Overview
- Center Theatre Group’s production holds its press opening today, February 18, with performances now scheduled through April 5 after an early extension.
- Snehal Desai directs with choreography by William Carlos Angulo, leading a cast that includes Reanne Acasio as Imelda Marcos, Joshua Dela Cruz as Ninoy Aquino, and Chris Renfro as Ferdinand Marcos.
- The musical recounts Imelda Marcos’ ascent and the Marcos regime’s abuses through a club-like environment designed to draw audiences into the spectacle before confronting them with its costs.
- Desai notes new emphasis on reprises of the song American Troglodyte to provoke shifting audience reactions as the story’s tone darkens.
- Coverage ties the L.A. staging to current U.S. immigration enforcement protests and impeachment complaints against Philippine leaders, while acknowledging ongoing criticism of glamorization that producers have countered as a stand against disinformation.