Moves in ‘Movin’ Out’ evoke emotion

Tom Titus

Telling a story through the existing musical compositions of one

particular individual isn’t exactly new -- Vincente Minnelli and Gene

Kelly took George Gershwin’s music and rode it to a Best Picture

Oscar back in 1951 with “An American in Paris” -- but telling it

purely through song and dance, with no dialogue from the principal

actors, well, that’s something else again.

Which is what “Movin’ Out,” the multiple Tony Award-winning show

now bringing audiences to their feet at the Orange County Performing

Arts Center, precisely is -- something else.

Uber-choreographer Twyla Tharp has taken the songs of “piano man”

Billy Joel and staged some quite amazing dance numbers to accompany

them and the result is outstanding, albeit wordless, entertainment.

Tharp, who also directed this tuneful touring show, has amped up

the medium of dance to a new, thoroughly exciting level, tapping the

talents of a young and supremely energetic cast that lays out the

plot beautifully in a series of scenes choreographed to more than two

dozen of Joel’s songs from over the past few decades.

The story itself is simple -- three young men from Long Island go

off to Vietnam in the 1960s; only two come back, leaving a grieving

fiancee.

The two survivors, Tony and Eddie, have trouble adapting to

civilian life at first, particularly the rebellious Eddie, who seems

bent on self-destruction.

Tharp unfolds this story brilliantly, guiding a group of

tremendously skilled dancers who convey their emotions through their

actions, never uttering a word.

The only “dialogue” in the show consists of crisp commands of a

drill sergeant who trains the guys for combat.

The entire company is highly impressive, but Brendan King’s Eddie

is a wonder. His dramatic moves provide the spirit of the show, and

his acrobatics -- particularly a mid-air flip ending in a split --

are eye-popping.

Julieta Gros, a stunning blond with a steely attitude, excels as

the emotionally severed Judy.

Her balletic skills are superior and she conveys volumes with her

wounded demeanor.

The statuesque Holly Cruikshank, paired with the other returnee,

Tony (David Gomez), glides through the show somewhat like a young Cyd

Charisse a half century ago, delivering gorgeous high kicks and

classical moves in such classics as “Uptown Girl.”

Gomez, whose character is more confused than angry following the

war, partners with Cruikshank in a series of superlative segments.

Matthew Dibble as the doomed soldier presents a romantic,

easygoing character as he discovers love with Gros just before his

departure.

John Carroll, the only other principal in the show, doubles as an

affable policeman and a stern drill instructor.

The only voice in “Movin’ Out” belongs to Darren Holden, the Billy

Joel-inspired piano man who sings the entire score and fronts a

dynamic orchestra from a vantage point high above the stage.

His finale of “New York State of Mind” brings down the house when

he substitutes “Orange County” for the Big Apple.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.