From rock-and-roll icon to Broadway: See David Byrne's American Utopia at the St. James Theatre
Nov 03, 2021, 11:58amUpdated on Nov 03, 2021
Rock-and-roll icon David Byrne has brought his music to Broadway.
"David Byrne's American Utopia" received a special Tony Award. You might call this a career triumph, though he has his own way of describing of it.
"I think there have been a few moments where different things I have been investigating and working on or using in shows, all sort of came together, and this is one of those moments," says Byrne.
Byrne is joined on stage by what may be Broadway's most talked about band. The lifelong treasure hunt for interesting sounds, percussionist Tim Keiper says, led him to "David Byrne's American Utopia," but this staging has put his skills to the test.
"There's no wires, there's no amps, there's no gear," says Keiper. "We're carrying all of our own instruments."
Keiper's instruments are unusual to be sure -- a homemade percussion board of many everyday items.
"This is an instrument of just bottle caps, kind of sounds like the environment, the ocean," says Keiper.
Keiper is among the 11 band members choreographed to be in near constant motion. Dancer and vocalist, Chris Giarmo, says the show's journey of cultural awareness leaves space for audience interpretation.
David Byrne's American Utopia is being performed at the St. James Theatre through March.