David Byrne's 'American Utopia': Theater Review

  • 📰 THR
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 62 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 28%
  • Publisher: 53%

Entertainment Entertainment Headlines News

Entertainment Entertainment Latest News,Entertainment Entertainment Headlines

Theater Review: DavidByrne brings his unique AmericanUtopia show to Broadway, and THR's critic calls it 'pure bliss'

There's no story as such, but there's definitely an overarching statement about enduring openness, optimism and faith in humanity, even in a troubled world, that's subtly threaded throughout, along with smoothly integrated political perspective. To sum it up in the title of one of the songs performed, "Everyday Is a Miracle." Basically, that makes Byrne the cool Mr. Rogers.

Along with Angie Swan on guitar and Bobby Wooten III on bass, the entire troupe is "untethered," to use Byrne's word. They move freely around the stage, forming lines or mini-clusters or communing in corroboree circles, sometimes just bouncing in place, but at all times connecting with one another and unmistakably having a blast.

The segue from "Government" into Byrne's 2002 collaboration with Brit house duo X-Press 2, "Lazy," keeps cranking up the energy in a perfectly modulated set list. But the loudly appreciative response of hardcore fans to the older material conveys a special contagious rapture, notably as the jaunty opening bars of "This Must Be the Place" act like a mass mood elevator, followed by the explosively visceral tribal rhythms of "I Zimbra.

That song also reiterates the show's nutshell ethos when Byrne explains the concept of eliminating everything from the stage except the primary interest of people, telling the audience, "That would be us and you." It's also there in the preshow front curtain by illustrator Maira Kalman, with its lovely depiction of the performers spreading joy across America.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 411. in ENTERTAİNMENT

Entertainment Entertainment Latest News, Entertainment Entertainment Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’: A Heady Swirl of Hope for Our Anxious TimesThe concert-theater-dance spectacle on Broadway finds solace in human connections — with plenty of drum beats NursepollyRgn It's amazing. Seen it in Dublin . Outstanding. I saw it when DBtodomundo was on tour with it. Absolutely one of the best live performances ever! I know this isn't a PC thing to say in our times, but Broadway needs to ban the pop & rock stars from Broadway. Not a healthy theatre trend, anymore than comic book/action hero movies are to film.
Source: RollingStone - 🏆 483. / 51 Read more »

Victoria Beckham jokes about her sex life with hubby David on US chat showThe mum-of four and former footballer, who was nicknamed golden balls during his sporting days, have notched up 20 years of married bliss in July Was the joke that’s shes not invited? Porn DailyMirror Turned down the chance to sing again. 😂 she never could sing 😂
Source: Mirror Celeb - 🏆 476. / 51 Read more »