Movin’ Out and Old Friends

No we’re not moving, nor did we see any new old friends. This afternoon we saw Movin’ Out, the musical with Billy Joel’s music and Twyla Tharp’s choreography. I’ve always been a big Billy Joel fan, so I’ve wanted to see this for some time. It didn’t disappoint.

Unlike most musicals, the dancers don’t sing. In fact, they have no dialogue whatsoever. All of the music is provided by the band, which happens to be on an elevated platform above the stage and dancers. The vocals are performed by a “piano man” of course. The singer at our performance (one of two who alternate performances) was as dead-on as you could be without Joel himself being up there. The music was great as always, although many of the songs were condensed versions of the originals. The dancing was incredible, making this feel more like a ballet than a musical. In this case, calling it a musical probably isn’t accurate nor does it do the show justice. If you have a chance, definitely try and see this show.

Continuing on the entertainment front, we bought tickets for the Simon & Garfunkel Old Friends tour. They’re coming to the Savvis Center in June. When the first tour dates were announced last year and St. Louis wasn’t mentioned, I was pretty upset. I’ve always dreamed of seeing them live and figured this tour was my last chance. More tour dates were announced eventually, however, and I bought tickets during the pre-sale yesterday. I can’t wait! The Everly Brothers are opening for them, so that should be interesting.