See David Byrne, ‘American Utopia’ Cast Perform ‘Burning Down the House’ on ‘CBS Mornings’

With just one month left in American Utopia’s latest Broadway residency, David Byrne and his cast appeared on CBS Mornings to perform three of his songs from the acclaimed show.

Performing onstage at the St. James Theatre — where American Utopia is booked through April 3 — Byrne and his crew delivered renditions of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House,” as well as “Everybody’s Coming to My House” — from the show’s 2018 namesake LP American Utopia — and 1989’s “Marching Through the Wilderness,” a recent “Unchained” addition to the show’s setlist.

In addition to the three songs, Byrne also sat down with the morning show to discuss American Utopia, an Omicron outbreak in the cast, his rigorous six-shows-a-week schedule at the age of 69, and the unlikely actor Byrne sought advice from. 

“I met Hugh Jackman once, and I reached out to him because he is the only Broadway performer that I could remember who did a show where he sang every song,” Byrne said of The Music Man star. “So I said, ‘Can I do this? What do I need to know?’ He said, ‘Don’t go hang out with your friends after… He also said on two-show days, don’t take a nap.”

Byrne added that he was unable to write new songs during the Covid-19 pandemic — “I thought, ‘I have not been able to process this,’” he said — and instead devoted his talents to drawing, which are now on exhibit at New York’s Pace Gallery.