56 | MAY 2 • 2024 
J
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ARTS&LIFE
DOCUMENTARY
J

ust after the premiere of Thank 
You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi 
Story during the South By 
Southwest Film Festival during March 
in Texas, philosopher Deepak Chopra 
— whose son Gotham Chopra directed 
the Hulu documentary — hosted a 
short Q&A with the band members.
Noting that his son considered 
drummer Tico Torres “the Zen of the 
group,
” Chopra then moved on to key-
boardist David Bryan. “Gotham says 
(you’re the) opposite — no bulls***. 
No Zen,
” which was greeted with great 
laughter — and acknowledgement.
But any lack of Zen has hardly been 
an impediment for the man born 
David Bryan Rashbaum more than 62 
years ago in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
Bryan is, first and foremost, the key-
boardist in one of the biggest bands in 
music history; Bon Jovi has sold more 
than 120 million records worldwide, 
with 10 Top 10 Billboard 100 hits. The 
group was inducted into the Rock and 
Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
That would be enough for some, 
but Bryan has established himself out-
side of Bon Jovi. He’s contributed to 
recordings by former bandmate Richie 
Sambora and Curtis Stigers, among 
others. More importantly, he’s carved 
out a career in musical theater. He won 
a Tony Award for Best Original Score 
for the 2009 Broadway hit Memphis, 
then worked again with playwright Joe 
DiPietro on The Toxic Avenger and on 
Diana, a musical about Princess Diana 
that was hampered by the pandem-
ic but was filmed and streamed via 
Netflix. 
He and DiPietro have also created a 
piece called Chasing the Song about the 
Brill Building songwriters of the early 
1960s.
“Broadway used to be my moon-
lighting job. Now I have two day jobs,
” 
says Bryan, a married father of three. 
“That’s OK. It’s not a competition 
between the two for me. It’s music. It’s 
collaborative, whether it’s the band or 
whether it’s me working with Joe. I’ve 
been able to spend my life doing what I 
love most. It’s a blessing; it really is.
”
It wasn’t the initially conceived path, 
of course. 

Documentary examines the career of 
Bon Jovi and its Jewish keyboardist 
David Bryan.

Livin’ on a Prayer

GARY GRAFF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Bon Jovi, 2020

continued on page 58

BON JOVI APPROVED

