Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's 'Movin' Out'

Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Fri Oct 25, 2002 2:53 pm

A MOVIN' BALLET
John Selya's dancing is riveting, as is Twyla Tharp's choreography set to Billy Joel's music in their production "Movin' Out," which just opened at the Richard Rodgers Theater.
By CLIVE BARNES for The NY Post

THEY can call the Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel "Movin' Out" a musical until they're blue in the face.But if it looks like a ballet, sounds like a ballet, feels like a ballet and dances like a ballet - it is a ballet, the first full-evening Broadway ballet, at least since Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" a few years back got Broadway's feet wet.

If a story is too silly to speak, then sing it; and if it's too silly to sing, then dance it. And the story of "Movin' Out," which opened last night at the Richard Rodgers Theater, while not exactly silly, is familiar to the point of seeming simplistic.

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Misa_danseuse · **Posted:** Sat Oct 26, 2002 10:38 pm

Anna Kisselgoff writes in the NY Times:

Quote:

LET'S put on a show," Twyla said to Billy, or some such thing. And so Twyla Tharp has conceived, directed and choreographed "Movin' Out," a two-act story ballet set to Billy Joel's hit songs, which are performed by a band and a vocalist on a platform above her tornado-driven dancers at the Richard Rodgers Theater.

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[ 10-27-2002, 00:41: Message edited by: Misa_danseuse ]

ArtsMan · **Joined:** Sat Aug 03, 2002 11:01 pm **Posts:** 591

In Newsday:

Quote:

New York State of Mind
‘Movin’ Out’ star loves show just the way it is

By Robert Kahn

Billy Joel was a big man on 46th Street last night as the singer-songwriter was joined by daughter Alexa Ray and mom Rosalind for the opening of "Movin' Out," his Broadway collaboration with choreographer Twyla Tharp. more

ArtsMan · **Joined:** Sat Aug 03, 2002 11:01 pm **Posts:** 591

In the Harford Courant:

Quote:

`Movin' Out' A Stunning Dance Fest, Set To Joel

By MALCOLM JOHNSON, Courant Theater Critic

NEW YORK - -- The acclaimed choreographer Twyla Tharp has woven the songs of Billy Joel into a daring, and blaring, Broadway musical, with a split vision. more

ArtsMan · **Joined:** Sat Aug 03, 2002 11:01 pm **Posts:** 591

In the Village Voice:

Quote:

Tharp's Dancers Gleam on Broadway, and ABT’s at City Center
Showcasing Heroes

by Deborah Jowitt

he night after I saw Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out, I wished I were back in the Richard Rodgers Theater watching it all over again, to be exhilarated by this bold choreographer's vision of dancers as Olympians who, moving with beauty and complexity, define heaven for the rest of us. more

Malcolm Tay · **Joined:** Fri Aug 31, 2001 11:01 pm **Posts:** 962

Marcia B. Siegel writes in The Boston Phoenix (Oct. 31 - Nov. 7, 2002):

Quote:

Movin’ Out isn’t exactly a musical or a ballet or a book show. It’s not Contact, Fosse, Noise-Funk, or Stomp, or Tharp’s autobiographical ’80s dances When We Were Very Young and The Catherine Wheel, though it has links to those. It’s not Twyla meets the Beach Boys (Deuce Coupe, 1973), or the lamented Tharp outtakes from the movie Hair (1978), or her 1989 Jerome Kern ballet musical Everlast. Movin’ Out is a dance show with characters Tharp developed from the songs of Billy Joel. You get what story there is from the dancing and the lyrics. A terrific band, led by guitarist Tommy Byrnes and featuring singer/pianist Michael Cavanaugh, flies in and out on Santo Loquasto’s elevator stage to power two hours of phenomenal dancing by the cast of five principals and 12 ensemble dancers.

Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Sun Nov 10, 2002 7:58 am

Twyla Tharp’s America Takes Over Broadway
by Robert Gottlieb for The New York Observer

Twyla Tharp once said to me, "George Balanchine is God." She herself doesn’t seem interested in being God; the universe, the nature of man and love, the future of the art—these aren’t the things that concern her. On the other hand, she’s just accomplished something that God clearly hasn’t had time for: With Movin’ Out, she’s revitalized Broadway. Call it a musical, call it a show, call it a ballet, call it a dance extravaganza, call it the story of America from pre- to post-Vietnam, call it a tribute to Billy Joel, call it an act of megalomania—why not just call it a hit? Hits are what Twyla Tharp has always been about, even as she’s also been about expanding what dance can do and what she can do.

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Into New Territory
'Movin' Out says it all: Twyla Tharp is taking ballet and the musical beyond their boundaries. By Sylviane Gold for Newsday

Producers never relax. But if they did, the producers of "Movin' Out" would be relaxed right now. The groundbreaking dance musical at the Richard Rodgers Theatre has been mostly well-reviewed. And judging by the three audiences I've seen it with, there will be enough positive word of mouth to keep the show running for the longest time. The producers will get their money back. In Broadway terms, "Movin' Out" is a success.

But the show is a success on another level as well. When Twyla Tharp decided to fashion a musical from the songs of Billy Joel, she was taking on a lot of challenges. There was the artistic challenge: Could she take pre-existing songs and cobble them into a coherent narrative? There was the commercial challenge: Would theatergoers accept a show whose story is told entirely through dance? And then there were questions of genre: How far should she stray from the conventions of full-length narrative dance? How much should she adhere to the traditions of musical theater?

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[ 11-10-2002, 08:58: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]

Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Thu Nov 14, 2002 2:09 am

Tharp turns to Billy Joel, blends ballet with rock ‘n' roll
By The Associated Press

Twyla Tharp has always had an iconoclast's relationship with music. She has paired ballet with the Beach Boys and modern dance with Thelonious Monk, and has even staged her dances to silence.

But for her latest work, the choreographer turned to good old rock ‘n' roll, picking the quintessential Long Island boy-turned-rocker: Billy Joel.

Part ballet, part rock concert, part theater, “Movin' Out” tells the tale — through dance and 28 Joel songs — of five friends growing up in suburbia under the shadow of the Vietnam War.

Tharp has an agenda: Lure them to Broadway with Billy, but wow them with the dance.

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ArtsMan · **Joined:** Sat Aug 03, 2002 11:01 pm **Posts:** 591

Quote:

AGMA Movin' In

Challenges Equity's 'Movin' Out' Jurisdiction

By Roger Armbrust
Backstage,com

The American Guild of Musical Artists is challenging Actors' Equity Association over performer jurisdiction in Broadway's new Billy Joel (news)-Twyla Tharp musical "Movin' Out." more

Azlan · **Posted:** Wed Nov 27, 2002 1:11 am

From a Village Voice article by Deborah Jowitt:

Quote:

Billy Joel's line "Only the good die young" was addressed to a Catholic girl by a randy boy intent on breaching her virginity.

<a href=http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0248/jowitt.php target=_blank>More</a>, near the end

Azlan · **Posted:** Wed Nov 27, 2002 1:16 am

Originally posted by Misa:

In the NY Times:

Quote:

IF there is anything new on the Broadway horizon this fall, it is the prospect of two artists from outside the theater, the choreographer Twyla Tharp and the filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, bringing their creative energy to the stage and expanding the definition of what constitutes a Broadway musical.

Ms. Tharp, who has created some of the most innovative and popular work in contemporary dance since she formed her first company in 1965, has conceived, choreographed and directed "Movin' Out," a dance musical based on 31 songs by Billy Joel. It opens on Oct. 24 at the Richard Rodgers Theater.

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Azlan · **Posted:** Wed Nov 27, 2002 1:17 am

Orginally posted by Andre:

Quote:

Movin' In

Jennifer Homans, The New Republic

Once upon a time, great choreographers worked on Broadway: Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Jack Cole, George Balanchine. But that was during the interwar years, when the distinction between "high" and "low" styles of dance was less important than "entertainment," pure and simple. Then, in 1943, Agnes de Mille broke the "That's Entertainment" mold by weaving modern art dance and classical ballet into her choreography for Oklahoma!. Jerome Robbins followed her lead, and in the course of the next twenty years revolutionized dance on Broadway.

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Stuart Sweeney · **Posted:** Thu Nov 28, 2002 4:27 am

I've consolidated a couple of topics here:

Glebb posted 08-16-2002 05:53
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The Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp show 'Movin Out' will close in early September after a three month trial run at Chicago's Shubert Theatre. I believe next stop is broadway.

The stars are: Keith Roberts (ABT), Elizabeth Parkinson (Joffrey Ballet, Fosse), John Selya (ABT), Ashely Tuttle (ABT), Scott Wise (who is also the assistant director and choroeographer), Benjamin G. Bowman (NYCB) and Michael Cavanaugh - Piano lead/vocals.

Other names familiar to me are: Drew Moose Allagree (Joffrey Ballet of Chicago), Ron DeJesus (Hubbard Street Dance Chicago), Alexander Brady (Joffrey Ballet), Dana Stackpole (ABT, SFB, Carousel), and Meg (Guerin) Paul (Joffrey Ballet).

It is my understanding that Act II is being worked on and changed daily.

If you like Billy Joel and or Twyla Tharp, this show should be a joy for you. The dancers dance hard for their money.

__________________
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Basheva posted 08-16-2002 07:27
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Dana Stackpole!! I knew her when she was training at Ballet Society with Jaqueline Hepner in San Diego and she was just a 15 yr old kid. She was great even then!

She used to wait for me on a certain street corner early in the morning, and I would drive us to ballet class. I remember when she was accepted to ABT, and that last class before she left, she and I were the only ones to show up to class. The teacher, knowing this was Dana's last class before leaving, gave a class to remember. Both Dana and I were literally on the floor crawling out afterwards.

It's wonderful to know she is still dancing.
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Glebb posted 08-16-2002 17:25
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I had the pleasure of seeing Dana Stackpole in the wonderful 1994 Broadway production of 'Carousel' at Lincoln Center.

She sure is dancing, and dancing very nicely.

Andre Yew · **Posted:** Thu Jan 02, 2003 11:15 pm

A behind-the-scenes look at why the musical is so effective:

Quote:

Children of Dance Become Broadway Babies
Jennifer Dunning, New York Times

One of the great surprises of the current Broadway season is that the show, which received mixed reviews and was in well-publicized trouble on the road, is such a hit. The only words uttered onstage are those of the songs and a drill sergeant's occasional bark. The rest is told in pure dance movement, from the smallest details of everyday life on Long Island in the 1960's to the savage roar of the battlefield. Still, it is all intensely believable to audiences, particularly Vietnam veterans.

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ncgnet · **Joined:** Sun Oct 27, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 1845

Ed Siegel writes in the Boston Sunday Globe about several shows he recently saw in NYC, including "Movin' Out".

Quote:

A promising blend of pop art and high art on Broadway

.... Movin’ Out
Bringing ballet - or modern dance - to Broadway isn’t as big a stretch as it might seem. Twyla Tharp has long choreographed to popular music, most notably to Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys. And audiences have always swooned for balletic choreography on Broadway, from Agnes de Mille’s to Susan Stroman’s.

Tharp goes herself one better, though, and turns many of Joel’s songs into a narrative about Vietnam veterans and the Long Island wives and lovers they left behind. From “Goodnight Saigon” to “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” it’s amazing how Joel’s songs really do add up to a coherent documentation of a generation’s joys and sorrows.

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