Lee’s adaptation of the Talking Heads frontman’s Broadway show will arrive later this year
A Spike Lee-directed version of David Byrne’s American Utopia on Broadway will premiere on HBO later this year.
The original show saw Byrne perform cuts from his solo album American Utopia, as well as classics from the Talking Heads catalogue, alongside an 11-person ensemble of musicians and dancers. The production opened at the Hudson Theater on October 20, 2019 and closed on February 16, 2020, and received rave reviews.
“It is my honour and privilege that my art brother, Mr David Byrne, asked me to join him in concert, to invite me into his magnificent world of American Utopia,” Spike Lee said in a statement, as reported by Variety. “And dat’s da ‘once in a lifetime’ truth, Ruth. Ya-dig? Sho-nuff. Peace and love. Be safe.”
“Spike and I have crossed paths many times over the years, obviously I’m a huge fan and now finally here was an opportunity for us to work together,” Byrne added. “I am absolutely thrilled with the result. The Broadway show was a wonderful challenge as well as an opportunity – it was a joy to perform and, well, best to let the quotes speak for themselves. Thrilled that this show and the subjects it addresses will now reach a wider audience.”
HBO has not announced a release date for Lee’s concert film but it did confirm it will debut “later this year”.