‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: David Byrne (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA
Performed by David Byrne & cast
Production consultant Alex Timbers
Choreography & musical staging by Annie-B Parson
St. James Theatre
246 West 44th Street
(877) 250-2929, https://americanutopiabroadway.com/

Editor’s note: This review is from the 2019 production at the Hudson Theatre.

By Scott Harrah

Way back in my university days, there were many “cool” musicians that students at my large Midwestern college admired. However, there was one guy in particular everybody loved listening to: David Byrne of the Talking Heads. He was artsy, edgy and nerdy enough to appeal to the “left-wing liberals” I worked with on the college newspaper, but mainstream enough to be heard at virtually every party on campus. His videos were on MTV all the time and his songs were all over the radio. Everybody loved David Byrne. With his crazy big suits and David Bowie-style whine of a voice, he was that proverbial man all the girls wanted to be with (or so I was told) and all the guys wanted to be. Fast forward more than three decades later, not much has changed. David Byrne, looking great and in fine voice at age 67, is an indie artist for the masses, starring in one of the hottest shows on Broadway in David Byrne’s American Utopia.

Mr. Byrne still wears the funky suits, as do the other 11 musicians and performers on stage, most in their bare feet. The show opens with Mr. Byrne on a stage surrounding by industrial-looking metal curtains. He’s holding a plastic brain and talking about how babies have more “neural connections” than adults, asking if that means babies might be smarter and if we get “stupider” as we age. The stage is bare but what happens over the next 100 minutes is consistently amazing, inspiring and upbeat.

The 11 performers seen and heard with Mr. Byrne include a guitarist, a bassist, two singers who double as dancers, and a variety of percussionists. With clever, innovative and razor-sharp choreography and musical staging by Annie-B Parson, Byrne and company constantly move, with some singing while others play instruments. The show is based on a 2018 album of the same name and, although many of the songs will be unfamiliar to most, it doesn’t matter because American Utopia is all about the experience of seeing 12 people, Byrne included, performing live music without any prerecorded tracks. He even includes a short speech about how everything in the show is live when he introduces his performers.

Mr. Byrne truly delivers when he performs his biggest hits, including “Once in a Lifetime,” “Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)” and the iconic “Burning Down the House.” He encourages people to get up and dance if they want, despite what fire marshals would say. At the performance I attended, audience members were bopping, clapping and singing along to “Burning Down the House,”a cherished golden oldie and his signature song.

Politics also play a role in the show. A native of Scotland who naturalized as a U.S. citizen years ago, Mr. Byrne says he appreciates immigrants and notes many of his cast are from all over the world. He also discusses working to help register voters in North Carolina in 2016. He notes that the average age of voters in the last election was 57 and most will be dead before the full effects of climate change wreak havoc. He explains that voter registration workers are camped out in the lobby of the Hudson Theatre and can register anyone in any state. In addition, he shines a spotlight on part of the audience, in the orchestra, mezzanine and balcony and states that this is 20 percent of the audience and in local elections, only an average of 20 percent vote. By avoiding voting, people are letting only a fraction of the public decide their fate, he notes. It is a chilling thought but also underscores the zeal and faith Mr. Byrne obviously has regarding today’s youth and their ability to make a difference.

Politics are also part of a cover Mr. Byrne does of Janelle Monae’s song “Hell You Talmbout” for which he said he had to get permission from the artist because he wasn’t sure she wanted a “white man of a certain age” singing the tune, a protest anthem that mentions famous victims of racist violence from Trayvon Martin to Eric Garner. For some reason, Mr. Byrne did not include his classic hit “Psycho Killer,” possibly due to all the mass shootings in America lately, and he knows gun control is such a divisive issue and might make the evening too heavy-handed.

Overall, American Utopia is a celebration of life and Mr. Byrne’s quirky perspectives about the world. Everyone in the cast is in perfect sync, whether they are dancing, singing or playing instruments, and the collective synergy of Mr. Byrne’s company is mind-blowing. Most of his performers were probably either babies or not even born yet when he was doing all his iconic MTV videos back in the 1980s. In a sense, the show is a tribute to the younger generation, giving them hope in these dark days of America.

For the encore, Mr. Byrne and company do a rousing rendition of the 1985 Talking Heads classic “Road to Nowhere,” but in the dynamic 100 minutes of American Utopia, Mr. Byrne shows us that by believing in ourselves and our nation and voting in leaders who care about the planet and ways to advance us as conscientious human beings, the road to the future does not have to lead to “nowhere.” David Byrne believes Americans all have a chance for a better tomorrow, and that’s a trenchant and encouraging notion everyone needs to know right now.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 1, 2019
Reviewed at October 30, 2019 press performance.

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: (from left to right): Daniel Freedman, Bobby Wooten III, Chris Giarmo, David Byrne (center),Tendayi Kuumba & Stéphane San Juan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: (left to right) Mauro Refosco, David Byrne (center) & Gustavo Di Dalva. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: The company (left) & (right) David Byrne. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’: David Byrne (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA’ : (from left to right): Jacquelene Acevedo, David Byrne, Mauro Refosco, Chris Giarmo, Angie Swan & Bobby Wooten III. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘ROCKTOPIA’: Pat Monahan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

ROCKTOPIA: A CLASSICAL REVOLUTION
Performances by various artists
Concept by Rob Evan & Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer
Conducted by Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer
The New York Contemporary Symphony Orchestra with the New York Contemporary Choir
Through April 29, 2018
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway
https://rocktopia.com/

By Scott Harrah

Rocktopia is a traveling concert that features covers of old rock songs fused with classical music and opera, with a full live 20-piece orchestra, a choir of 40, a five-piece rock band and splendid vocalists. Immensely popular in both Europe and on the road in the USA, with a broadcast on PBS stations, the show has landed on Broadway for a limited run. While much of the evening is basically like watching an enormously talented cover band performing classic rock oldies, it is nonetheless consistently entertaining. However, although most of the mash-ups are melodic and innovative, not everything works.

The show is inspired by the idea that Beethoven and Mozart would be rock stars if they were alive in the 21st century. Act One starts out with singers Rob Evan (co-creator of Rocktopia) and rocker Tony Vincent fusing Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra” with The Who’s “Baby O’Riley,” followed by Mr. Evan, Chloe Lowery, Kimberly Nichole and Mr. Vincent singing Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusic” along with Styx’s 1970s standard “Come Sail Away.”

Chloe Lowery, a petite blonde who has performed as a featured vocalist with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, has some of the most powerful pipes of the ensemble. Sounding like a cross between young Mariah Carey and early Whitney Houston, Ms. Lowery’s multi-octave range is full of emotion on Heart’s 1987 power-pop classic “Alone,” blended with Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor,” a perfect combination because the original Ann and Nancy Wilson song also contained a stirring piano introduction.

Pat Monahan of the rock group Train sings Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” blended with Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7: Allegretto.” Mr. Monahan’s high-tenored voice is a nice match for the vintage rock staple. Beethoven is a great complement for the song, known for its three sections, each increasing in tempo and volume.

Kimberly Nichole is equally impressive on a haunting cover of Patti Smith’s 1977 hit “Because the Night,” along with Tchaikovsky’s “Overture from Romeo and Juliet.” It’s a beautiful pairing, and Ms. Nichole’s rich vocals add the requisite lush texture to Bruce Springsteen’s poetic lyrics about night and desire (though the on-screen projections of adult X-rated cinemas and seedy street scenes are silly and unnecessary).

Along with these many fine numbers, a few fall flat. “The Rise of Spring” by Stravinsky done in tandem with Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” sung by Tony Vincent, comes off as a pointless Hendrix impersonation (even though Mr. Vincent does a nice job singing in the Hendrix style). Music director Tony Bruno, who has worked with everyone from Rihanna to Enrique Iglesias, is an awe-inspiring rock guitarist and is in fine form here, but the “rock star” posing and posturing of Mr. Vincent—with his arms around Mr. Bruno and others like someone impersonating Mick Jagger or David Bowie back in the day—on this and other songs is both pretentious and preposterous.

In addition, Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” with “Uprising” by Muse, performed by Mr. Evan, Ms. Lowery, Ms. Nichole and Mr. Vincent, is also less effective than other songs.

One of the show’s major assets is the golden-throated opera soprano Alyson Cambridge. Ms. Cambridge’s beautiful coloratura vocals are soaring in the Act One finale, Puccini’s heartbreaking “Nessun Dorma” paired with Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir,” with grand vocals by Mr. Monahan, Mr. Evan, Ms. Lowery and Mr. Vincent.

Highlights of Act Two include Mr. Monahan and Ms. Nichole singing a duet of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” with Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique.” Reaching the stratospheric octave range of Steven Tyler is no easy task, but the two singers manage to do so here with aplomb.

Chloe Lowery literally brings down the house with a mind-blowing cover of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is,” backed up by the New York Contemporary Choir. Ms. Lowery belts out every lyric with passion, full of all the emotions of this soulful rock ballad.

Granted, there is a certain “schlock” and “cheesy” factor to doing covers of any songs, particularly Journey’s infectious guilty pleasure “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” coupled with Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9: Ode to Joy.” Regardless, the vocalists here, from Ms. Cambridge and Mr. Evan to Ms. Lowery, Mr. Monahan, Ms. Nichole and Mr. Vincent harmonize so perfectly on this one, and the audience of baby boomers and Generation X members loved reliving their youth on this number at the performance this reviewer attended.

Fans of the late Freddie Mercury may or may not feel that Tony Vincent can match the unparalleled four full octaves of the Queen singer’s inimitable voice (although Mr. Vincent found success on London’s West End in the Queen jukebox musical We Will Rock You, paying tribute to the icon). Mercury’s vibrato was almost operatic, after all, but Mr. Vincent certainly tries to replicate the British rock phenomenon (with the help of Ms. Cambridge, Mr. Evan, Ms. Lowery and Ms. Nichole) in the encore finale of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with Queen’s signature song “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

In addition to the gifted singers, the New York Contemporary Symphony Orchestra and New York Contemporary Choir are outstanding. Finally, Grammy and Emmy-nominated Irish violinist Máiréad Nesbitt (of Celtic Woman fame) is a sheer delight whenever she is on stage.

Some of the songs, like “Pictures at an Exhibition: Gate of Kiev” by Mussorgsky with “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2, just seem mismatched as classical and rock mash-ups. Michael Stiller and Austin Switser’s video designs and nonstop projections bring color and visual verve to the concert, even when some of the video choices make little sense.

Rocktopia is not really a Broadway show. It’s also nothing like a traditional rock concert or a classical recital at Carnegie Hall. Whatever it is, it’s certainly unique and that must be why the show has such a following worldwide.

Note: Pat Monahan from Train appears through April 8; Robin Zander from Cheap Trick will perform April 23 to 29, 2018.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 27, 2018
Reviewed at March 24, 2018 press preview performance.

‘ROCKTOPIA’: Chloe Lowery. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ROCKTOPIA’: Kimberly Nichole. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ROCKTOPIA’: Mairead Nesbitt & choir. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ROCKTOPIA’: Tony Vincent & Alyson Cambridge. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ROCKTOPIA’: Rob Evan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ROCKTOPIA’: Guitarist Tony Bruno. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ROCKTOPIA’: Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ROCKTOPIA’: The company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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DIVA FROM DOWN UNDER DELIVERS: Kylie Minogue sings one of her hits during her first concert in New York this tour on May 2, 2011. Photo: John P. Hull

KYLIE MINOGUE’S APHRODITE FOLIES 2011
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
Performed by Kylie Minogue
Hammersmith Ballroom
311 West 34th Street, NYC
http://www.kylie.com/tour/

By Scott Harrah

Australian pop superstar Kylie Minogue delivered more glitz, over-the-top choreography, and razzle-dazzle spectacle than one might see in most Broadway or Las Vegas shows in the opening night of her three-day “Aphrodite Les Folies 2011”  concert tour in New York City, just one stop of many as she travels across North America (including the USA, Canada, and Mexico) with her troupe of muscle-bound acrobats, dancers, backup singers, and band to show everyone on this side of the Atlantic why she is considered an icon elsewhere in the world.  “Folies” is her second tour of North America; she was here in 2009 for a sold-out whistle-stop of small venues in major U.S. cities and Toronto, Canada.

At age 43, having survived many career ups and downs and a much-publicized battle with breast cancer (she has, thankfully, been cancer-free for five years now), Ms. Minogue still has her gorgeous looks, bubbly persona, and the lovable, high-pitched pop pipes that established her as a recording legend more than two decades earlier when she branched out into music after starring as Charlene on the Aussie soap opera, Neighbours (at one time the highest-rated TV show in the United Kingdom).

“Folies” is a scaled-down version of a show that Ms. Minogue performed in stadiums across Europe earlier this year.  Although the North American version does not include such things as the water fountains that splashed over Kylie fans across the pond, the Down Under Diva certainly packed enough high-tech visuals into the two-hour performance to more than please her American audience.

She started out with the song “Aphrodite,” the title track from her top-selling 2010 album in the USA. Ms. Minogue arrived on a giant clam shell that rose to the stage, with her clad in a Greek goddess gown (her outfits were designed by Dolce and Gabbana, and she made too many costume changes to keep count of, but half the fun of seeing the Princess of Pop is wondering what fabulous frock she’s going to wear next).  Many touches that made references to Greek mythology were included in the show, from a chariot to a marble statue to the horse Pegasus (which Kylie climbed rode on top of during one of her numbers).  From start to finish, the show was a delight for the eyes, with video screens showing Kylie in outrageous makeup and fashions, acrobats hanging from the ceiling, and dancers and backup singers everywhere.  At any given time, there must have been 15 or more people onstage (this reviewer lost count), but the focus was always on Ms. Minogue, flawlessly belting out tracks from Aphrodite as well as her classics.

Besides “Get Outta My Way,” “Put Your Hands Up” and other hits from her most recent album, Ms. Minogue treated her fans to her standards, from “Spinning Around,”  “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” a swing/jazz rendition of “Slow, “Wow,” Love At First Sight,” “Come Into My World’ and ‘Confide in Me” to some of her Stock Aitken Waterman oldies like “Better the Devil You Know”and ‘What Do I Have to Do?”

She also performed some amazing covers, including Annie Lennox’s “There Must Be An Angel Playing With My Heart,’ with her backup singers belting out the song’s chorus like something out of Motown back in the day. Another highlight was her cover of Prefab Sprout’s “If You Don’t Love Me,” done beautifully as a ballad (the song is actually included on one of her lesser-known albums from the 1990s).

At one point, Ms. Minogue took requests, and did her first-ever hit and self-described ?guilty pleasure, “The Locomotion” (the song that started it all back in the late 1980s).  There was not enough time to perform all her hits there are too many to count for us die-hard Kylie fansbut she closed the show with a high-camp rendition of her international classic On a Night Like This, complete with video screens showing Esther Williams-style swimmers while Kylie donned a sparkly Dolce and Gabbana swim cap and her backup dancers frolicked around her in high-collared suits that looked like something out of the Broadway musical adaptation of Sunset Boulevard.

The finale was the first single from last year’s Aphrodite, “All The Lovers,” her techno-disco hit that is a plea for acceptance of love of all types.  When she was finished, the audience was sprayed with glitter, and gave her a standing ovation that lasted for minutes.

In Britain and her native Australia, Ms. Minogue has been given many monikers by the press over the years, from “the Singing Budgie” to rather snarky nicknames often reserved for members of the Royal Family and other celebrities. Just like Madonna is called ‘Madge’ by many Anglos worldwide, Ms. Minogue is affectionately called “Our Kyles” in the UK and Australia because she is so adored by both Brits and Aussies.  Now, in her second North American tour in two years, Americans can also call the pint-sized diva “Our Kyles” because she has finally, after years of obscurity on this side of the Atlantic, shown us Yanks here in the Colonies that hers is an extraordinary talent, and she never fails to entertain both new and old fans alike.

Published May 4, 2011
Reviewed at performance on May 2, 2011

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