Movin' Out (musical)
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''Movin' Out'' is a 2002
jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...
featuring the songs of
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
. Conceived and created by
Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988. She regrouped the compa ...
, the musical tells the story of a generation of American youth growing up on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
during the 1960s and their experiences with the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. The principal characters are drawn from those who appeared in various Joel tunes: high school sweethearts Brenda and Eddie (" Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"), James ("James"), Judy ("Why Judy Why"), Sergeant O'Leary and Tony (Anthony in " Movin' Out"). The show diverts from the traditional musical in that it essentially is a series of dances linked by a thin plot, and none of the dancers sing. Instead, all the vocals are performed by a pianist (the "Piano Man", representing Billy Joel) and band suspended on a platform above the stage while the dancers act out the songs' lyrics, basically making the show a rock ballet.


Productions

In 2000, Tharp approached Joel for permission to create the show, presenting him with a 20-minute concept video featuring the show's eventual Broadway cast. Joel was enthusiastic about it, but kept his involvement thereafter to a minimum. The show started in pre-Broadway try-outs at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago from June 25, 2002, through September 1, 2002. The Chicago production was negatively received, and Tharp made extensive revisions to the show's first act, with some suggestions from Joel. It premiered on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on October 24, 2002, to more positive reviews, and closed on December 11, 2005, after 1,303 performances and 28 previews. Directed and choreographed by Tharp, the cast included Michael Cavanaugh (Piano Man), Darren Holden (replacement Piano Man), Wade Preston (alternate Piano Man), Elizabeth Parkinson (Brenda), John Selya (Eddie), Keith Roberts (Tony), Henry Haid (understudy Piano Man), Ashley Tuttle (Judy), Benjamin G. Bowman (James), and Scott Wise (Sergeant O'Leary/Drill Sergeant). The first national tour of ''Movin' Out'' ran for three years, opening on January 27, 2004, and closing on January 21, 2007, after 1,111 performances. The tour also played to generally excellent reviews and full houses in 82 U.S. cities, and also ran in Canada in December 2005. It featured numerous dancers from the original Broadway production, who rotated in and out as schedules allowed. Darren Holden was the primary lead Piano Man and star for the entire run of the tour, understudied by Matt Wilson (2004), Charlie Neshyba-Hodges (2004), James Fox (2005) and Matthew Friedman (2006). Holly Cruikshank, in the role of Brenda, won the 2005 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non-Resident Production. The West End production opened on April 10, 2006, at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre where, despite receiving mostly solid reviews, it ran for less than two months, closing on May 2, 2006. James Fox and Darren Reeves were the leads. The show played Tokyo, Japan in the summer of 2006, with many of the first national tour's performers including Darren Holden in the lead role. A second national tour opened in
Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...
on June 14, 2007, with Matthew Friedman and Kyle Martin in the lead role of Piano Man. A third National Tour opened in
La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...
on November 4, 2008, with Matthew Friedman, Kyle Martin, and Jon Abrams in the lead role of Piano Man. On October 15, 2002, a live cast recording was released featuring the 2002 original Broadway cast. It was a single CD featuring 30 tracks.


Song list

;Act I * " Running on Ice" – Sergeant O'Leary ''(Chicago previews only)'' * " It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" – Company * " Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" – Brenda, Eddie, Tony, James, Judy, Sergeant O'Leary and Ensemble * " Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – Tony, Eddie, James and Sergeant O'Leary * " Reverie (Villa D'Este)" (instrumental) / " Just the Way You Are" – James, Judy and Ensemble * " The Longest Time" / " Uptown Girl" – Brenda, Eddie, Tony and Ensemble * " This Night" – Tony, Brenda and Ensemble * " Summer, Highland Falls" – Eddie, Brenda, Tony and Ensemble * " Waltz #1 (Nunley's Carousel)" (instrumental) – Tony, Eddie, James, Drill Sergeant and Ensemble * " We Didn't Start the Fire" – Judy, Brenda, James, Tony, Eddie and Ensemble * "
She's Got a Way She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei ...
" – Tony, Brenda and Ensemble * " The Stranger" – Judy and Ensemble * " Piano Man" – Tony, James, Eddie, Drill Sergeant and Ensemble * " Elegy (The Great Peconic)" (instrumental) – Judy, Brenda, Tony, Eddie, Drill Sergeant and Ensemble * " And So It Goes" – Piano Man and Eddie ''(only done at limited shows)'' ;Act II * " Invention in C Minor" (instrumental) – Eddie and Ensemble * " Angry Young Man" – Eddie and Ensemble * " Big Shot" – Tony, Brenda and Ensemble * " Big Man on Mulberry Street" – Tony, Brenda and Ensemble * " Captain Jack" – Eddie and Ensemble * " An Innocent Man" – Eddie and Ensemble * "
Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
" – Judy, Eddie and Ensemble * " Goodnight Saigon" – Eddie, Judy, James, Tony and Ensemble * " Air (Dublinesque)" (instrumental) – Brenda * " Shameless" – Brenda and Tony * " James" – Judy and Eddie * "
The River of Dreams "The River of Dreams" is a song by American musician Billy Joel. It is the title track and first single from his twelfth album, ''River of Dreams'' (1993). It was released in July 1993, by Columbia Records, and became a hit, peaking at number th ...
" / "
Keeping the Faith ''Keeping the Faith'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy film written by Stuart Blumberg, and starring Ben Stiller, Edward Norton (in his directorial debut), Jenna Elfman, Eli Wallach, and Anne Bancroft. This film was released by Touchstone ...
" / " Only the Good Die Young" – Eddie and Ensemble * " I've Loved These Days" – Tony, Brenda, Eddie and Ensemble * "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" (Reprise) – Full Company * " New York State of Mind" – Piano Man and Band ''(Chicago previews only)''


Awards and nominations


Original Broadway production


References


External links

*
"'Movin' Out' plot and production at guidetomusicaltheatre.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Movin Out 2002 musicals Broadway musicals Jukebox musicals Dances by Twyla Tharp Billy Joel Tony Award–winning musicals Musicals set in New York