The girl who will be Imelda Marcos

MANILA, Philippines - This is Natalie Mendoza (photo), mentioned in last Saturday’s Funfare as the actress tapped to play Imelda Marcos in the musical Here Lies Love which will be staged at the Dorfman Theater (formerly The Cottesloe) in London from Sept. 30 to Jan. 8, 2015. Playing Ferdinand Marcos is Mark Bautista (who beat hundreds of auditionees in Manila), banner subject of the same Funfare report.

Natalie’s father is a Filipino jazz musician and her mother is an Australian-German dancer and TV personality. In theater, Natalie has done several musicals including Cats, Miss Saigon, Sweet Charity, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark and as Eponine in the 10th-anniversary Australian tour of Les Miserables. Among her TV credits are Beast Master, Hotel Babylon and Midsomer Murders. She was also in the telemovie South Pacific, Moulin Rouge and a few others. She was with Cesar Montano in the Hollywood movie The Great Raid.

Here Lies Love chronicles Former First Lady Imelda Marcos’ rise to power to her fall into infamy. Concept and lyrics by David Byrne who also wrote the music with Fatboy Slim, and direction by Alex Timbers. The musical premiered in New York to critical acclaim in 2013.