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"Movin' Out" picks up with time |
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Written by MELISSA E. KOSS
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Tuesday, 25 October 2005 |
If I had left “Movin’ Out,” the 2003 Tony Award winner, after the first act, I would have been completely disappointed. But I stuck it out, and found the second act to be energetic, enjoyable and infusing.
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“Movin’ Out”
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 Entertainment
 Art
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
929 North Water St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Box Office: (414) 273-7121
Oct. 11-16, 2005
Oct. 25-30, 2005 (Indianapolis)
Show times vary; check www.marcuscenter.org or www.movinoutonboradway.com
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Mainly, the first act wasn’t disappointing; it was just a different style of musical than I was prepared for. Told through 24 of Billy Joel’s songs, “Movin’ Out” is a complete story; the actors do not speak, but dance and act their way through the drama.
Told over two decades, the story includes favorite characters such as Brenda and Eddie, Sergeant O’Leary, Tony, James and Judy and their trip through Long Island in the ‘60s to a post-Vietnam era.
One of the most powerful scenes is during the first act, just after the men leave for Vietnam, James is killed in battle with “We Didn’t Start the Fire” as the soundtrack. Most of the cast is on stage at various points protesting, fighting, supporting the troops and dealing with the nightmares of Vietnam.
Conversely, one of the hokiest scenes was to a medley of “River of Dreams/Keeping the Faith/Only the Good Die Young.” The costumes reminded me of the Olivia Newton-John video for “Let’s Get Physical.” They were sea foam green and grey jogging suits and I was having a difficult time stomaching the sea foam green bobbing up and down as the actors moved about on stage.
The actors are incredible athletes. Performing on stage for over ninety minutes, they do flips, jumps, somersaults, ballet, the Moonwalk and a lot more. At one point Eddie (Brendan King) did this awesome handstand where he flipped his legs back and forth in rapid succession without losing his balance, and you could see his abs in motion. This wasn’t a six-pack – this was ab-o-rama! These are people who don’t have an ounce of fat on their body.
A special thanks goes out to Balistreri’s Bluemound Inn for providing this lucky Lumino writer with the tickets. Balistreri’s provides limousine services to and from their restaurant, located at 65th and Bluemound Rd., to the Riverside Theater, Miller Park, the Bradley Center, the Summerfest Grounds and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.
The limousine service is free when you dine at either Balistreri’s Bluemound Inn or Balistreri’s Italian/American Ristorante (68th and Wells). They offer theater packages, including dinner, tickets, transportation and dessert. Don’t deal with the hassle of driving (especially with all of the freeway construction in Milwaukee) and finding parking!
Visit www.balistreris.com for more information on these and other services.Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
