Movin' Out

My wife and I went to see Movin’ Out the other night. I’ve always liked Billy Joel and was looking forward to seeing this show — I wasn’t disappointed. A story line is loosely stitched around a bunch of his music and expressed via modern dance. If you had told me that I was going to enjoy something that revolved around interpretive dance I’d have laughed in your face, but this was really good: a combination of swing, jazz, and ballet. The characters don’t sing or talk themselves, all the sound is provided by the band. There is a brief synopsis of what happens in the program that helps fill in any story gaps in the music and dance; the drunk Junior League ladies sitting next to me didn’t read it and spent a lot of time loudly whispering to each other trying to figure out what was happening. Despite that, we loved the show. The music was great; the band and singers were all top notch. Some of the lyrics were altered to better fit the setting, but nothing major. The encore was a bit cheesy with the band going into a rendition of New York State of Mind but of course changing the lyrics to an Austin Texas State of Mind, but the rest was fantastic. Movin’ Out is engaging and vibrant, satisfying and entertaining. Go see it!