Movin' Out is a 2002 jukebox musical featuring the songs of Billy Joel. Conceived and created by Twyla Tharp, the musical tells the story of a generation of American youth growing up on Long Island during the 1960s and their experiences with the Vietnam War. The principal characters are drawn from those who appeared in various Joel tunes: high school sweethearts Brenda and Eddie, James, Judy, and Tony. The show is unusual in that, unlike the traditional musical, it essentially is a series of dances linked by a thin plot, and none of the dancers sing. All the vocals are performed by a pianist and band suspended on a platform above the stage while the dancers act out the songs' lyrics, making the show, in essence, a rock ballet.
Productions
The show started in pre-Broadway try-outs at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago from June 25, 2002 through September 1, 2002. It premiered on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on October 24, 2002 and closed on December 11, 2005 after 1,303 performances and 28 previews. Directed and choreographed by Tharp, the cast included Michael Cavanaugh, Darren Holden, Wade Preston, Elizabeth Parkinson, John Selya, Keith Roberts, Henry Haid, Ashley Tuttle, Benjamin Bowman, and Scott Wise. The first national tour of Movin' Out ran for three years, opening on January 27, 2004 and ending 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, Charlie Neshyba-Hodges, James Fox and Matthew Friedman. 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, Japanin 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 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 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.
