Byrne takes us on hypnotic journey

Ever

since the pandemic darkened theaters earlier this year, sending the entire performing arts world into a catastrophic state of limbo, we’ve seen all manner of creative virtual substitutes: Digital dance seasons, clever musical mashups, a live-captured version of “Hamilton.”

Many of these have been good, some great. Yet none have truly matched the visceral experience many of us crave so profoundly: live performance, in a theater. And honestly, how could anything come close?

Well, now we have Spike Lee’s mesmerizing film version of David Byrne’s terrific Broadway concert “American Utopia,” which feels so thrillingly alive, you may actually forget you’re not in a theater. Or perhaps you’ll feel like the stage has somehow been lifted from its moorings and delivered straight to your living room — or, as Byrne might prefer, right into your brain. In any case, this hypnotic film experience is a badly needed shot in the arm for all of us — music lovers, theater lovers, dance lovers, culture lovers, life lovers. It’s also one of the best concert films in recent memory.

Of course, “David Byrne’s American Utopia,” a major Broadway happening that was due to return to the Hudson Theatre this fall, feels like far more than a concert. It’s based on Byrne’s music, yes, from his 2018 album of the same name but also other solo work and some iconic Talking Heads tracks. But that’s just the launching point.

The show, which one could broadly describe as a reflection on community and connectedness, is filled with pungent Byrne-ian commentary, on everything from brain function to Dadaism to climate change. “Meeting people is hard,” he muses at one point. But he can also get more political, as when he chides Americans for low voter turnout, especially in local elections.

A crucial element of the show’s success is its enormously talented multicultural supporting cast of 11 musicians and dancers, who hail from Brooklyn to Brazil. Dressed just like Byrne in silver-gray suits and bare feet, they play fascinating percussion instruments, and also sing and dance; everyone here does double or triple duty. Standouts include the exuberant Bobby Wooten

III on bass and the elegant Angie Swan on guitar.

Then there’s the endlessly inventive choreography by Annie-B Parson, not so much dancing as a holistic system of movement performed joyfully by lead dancers Chris Giarmo and Tendayi Kuumba. “I dance like this because it feels so damn good,” goes the Byrne song “I Dance Like This,” and yes, it does feel damn good, both to watch and to emulate. By the way, go ahead and try to get through this film without dancing yourself.

Lee’s cameras constantly find new and exciting angles on the action (the cinematography is by Ellen Kuras) — overhead, underneath, behind the performers or half an inch from their faces. And yet we never glimpse a camera, even though 11 operators were involved.

Powerful

The set is spare and stylish, surrounded by shimmering metallic curtains in the same silver-gray as the suits. “I thought, what if we could eliminate everything from the stage, except the stuff we cared about the most?” Byrne explains. “What would be left? ... Us, and you.”

Lee has made a few additions to the Broadway show. For example, when Byrne and the cast sing Janelle Monae’s stirring protest song “Hell You Talmbout,” chanting names of Black men and women who died in racial violence or at the hands of police, Lee provides powerful visuals and adds more recent names like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

As for Byrne, at 68 a remarkable font of quirky energy, he shifts seamlessly from somber moments like this to ebullient renditions of Talking Heads classics like “I Zimbra,” “Once in a Lifetime,” and “Road to Nowhere.” But nothing gets the audience out of their seats like the rollicking version here of “Burning Down the House.” Chances are you won’t stay in yours.

On the show’s closing day in February — I happened to be there with my sister and cousin — we were given happy news during curtain calls. Byrne announced to cheers that the show would return in September.

Then the pandemic happened, and who knows when “American Utopia” will be back. Until that one fine day, let’s thank Lee and Byrne for giving us something a little better — no, a lot better — than merely the next best thing.

“David Byrne’s American Utopia,” an HBO Films release, is unrated by the Motion Picture Association of America. Running time: 105 minutes. Four stars out of four.

Also:

NEW YORK: The New York Philharmonic will miss an entire season for the first time in its 178-year history and is seeking to expedite the renovation of David Geffen Hall that had been set to impact performances through February 2024.

Philharmonic President Deborah Borda said Tuesday that cancellations caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic caused $10 million in ticket losses on its $87 million budget for 2019-20 and another $20 million in losses for 2020-21.

Borda said the orchestra exceed its fundraising goals. “No matter how well you do at fundraising, it cannot make up for those massive amounts of lost ticket revenue because we live on earned ticket revenue,” she said.

Orchestra musicians are receiving 75% of base pay, which comes to a weekly total of about $2,200, and some pay over scale has been restored.

The Philharmonic has not performed as a whole since March 10 and announced on June 10 that it had canceled the fall part of the 2020-21 season. The orchestra said then it hoped to resume Jan. 6 but on Tuesday scrapped all concerts through June 13, 2021, due to the coronavirus. The orchestra has cut its staff in half to about 70.

Borda said she hopes the full orchestra can resume performances next summer with performances in New York City parks and its residency in Vail, Colorado.

The orchestra launched NY Phil Bandwagon socially distanced performances with its musicians throughout the city last Aug 28 and intends to resume in spring 2021. It also will expand its orchestra streaming series.

Last Friday, the Broadway League announced the 41 Broadway theaters will remain shut through at least May 30. The Metropolitan Opera, which initially hoped to reopen on Dec. 31, called off its entire 2020-21 season on Sept. 23. (AP)