We saw the National Tour of Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's "Movin' Out" tonight.
It takes 20-some Billy Joel songs from throughout the years and pieces them together to tell the story of 5 friends from high school through the Vietnam War and its aftermath.
The production is done on 2 levels, literally: a band above the stage that does all the singing, and dancers on the stage that act out scenes without dialogue. The dancing is heavily influenced by ballet, though there were 2-3 breakdancing moves that I happened to catch, including the backspin. :)
I generally dislike musicals that have no dialogue, and the format of "Movin' Out" definitely takes some getting used to. It also took me a while to adjust to someone other than Billy Joel singing songs that were so familiar to me. Nevertheless, I was hooked within the first 20 minutes, and can definitely recommend this musical to others, especially if you happen to be a Joel fan. Just make sure to read the Act summaries in the program, and you'll follow along just fine.
-Matt
