David Byrne and the cast of the musical David Byrne’s American Utopia performed the Talking Heads classic “Burning Down The House” on Sunday’s “The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!” telecast. The performance came after the show was honored with a Special Tony Award earlier in the evening at the 74th Annual Tony Awards.
The musical returned to Broadway earlier this month for a run at the St. James Theatre. David Byrne’s American Utopia originally launched in October 2019 with the initial run ending on February 16, 2020. Byrne is joined in the cast by Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva, Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Mauro Refosco, Stéphane San Juan, Angie Swan and Bobby Wooten III.
Sunday’s Tony Awards celebrated Broadway’s 2019 – 2020 season which was cut short due to the pandemic. The ceremony aired on Paramount+ and saw Byrne accept a Special Tony Award, given because American Utopia didn’t fit into any of the formal categories, in-person. Later in the evening, “The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!” aired on CBS. Byrne and his castmates delivered a stellar rendition of a song Talking Heads originally released on 1983’s Speaking In Tongues.
Check out “Burning Down The House” from the Tony Awards special below:
