Movin' Out is a musical that tells the story of American youth growing up on Long Island during the 1960s, and it's all done through the music of Billy Joel. The song lyrics serve as the narration and Matthew Friedman, who plays the Piano Man, is the narrator.
"I'm singing from the beginning of the show until the end, 24 of Billy's songs. Some of the time what is happening in those songs is what you're seeing onstage basically, and other times the music is used to set the scene, create the mood, almost like scenery," said Friedman.
This production is now going through a second national tour and has made a stop at Proctor's Theatre. So far, reaction has been positive.
Movin' Out is a musical that tells the story of American youth growing up on Long Island during the 1960s, and it's all done through the music of Billy Joel. The song lyrics serve as the narration and Matthew Friedman, who plays the Piano Man, is the narrator.
"The crowd was amazing, they really responded well to the show and that always makes me happy. It makes it less like work and more like fun when the audience is into the show," said Friedman.
With a series of dances linked by a plot and an separate performer singing the songs, Movin' Out has been described as a jukebox musical or a rock ballet, but then there's another opinion that's really still a traditional approach.
"I like to consider Movin' Out to be just a traditional musical missing dialogue. There's as much of a story in our show as there is in any other musical you're going to see," said Friedman.
Being a huge Billy Joel fan and of music in general, Freidman said he's found his dream job.
"I'd just love to be involved with any kind of show that comes along that is right for what I do, so I definitely want to keep on doing it," said Freidman.
As for Billy Joel himself, this production brought a whole new perspective to his own music.
"The dimension of hearing other musicians playing my music is another dimension entirely, and I thought, this is pretty good stuff, and I hadn't thought that way for a while," said Billy Joel.
There's also the case where Billy the musician became Billy the audience member.
"I was very moved seeing this and I thought, my God, I have lived, I have loved, I've had a life. I've been through a lot, but it's not so much about me but it's about people who have lived during my time," he said.
And if you're interested in hearing the songs from the Piano Man, Movin' Out is playing at Proctor's through May 18th.