the first national tour ofAmerican Idiot. His additional New York theater credits include Barcode,Heading East, and Oklahoma! He has appeared regionally in Miss Saigon, The King and I, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Paint Your Wagon, and A Christmas Carol. His film credits include Clear Blue Tuesday and The Lamp Post.

Jeigh Madjus (Ensemble) has appeared in the first national tour of La Cages Aux Folles. His additional regional credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Altar Boyz, Peter Pan, Scrooge, Myths and Hymns,Berlin to Broadway, The Who’s Tommy, and Anything Goes. His film and television credits include Servitude and “Pop Stars: Boy Meets Girl.”

Ruthie Ann Miles (Imelda Marcos) has appeared Off-Broadway in Avenue Qand toured nationally in Sweeney Todd and Annie. Her additional New York credits include Roar of the Greasepaint, Smell of the Crowd and CHIX 6. Her regional credits include Band Geeks, Two By Two, On Dragonfly Wings, Miss Saigon and Cabaret.

Maria-Christina Oliveras (Ensemble) has appeared at The Public and on Broadway in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Her additional New York credits include The Really Big Once, Slavey, Night Sky, Lonnie-Jake, and The Crazy Locomotive. Her film and television credits include Vamperifica; “Ugly Betty”; “Nurse Jackie”; and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

Conrad Ricamora (Aquino) has appeared regionally in Alexander’s Not Going to Move, Annie Get Your Gun, Kiss Me Kate, The Music Man, West Side Story, Miss Saigon, Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others. He appeared on film in Tallageda Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with Will Ferrell.

TREVOR SALTER (Ensemble) has appeared Off-Broadway in Revolting Rhymes. His additional theater credits include Wake Up!; Marat/Sade;Political Shorts; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot; Paradise Lost; Dead Boy;Hit It and Quit It: A Love Story; Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Byte;Proprioception; and Brechtfast at Tiffany’s; among others.

JANELLE VELASQUEZ (Ensemble) has appeared in New York in Iphigenia at Aulis. Her regional credits include The King and I; South Pacific; Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular; Songs for a New World; The Corruption of Hadleyburg; and West Side Story. She has appeared on television in “CSI: Miami.”

Lia Chang

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.