“When you use the word choreography, a lot of people will think of ‘ Rhythm Nation’ or big spectacle pop shows with lots of dancers doing things we could never do,” he said. The choreography is likewise simple and straightforward, Byrne said. “We’re just people, as you in the audience are just people.” “It’s more human than when you’re getting dazzled by all kinds of effects,” he said. Backing Byrne will be Mansfield, Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva, Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Mauro Refosco, Stephane San Juan, Angie Swan, and Bobby Wooten III. Byrne said the emptiness puts the emphasis on the music and the movement of the musicians. One of the most striking aspects of the “American Utopia” concerts - the austere stage setup and the untethering of the band from the usual trappings of live performance - will be part of the theatrical show. The creative team behind “David Byrne’s American Utopia” includes choreographer Annie-B Parson, who staged the “American Utopia” tour and worked with Byrne on “Here Lies Love” keyboardist-arranger Karl Mansfield, who serves as the show’s musical director and production consultant Alex Timbers, who worked on “Here Lies Love” and directed the musical “ Moulin Rouge!,” whose pre-Broadway run last year was also at the Emerson Colonial. “We’re going to tweak the beginning of the show so that the audience can piece together the character, what the world is, and what the character’s going through,” he said. The audience is going to feel what it is, and that’s going to have a deeper, more lasting impression for them and for me. “I’ve been around long enough to know the showbiz rules: Show, don’t tell. “I’m never going to tell the audience what it’s about. Though best known as the author of “ Psycho Killer” and “ Once in a Lifetime,” among other Talking Heads hits, Byrne has theater bona fides that include collaborating with choreographer Twyla Tharp on the 1981 Broadway show “ The Catherine Wheel,” creating a stage production of his 2010 concept album “ Here Lies Love,” and writing the musical “ Joan of Arc: Into the Fire.”īyrne said the new show, which includes a selection of Talking Heads songs as well as material from his solo career, will have a more explicit narrative arc than the “American Utopia” concerts, but it won’t tell a story in any conventional sense. When the “American Utopia” tour finally wrapped - the band played 150 dates (including a stop in Boston) in 27 countries - Byrne said he was encouraged to consider a Broadway stint, and the idea intrigued him. They may have had that reaction after the first song, but then they were fully on board. “I was fully prepared for the audience to say, ‘Oh, what the hell is he up to now? Is this him playing out his artsy-fartsy impulses? Just give us a regular show!’ ” Byrne said, laughing. In an interview with the Globe, Byrne said the show will be familiar to anyone who saw his tour last year promoting the album “American Utopia.” Those concerts, praised by critics and fans, were highly stylized and choreographed, featuring a stage stripped of gear - wires, microphones, speakers, risers - that put the focus squarely on the musicians and the music. 11-28 before moving to Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, where it’ll run Oct. The show, featuring Byrne and an 11-piece band performing the multi-hyphenate’s songs in a context that’s part musical theater and part rock ’n’ roll, will be at the Emerson Colonial Sept. “David Byrne’s American Utopia” is headed to Broadway this fall, but not before the former Talking Heads frontman stages 18 performances of the hybrid theatrical concert at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |