Vancouver-trained director Bobby Garcia inspired a generation of Filipino theatre artists

Bobby Garcia, a theatre director, producer and casting director who inspired a generation of Filipino artists, beamed at opening night of the 2023 Broadway run of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love, an immersive musical about the life of Imelda Marcos set inside a lavish nightclub. With Mr. Garcia as casting consultant and co-producer, it was the first Broadway show to star an all-Filipino main cast, including Tony Award-winner Lea Salonga, an artist with whom Mr. Garcia worked extensively over his illustrious career.The premiere was a triumph for Mr. Garcia, who had already produced over 65 shows and directed more than 50 musicals in Asia and North America. Mr. Garcia, affectionately nicknamed Direk Bobby, uplifted Filipino voices in theatre for almost 25 years through Atlantis Productions, his theatre production company, and Theatre Group Asia, a new Filipino theatre collective he formed post-pandemic.