“Here Lies Love’ is an immersive theatrical and musical experience like no other.
Produced by the Seattle Repertory Theatre with concept and lyrics by Talking Heads
founder David Byrne who also wrote the music with British DJ Fatboy Slim, the
show charts the life and times of former first lady of the Philippines, Imelda
Marcos, retracing her meteoric rise to power and subsequent descent into infamy
and disgrace at the end of the People Power Revolution.
The show originally premiered to acclaim Off-Broadway in 2013. Set within a dance
club atmosphere, the disco-musical had no traditional seating and theatregoers
mingled with the actors throughout the show. The Seattle production offers seating
for those who’d like it in galleries surrounding the main floor area as well as
standing-only room on the floor itself which features a central (moving) stage as
well as the traditional proscenium stage.
Universally hailed as a huge success with its innovative staging and stellar
performances, the show directed by Alex Timbers has already seen its original run
extended by a further three weeks as Broadway beckons… Clearly the audio
element of a production like this is of paramount importance. Sound designer Cody
Spencer and associate designer Tony Gayle turned to Masque Sound who provided a
full EM Acoustics PA system based on HALO-C and EMS-51s.
“We used two hangs of six HALO-C elements for the vocal centre speakers and
sixteen EMS-51s for gallery delays, plus four i-12 subs for the Band stage,’
explained Gayle. “I was very impressed with the clarity and smoothness of the
HALO-C. It’s the first time I’ve used it on a production like this and it performed
amazingly well, giving us all the vocal presence we needed, even with the volume
running over 95dB at times.’
He was equally pleased with the EMS-51s, an ultra-compact passive loudspeaker
designed for use in situations where compact size is as important as sonic
performance. “We had a lot of speakers to fit into a small space and the EMS-51s
were an ideal choice – they allowed us to achieve optimum vocal coverage in the
galleries with minimal intrusion.’
“It was really refreshing to see speakers from an independent UK manufacturer
being used on a US show that may very well end up on Broadway,’ concluded
Gayle. “It’s fair to say EM Acoustics wasn’t our first choice, but given the
performance of HALO-C in particular, I’m anything but disappointed – on the
contrary, I was genuinely impressed and wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.’
For further information please visit www.emacoustics.com
