Outpouring of love for ‘Honorary Filipina’ Ruthie Ann Miles whose daughter dies in car accident

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Ruthie Ann Miles as Imelda Marcos: ‘Abigail was her world,’ says friend and ‘Here Lies Love’ costume designer Clint Ramos

Ruthie Ann Miles as Imelda Marcos: ‘Abigail was her world,’ says friend and ‘Here Lies Love’ costume designer Clint Ramos

The FilAm Broadway community expressed an outpouring of love and support for Tony Award-winning actress Ruthie Ann Miles who played Imelda Marcos in the rock musical “Here Lies Love.”

Tony awardee Lea Salonga writes on Facebook, “Please help however you can,” following reports that a pregnant Miles and her young daughter were hit by a car driven by a Staten Island woman who reportedly ran a red light. Four-year-old Abigail Blumenstein died immediately. Miles and the baby she was carrying are in stable condition, according to reports quoting her doctor. They were walking to their Brooklyn home with friends Lauren Lew and her 1-year-old son, Joshua, who were also struck by the vehicle. The boy also perished.

A GoFundMe page was set up for Miles’s family. More than $362,000 were raised since the crowdfunding page was created on March 6.

Miles, whose mother is Korean American, has close friendships and professional relationships with Filipino theater artists. She played Imelda Marcos opposite FilAm actor Jose Llana in David Byrne’s “Here Lies Love” with a cast of mostly FilAm performers. She was cast as Christmas Eve in “Avenue Q,” a musical written by FilAm Bobby Lopez. She is known to hang out with Broadway Barkada, composed of theater professionals, and has been teased about being an ‘Honorary Filipina.’

“Ruthie is family to so many Broadway Barkada members. While we are all mourning with her, it’s also so inspiring to witness the amount of support and love she has received from every corner of the theatre community,” Broadway Barkada said in a statement to The FilAm. “It reminds us of one of the Barkada’s core principles: that we are all family. We help one another. We celebrate one another. We rally around one another in times of hardship. Ruthie has always been a shining example of that spirit. Our hearts are with her.”

Miles’s GoFundMe page.  More than $362,000 raised in one day!

Photo from Miles’s GoFundMe page. More than $362,000 raised in one day!

Tony awardee, costume designer Clint Ramos who has worked with Miles in three productions – “Here Lies Love,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” and “Chess” – called her an amazing woman, wife and mother.

“Abigail was her world,” said Ramos. “As a parent myself, I can’t help but think that what she is going through is unimaginable. So many people are holding her and her family and the Lews very closely at the moment. Ruthie is so full of life and love and it only makes sense that she is surrounded by the love of the very community she treasured.”

Actor Billy Bustamante, a co-star in “Here Lies Love,” said “she inspires everyone she meets.”

“I truly can’t imagine the hardship she will endure as a result of this senseless tragedy. Still, I’m heartened to know that she has a huge support system of family and friends who have shown up for her and will continue to do so,” he said.

“Aladdin” actors Angelo Soriano and Don Darryl Rivera have never met Miles but shared with The FilAm how they felt.

“My heart is so heavy,” said Soriano. “Such a thing cannot be easy on anyone. It’s unimaginable. The close community around them were so quick to respond with the love they deserve.”

Echoed Rivera, “It has been so beautiful to see the Broadway community come together to show strength and love and support for Ruthie and Lauren.”

Miles hails from Honolulu, Hawai’i, and moved to NYC for grad school in 2005, according to her website. Her most recent Broadway play was “Sunday in the Park with George” with Jake Gyllenhaal, staged on the reopening of the historic Hudson Theatre. She played Lady Thiang in the revival of “The King and I,” for which she won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical.

Her website says Miles lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their “mischief-making little lady,” an apparent reference to little Abigail.

© The FilAm 2018

Love and condolences from the Filipino theatre community. From top left clockwise: Don Darryl Rivera, Clint Ramos, Angelo Soriano, and Billy Bustamante.

Love and condolences from the Filipino theatre community. From top left clockwise: Don Darryl Rivera, Clint Ramos, Angelo Soriano, and Billy Bustamante.



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