Movin Out makes CT debut
Movin' Out, the Tony Award-winning new dance musical conceived, choreographed and directed by Twyla Tharp and based on 24 classic songs by Billy Joel, makes its Connecticut premiere in Hartford at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts' Mortensen Hall February 24-29, 2004 as part of the Phoenix Broadway Series. Tickets for Movin' Out range in price from $21.00 to $66.00 and are available at The Bushnell Box Office by calling (860) 987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Groups of 20 or more should call (860) 987-5959.
Come see the show that critics say revolutionized musical theater as we know it. "This exhilarating production seems to want to burst out of the theater, setting a new standard for the rock musical," says Richard Zoglin of Time Magazine. "Movin' Out shakes and bakes the definition of a Broadway show. This is a true-heart original that will haunt you with the power of moving theater," declares Newsday's Linda Winer.
Told through the choreography of Twyla Tharp and two dozen of Billy Joel's hit songs, Movin' Out is the story of five lifelong friends over two turbulent decades that change them and the world around them forever. Songs like "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "We Didn't Start the Fire," and "Pressure" all come together to weave a musical backdrop which beautifully complements Tharp's innovative choreography. The songs and dance take audiences through a poignant narrative comprised of three main elements: post-World War II idealism, the Vietnam War and its subsequent unrest, and finally, survival.
Many will recognize Movin' Out's main characters, as they come straight from Joel's lyrics. There's Brenda and Eddie from "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," Tony and Sergeant O'Leary from "Movin' Out," Judy from "Why, Judy, Why," and James from "James," and their story is told completely through dance, with no dialogue whatsoever. Movin' Out is "a story told without language," Tharp says. "The movement and the action tell the story-the experience, the emotional resonance, comes from action rather than language."
Movin' Out is produced by James L. Nederlander, Hal Luftig, Scott E. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Clear Channel Entertainment and Emanuel Azenberg. Musical continuity and supervision is by Stuart Malina. Movin' Out features a scenic design by Santo Loquasto, costume design by Suzy Benzinger, lighting design by Donald Holder and sound design by Brian Ruggles and Peter Fitzgerald.
Ticket and Performance Information Movin' Out will play The Bushnell February 24-29, 2004. Tickets are available at The Bushnell Box Office, located at 166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford. Tickets are also available by calling (860) 987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Curtain times are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Tickets prices range from $21.00 to $66.00. Groups of 20 or more should call (860) 987-5959. Visa is the only card accepted for single tickets to the national tour of Movin' Out.
Biographies TWYLA THARP (Conception, Choreography, Direction). Since her graduation from Barnard College in 1963, Twyla Tharp has created more than 125 dances, choreographed five Hollywood movies, written an autobiography, received a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and two Emmy Awards for her television work, been awarded 17 honorary doctorates and numerous grants including the MacArthur Fellowship. In 1993 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, in 1997 she was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 2003 she won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for Movin' Out. In 1965 Ms. Tharp founded her company, Twyla Tharp Dance, and since that time she has continued to choreograph for this group as well as for many others including the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, the Martha Graham Dance Company and American Ballet Theatre. Among the better known dances are Deuce Coupe, to music by the Beach Boys, Push Comes to Shove, for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Nine Sinatra Songs, In the Upper Room, a collaboration with Philip Glass, three works to Beethoven: Diabelli Variations, Hammerklavier and The Seventh Symphony. and three ballets to Brahms variations: the Paganini, the Handel (with Jerome Robbins) and most recently the Haydn. She brought modern dance to Broadway in 1980 with When We Were Very Young, in 1981 collaborated with David Byrne on The Catherine Wheel at the Winter Garden and in 1985 staged Singin' in the Rain, which played at the Gershwin for 367 performances and was followed by an extensive national tour. In film, Ms. Tharp has collaborated with directors Milos Forman on Hair (1978), Ragtime (1980) and Amadeus (1984), with Taylor Hackford on White Nights (1985), and with James Brooks on I'll Do Anything (1994). Currently Ms. Tharp continues to create dances for Twyla Tharp Dance and is working on a second book. Twyla Tharp thanks Jesse Huot for having the idea for this show in the first place and for talking her down daily ever since.
BILLY JOEL (Music and Lyrics) Billy Joel has had 33 Top 40 hits and 23 Grammy nominations since signing his first solo recording contract in 1972. In 1990, he was presented with a Grammy Legend Award. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992, Joel was presented with the Johnny Mercer Award, the organization's highest honor, in 2001. In 1999 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he has received the Recording Industry Association of America Diamond Award, presented for albums that have sold more than 10 million copies. In 2003 he, along with Stuart Malina, won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Movin' Out. Having sold more than 100 million records over the past quarter century, Billy Joel ranks as one of most popular recording artists and respected entertainers in the world. In addition to his Grammy Awards, Joel has earned three Awards for Cable Excellence and has received numerous ASCAP and BMI awards including the ASCAP Founders Award and the BMI Career Achievement Award. In 1994, he was given the 1994 Billboard Century Award. Among his many other awards and honors, Billy Joel has been given a Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairfield University (1991), an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of Music (1993), an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra University (1997) and a Doctor of Music from Southampton College (2000). Outside his music career, Joel has donated his time and resources to a variety of charitable causes. A longtime advocate for music education, he first began holding "master class" sessions on college campuses more than 20 years ago, giving sessions at colleges across the country and around the world. In addition, he has held classes as a benefit for the STAR Foundation (Standing for Truth About Radiation) and to establish the Rosalind Joel Scholarship for the Performing Arts at City College in New York City. For his accomplishments as a musician and as a humanitarian, Billy Joel was honored as the 2002 MusiCares Person of the Year by the MusiCares Foundation and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.