Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Byrne’s AMERICAN UTOPIA on Broadway is the jolt of euphoric optimism we all need

• By drediman
• November 2, 2019
• No Comments

David Byrne leads the company of “American Utopia” at the Hudson Theatre. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

What’s the unlikeliest musical theater success story so far of this relatively young Broadway season? My pick would be David Byrne’s American Utopia, which is currently playing at the Hudson Theatre. Mr. Byrne has been around for a while and in various incarnations, from the iconic frontman of the 1970s/1980s rock band Talking Heads to the creator of the thrilling, immersive Imelda Marcos pop musical Here Lies Love (which received an equally thrilling production at the Public Theater a few seasons ago, courtesy of the same creative team behind the show now under discussion). It’s hard to describe his American Utopia without doing it injustice. There’s no identifiable plot nor characters to speak of, which automatically classifies the show as a concert.

But the show is so much more. I would go far as to say that there’s a non-violent revolution against Anerica’s dispiriting status quo currently transpiring nightly on West 44th Street. The show doesn’t need a contrived plot to get its point across; the hugely infectious score and unstoppable, fluidly reconfiguring humanity onstage – Mr. Byrne is backed by a wonderfully diverse, multi-tasking 11-member ensemble – are all American Utopia needs to achieve its goals. Despite Mr. Byrne’s famously dispassionate persona and his songs’ decidedly political bent, there’s not a cynical bone in American Utopia (by the way, Mr. Byrne’s vocals sound as good as ever), which instead defiantly and constructively chooses to bask in our shared – but unfortunately oft-politicized – humanity. The result is a thrilling celebration that you simply don’t want to end. And why should it? The show implores us to continue the party out on the streets of the Theater District and beyond in our respective lives.

As for the production, much of the show’s success as a piece of music theater arises from Mr. Byrne’s collaboration with choreographer Annie-B Parson and “production consultant” Alex Timbers. Mr. Byrne and team eschew typical Broadway razzle-dazzle, instead staging American Utopia essentially on a bare but strikingly lit stage. The irrepressible spirit of Mr. Byrne’s score and the company’s monsoon-power exuberance provide the spectacle — and boy do they — encouraging us to get on our feet and threatening to bring down the house. Along with Camille A. Brown (who provided dances for the Met’s new production of Porgy and Bess, as well as the Public’s current stunning revival of For Colored Girls), Ms. Parson has produced some of the most beguiling choreography of the theater this season. I’m hard bent to single out a more genuinely uplifting show on the Great White Way. It’s the jolt of euphoric optimism we all need in these difficult, finger-pointing times.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA
Broadway, Musical
Hudson Theatre
1 hour, 40 minutes (without an intermission)
Through February 16