Tentative decisions: David Byrne declined John Mulaney's request to wear the big suit again in Sack Lunch Bunch
The Talking Heads frontman wore a Frozen costume in the comedy special instead of revisiting his look from Stop Making Sense
John Mulaney’s 2019 Netflix special John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch brought together a variety of celebrity guests to make the children’s musical spectacular, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Natasha Lyonne, and Richard Kind. On account of his admitted lack of musical ability, the comedian also recruited David Byrne to help out with the song “Pay Attention” and make a papier-mâché volcano.
The legendary Talking Heads frontman leaned into the show’s whimsical tone, gamely donning neon novelty sunglasses and an Elsa from Frozen costume while performing alongside one of the Sack Lunch Bunch’s young stars. There is, however, one thing he wouldn’t do: wear an oversized suit in the style of Stop Making Sense. Byrne’s appearance in the 1984 concert film became an enduring part of the band’s iconography, but a new interview with the Washington Post notes that he turned down Mulaney’s request to revisit the fit.
The multi-hyphenate is currently launching a lightly autobiographical immersive theater installation called Theater Of The Mind, but Byrne has often been hesitant to engage with his previous work. He is known for seeking out varied opportunities for his art, whether that be a color guard show or a duet with Selena. John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch ended up compromising by putting Byrne’s pint-sized scene partner Lexi Perkel in an adult’s suit to mimic the memorable look.
“I wanted my head to appear smaller, and the easiest way to do that was to make my body look bigger,” Byrne described while promoting Stop Making Sense. “Because music is very physical, and often the body understands it before the head.”
Byrne mostly wore his own more contemporary wardrobe in John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch, and considering that involved regular suits in eye-catching shades of pink and blue, he’s still having plenty of fun with clothes without looking to his past.
Theater Of the Mind is now open at the Denver Center Of The Performing Arts through December 18.