A funny thing happened at the ballet. A Billy Joel concert broke out. Or perhaps it's the other way around. Movin' Out is the latest Broadway effort to stretch the boundaries of what comprises a musical. Though a new musical set to classic pop songs--in this case Joel's eclectic, piano-dominated hits--may sound reminiscent of ABBA's Mamma Mia, this Tony-nominated show on its first national tour resembles the dance show Contact. Veteran choreographer Twyla Tharp has constructed a 95-minute ballet inspired by characters in Joel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" and the show's title number, which is accompanied by a rock band, led by pianist Darren Holden. The lead dancers are talented, in particular Holly Cruikshank and Ron Todorowski. Holden, who has traded in his Irish brogue for a Long Island accent, is an ideal stand-in for the "Piano Man." But Movin' Out is hit-and-miss in Tharp's choreography, which feels more like a series of dances rather than a cohesive ballet. Many of the numbers are breathtaking and deliver the story's emotionally powerful story. But others feel more like repetitive filler.
The plot is easy enough to follow, though there is a synopsis in the program for those who get lost. It's 1965--a change from Joel's original lyrics of '75--and Brenda and Eddie (Cruikshank and Todorowski), the king and queen of the prom, have broken up. At the same time, their friends James and Judy (Matthew Dibble and Julieta Gros) get married. And Brenda falls in love with Tony (David Gomez). The innocent lives of these five friends change forever when the guys end up in Vietnam. One is killed, while the other two come home emotionally shattered. With a couple of brief exceptions, the only voice we hear is that of Holden, who, along with the band, is positioned on a metal platform above the stage.
The duet between Cruikshank and Gomez, set to "She's Got a Way," is an elegant and sexy intertwining of bodies and melody. In the second act, Tharp nails the offbeat humor and depression of Joel's "Captain Jack," which sends Todorowski through a murky river of transvestites and junkies. And Todorowski and Cruikshank also shine in the extremely energetic "Big Man on Mulberry Street." But many of Tharp's gregarious Vietnam dances, and the hyperactively enthusiastic finale, lack honest emotion. Even if Movin' Out falls short of being a top-flight ballet, it more than succeeds as an entertaining Joel retrospective, accompanied by pleasing dances.