'American Utopia' star Chris Giarmo was once just a Jersey kid with a tape deck

Chris Giarmo has always been a performer. What started with a tape deck and a microphone at family gatherings in Paramus has led to a starring role alongside former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne on Broadway.

"Choosing to be a professional performer is largely due to the guidance of wonderful teachers I've had the privilege of working with, like Allyn Sitjar at Youth Theater of New Jersey and the late Stevie Rivers Rawlings at Paramus High School," he said.

Even though Giarmo's parents were both performers themselves — they helped create the theater program at Montclair State University — it was another family member who helped him get his start.

"It was really my grandmother, Madelyn, who pushed me into the spotlight," he said. "Even if that spotlight was in the living room of the crowded house I grew up in, along with my cousins, grandmother, and Aunt JoAnn."

And while the stages have gotten bigger and the spotlight brighter, one thing hasn't changed: Giarmo still feels right at home while he is performing.

How did you start working with David Byrne?

"I've worked with American Utopia's choreographer, Annie-B Parson, since 2005 —performing in her company, Big Dance Theater, and assisting her on various projects. In 2009, I assisted her in choreographing David Byrne's 2009 world tour. At the time, I mentioned to David that I had been the captain of my high school's color guard, to which he replied, 'Oh, I've always wanted to do this color guard rock show project.' Fast forward several years, and I was working with him as associate producer of Contemporary Color, a massive color guard/music event at the Barclays Center, featuring the likes of Nelly Furtado, Tune-Yards, St. Vincent, and Dev Hynes. When I heard Annie-B was working on American Utopia and looking for backing vocalists who could dance, I emailed David and told him I was available. He wanted me to be dance captain as well, and eventually, I would also become vocal captain and choreograph one of the show's numbers, 'Burning Down the House.'

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What can you tell me about American Utopia? What makes it unique?

"I like to say it is a dance piece disguised as a rock show. David and Annie-B's vision was to utilize abstraction as an invitation to imagine a better future for our society. Today we are constantly bombarded with ideas, tasks, tools, and products that tell us what we're supposed to do to 'make the world a better place.' But our show isn't prescriptive. It lightly asks the question, 'What is your American Utopia?' And that question is asked with music, with colors, with shapes, and yes, sometimes with words. And it's asked by a family of 12 individuals who you get to meet one by one, as they show you who they are, and what they can make together — beyond the restrictive confines of individual identity."

Do you have a favorite song to perform during the show?

"'This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)' is one of the greatest songs of all time, in my opinion, and the dance Annie-B made for it is so classic and naïve in its own way. I actually have the choreography (as notated by me) tattooed on my arm. If I ever feel stuck at any point in my life, I can look at it and know that I did this dance all over the world for hundreds of thousands of people. The kineticism of that idea always keeps me going."

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What was it like working with Spike Lee on the filmed version?

"We really made American Utopia on the road — living on a bus and spending all our time together — and as such, by the end of our 2018 tour (in which we performed 144 shows in 28 countries), we were this incredibly close art family. The opportunity to transfer the show to Broadway was amazing, but Broadway, for all its insularity, is more of a machine than a family. When we met Spike and his film crew — many of whom he's worked with consistently since Do The Right Thing, in 1989 — we knew we were in good hands. One art family documenting another. That, and the fact that Spike told me to amp up the color of my lipstick — 'FDNY Red!' he said — to make my facial expressions pop more, made me revere him even more than I already did."

What was it like to perform a number you choreographed at the Tony Awards?

"The Tony folks requested that we perform 'Burning Down the House' because it's a number in our show that encourages the audience to get up and dance. My choreography consists of pretty simple marching band formations that allow us to dance and groove as we see fit within them, really dancing with the crowd. We start with our backs to the audience and, hilariously, when we jumped around to face them, expecting to see everyone on their feet (as they always are in our show), they were all seated! I mean it was a thousand of some of the most famous people in the world, wearing the most uncomfortable red-carpet outfits, who had been sitting there, fully masked for around two and a half hours. Eventually, of course, they were all on their feet and getting down, but just that first, very staid image of them all was so funny to me!"

What can you tell me about Kimberly Clark?

"Kimberly Clark is my drag alter ego, and is a project I created on a whim, really, that evolved into a much bigger thing. I didn't have a 'drag mother' per se, so I learned how to do drag via YouTube makeup tutorials, mainly. I was steeped in the overwhelming consumerism of the beauty industry, so when I decided to start making my own YouTube videos, critiquing that really became the focus. I helped coin the video genre called 'Antihauls,' or basically videos in which a creator talks about the products they're not gonna buy (as opposed to a 'haul video' in which they talk about what they did purchase). Although Kimberly's YouTube postings are infrequent these days, there are millions of Antihaul videos out there, and I feel very proud to have been a part of this trend towards anti-consumerism."

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What does a typical day in your week look like?

"Doing this show is really all-consuming. I have to be on stage for almost the entirety of the performance, singing and dancing in every song. Because of that, my days typically consist of taking care of my instruments: my body and my voice. A typical day involves an hour or two of physical therapy exercises or a PT appointment (I'm currently in recovery from a back injury) and getting to the theater early enough to have time for a vocal warmup and steam. When we did the show on the road, I would have so much energy after performing that I would stay up for hours on the tour bus, but something about living and working in New York exhausts me in a whole different way. So typically after a show, I grab a bite on the way home and then am in bed soon after midnight."

What are some of your favorite things about Bergen County?

"My parents still live in Bergen, so it is nice to be working up in New York City for the time being as it allows me time to visit them more often than when I'm home in NOLA. Some of my favorite spots in the area are long gone, like the Twin Oaks Diner or the Tenplex movie theater on Route 4. But I'm always down for a nosh at the Suburban Diner or strolling through one of the area's beautiful parks, like Dunkerhook or Van Saun."

What can you tell me about the LGBTQ+ center being built in Bergen County?

"I've been involved in local LGBTQ+ activism since I was 16. I started the Gay-Straight Alliance at PHS, and, along with PFLAG of Bergen County, have spoken at numerous schools, businesses, and organizations, sharing my experiences and visions for a more equitable future. Anthony Torres (founder of Bergen County LGBTQ+ Alliance, bergencountylgbtq.org) got in touch with my mom, Barbara Giarmo (an activist in her own right) to connect with me in order to provide some feedback and advocacy for his project to build a new brick and mortar LGBTQ+ Center in Bergen. I was kind of astonished that one didn't already exist. Any queer community benefits from having a physical place to go to for resources, healthcare, and other services. I feel like Bergen County's proximity to New York City means that most of us in this community have always looked to organizations and safe spaces across the river, but what folks need is something at home, in their community, to not only help and support them as individuals but to validate their existence as members of the communities they live in."

What’s next?

"I've been working on a solo music project called Boys Don't Fight for years now, and I'm finally beginning to release some music. By the time this article is published, I should at least have a single out (find it wherever you stream music) and should be on my way to releasing my first eponymously titled album. I grew up as a queer person in New Jersey in the late-90s, before smartphones, but at the dawn of this incredible resource known as the internet. I like to think my music describes a super-specific experience that captures the joy of late-90s pop and the unique experience of Gen-X/Millennial crossovers such as myself. And of course, as a professional backing vocalist, my music is very vocal-heavy. Making my choir teachers proud!"

Anything else you would like to add?

"When I was growing up, I always had to look outside my hometown to find representation, validity and shared experiences. There have always been queer people in Bergen (well, everywhere, obviously) but now we get to take up the space that we so deserve. If my presence here makes someone reading this feel less alone, then I've done my job, and I'm so grateful for getting to use my talent and privilege to inspire."

Get to know Chris Giarmo

• Age: 39

• Grew up in Paramus

• Currently live in New Orleans, La.

• Education: Paramus High School, New York University (Tisch School of the Arts, Experimental Theatre Wing)

• Recognitions & Awards: 2010 New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie), 2021 Special Tony Award for David Byrne's American Utopia

• Where can we find you online: chrisgiarmo.com, Kimberly Clark on YouTube, Boys Don't Fight on Spotify/other streaming services

• Favorite bloggers/websites/Instagram accounts: When I haven't deleted Instagram from my phone (current status), I'm partial to @inappropriatepatti, Jonathan Hoover's page in which he uncannily impersonates Patti Lupone singing things like The Golden Girls' theme song. I'm also partial to @savedbythebellhooks, a meme account that combines quotes from the late great author bell hooks with stills from Saved By The Bell.

• Future aspirations: I'd love to go back out on the road touring my own music project, Boys Don't Fight.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Chris Giarmo talks Broadway show 'American Utopia' and North Jersey