From Broadway: ‘Here Lies Love’ Star Arielle Jacobs, Cast Members to Perform at Pasko in America
By Dennis Clemente
Pasko in America, the offshoot of the summer event Fiesta in America, will feature top Broadway star Arielle Jacobs and her Filipino American cast members in a musical performance that promises to make American Dream, the second large entertainment and retail center in the US, grooving like it did on Broadway. On Dec 16, Arielle will be performing alongside her “Here Lies Love” cast members in the much-anticipated Filipino event at American Dream in East Rutherford, NJ.
Most Filipinos recognize Arielle Jacobs from the hit musical “Here Lies Love,”’ but she has been on Broadway for sometime now, proving to everyone of her unmistakable talent and longevity. She first graced the Broadway stage 13 years ago opposite the legendary Lin-Manuel Miranda in the final company of “In The Heights” as Nina Rosario, before enchanting audiences as Nessarose in the mega-hit “Wicked,” among other shows.
“Here Lies Love,” which ended its run on November 26, marks a major step up for her as a performer in that it’s her first time originating a Broadway role -- that of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos.
The musical carried deep personal resonance for the actor and singer, who was raised in San Francisco alongside her brother, fellow Broadway performer Adam Jacobs. Arielle was born in San Francisco to a Filipino mother and an American-Jewish father.
She later moved to Half Moon Bay, California, and then to New York City. Her older brother, Adam Jacobs, is also a theatre performer.
Her maternal grandfather was a Filipino scout for the U.S. Army during World War II, when the Philippines was an American colony, and immigrated to the United States in 1965.
For “Here Lies Love,” director Alex Timbers has been quoted as saying that Arielle went through a rigorous and lengthy audition process with multiple callbacks, performing six songs from the show and even learning some choreography and staging.
“Arielle brings a fierce intelligence, natural charisma, sense of danger, and the ability to exude empathy and warmth in one moment and icy superiority the next,” he says.
Here Lies Love was produced by renowned celebrities with Filipino heritage -- Broadway icon Lea Salonga, musician H.E.R., comic Jo Koy as producers, with Tony winner Clint Ramos and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Jose Antonio Vargas as its lead producers.
The immersive disco pop musical, with a score by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, transformed the Broadway Theatre into a dance club where actors perform amongst audiences.
Though Here Lies Love is created by non-Filipinos (Timbers has overseen every iteration of the musical), the cast and the producing team speaks to an ownership of the musical within the Filipino community.
Arielle has also performed as Princess Jasmine in Disney's Australian production of “ALADDIN,” marking another milestone. Beyond Broadway, she originated roles in the National Tours of “In the Heights” and “Disney's High School Musical,” embodying Nina Rosario and Gabriella Montez, respectively. Off-Broadway, she showcased her prowess in world-premiere productions by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz: “Sotto Voce” and “Farhad or the Secret of Being.”
She also appeared in The Baker's Wife in “Into The Woods” opposite Tituss Burgess, Mimi in “RENT” under the direction of Lexi Lawson (from “Hamilton”), and Julia in “Two Gentlemen of Verona” alongside Tony Award nominees Robin De Jesus and Javier Munoz.
Arielle has collaborated with music icons like Chaka Khan and toured alongside Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, which further highlight her extraordinary musical journey.
