Arts Weeknight: Movin' Out - Theatre League - Tuesday, October 4, 2005

I didn't think anything would make me think Contact was good.

First off, let me say that I think Billy Joel is a great songwriter. My wife and I agreed it would've been worth the ticket price just to hear good musicians do 2 hours of Billy Joel songs. They did, and it was, but the show certainly fell short of its goals.

This is a very first-half-of-the-twentieth-century musical. Twyla Tharp's choreography seems to consist primarily of traditional movement in contemporary attire. Further, it seems obvious. Drug reference in the song? Mime a joint and move your body loosely. "Working too hard can give you a heart atack -ack-ack-ack? Do a lot of pushups! Further, although it is a necessity when doing a "greatest of" show like this one, the loose story is structured around the songs, and the plot fits the music rather than having the music forward the story. Also, the editing of the lyrics seems curious. Apparently, dancers can dry hump in S&M garb, but singers can't say "masturbate."

I was struck by the audience's treatment of this show as a concert. Plenty of leaving in and out of songs, and constant spoken discussion, not only during the very loud rock music, but also through the quiter instrumental pieces. The show ended with an encore of "New York State of Mind" which, I'm sure, was a rocking ending on Broadway. However, the insertion of "Kansas City" into the titular line did nothing other than to cheapen a good song and give the show a very Spinal Tap feel. Not in the good way.

The music was great, but pretty much what you'd hear on the Greatest Hits albums, with the exception of adjusting "We Didn't Start the Fire" and "Pressure" to a swing-rhythm feel, presumably to facilitate patter-ish lyrics performed several times a week. Like so many shows, the lyrics were difficult to hear, but since the songs were very familiar and the storyline very broad, it was no big loss. In short, an okay show, but it would be made better if one were to wear sunglasses to mask the dancers (who seem like strong soloists, but had trouble moving together as an ensemble) and concentrate only on the musicians.