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"Billy Joel Reduces Property Price"
(April 1st, 2005)

Billy Joel has lowered the price of his last remaining parcel of land in New York's upscale Hamptons region from $5.4 million to $4.2 million.

According to Joel's publicist, he is now eager to sell the Sag Harbor property - which boasts docks for two boats - and has reduced the price to unload it, despite a strong real-estate market.

The 55 year-old rocker still has a home in Oyster Bay, which sits on the other side of Long Island, and in Manhattan's Tribeca.


"Musical 'Movin' Out' Serves Up Electric Billy Joel Catalog"
Production Explodes With Energy, Emotion

By: David Cuthbert
(April 7th, 2005)

If the curtain had not finally come down on "Movin' Out" Tuesday night at the Saenger, the audience might still be cheering. There was certainly plenty to cheer about.

"Movin' Out" is Twyla Tharp's extraordinary dance musical set to the songs of Billy Joel. Tharp's amalgam of amazingly physical choreography takes its cue from the muscularity of Joel's music. It's rock and roll meets emotion in motion at the corner of Ballet and Broadway.

The energy that bursts from the stage, set to powerfully evocative songs, is nonstop, one sensational showstopper after another. The combinations Tharp puts her dancers through, the precise, passionate partnering, are breathtaking. Her flying leaps and jumps are Jerome Robbins taken to the ultimate power, the intimate and bold sexuality surpassing even that of dance sensualist Jack Cole, who choreographed Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.

"Movin' Out" takes us from the carefree camaraderie of the '60s ("It's Still Rock and Roll To Me") to the Vietnam War ("We Didn't Start The Fire"), the empty debauchery and angst of the '70s and a final, joyous full-circle reunion.

We know these characters: Brenda and Eddie ("the popular steadies") in "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"; Tony ("Anthony works at the grocery store, savin' his pennies for someday") in "Movin' Out" (which also gives us Sergeant O'Leary "walkin' the beat; at night he becomes a bartender"). Add to this the sweet couple James and Judy and you have something specific and yet universal, especially for audiences of this era. (My wife said, "It's like being young and growing up all over again.")

Giving spectacular voice to all this, singing 24 songs in an expressive, urgently virile voice reminiscent of the young Joel, is Michael Cavanaugh, the lead vocalist from the Broadway "Movin' Out," performing piano pyrotechnics with a slam-bang band on the catwalk above the stage.

The dancers are remarkable and resilient, both as individuals and ensemble. Brendan King connected with the audience big-time, an effective, gymnastic Eddie. Corbin Popp was a constantly compelling Tony, Matthew Dibble a likable, moving James. As Brenda, Laurie Kanyok is every bit as versatile an actress as she is a dancer, and Julietta Gros offered elegantly eloquent pointe work in "The Stranger" and "Elegy: The Great Peconic" as Judy.

Donald Holder's hot, rock concert lighting is dazzling; Suzy Bensinger's symbolically colored costumes show off splendid bodies splendidly.

"Movin' Out" should have moved into the Saenger for a longer run; it's made for a city of yats, frats and cats.


"Swingin' To Billy Joel"
Former Houstonian & Gay dancer Sean Kelly Is Back With The Moves of Twyla Tharp & The Music of Billy Joel

By: Johnny Hooks
(April 8th, 2005)

Many performers in musical theatre are required to learn one or two parts at best. However gay dancer and former Houstonian Sean Kelly must learn all the male parts as the dance captain/swing on the first National Tour of the Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp Broadway musical "Movin' Out."

"It's funny, we have what we call 'swing moments' in rehearsal, where suddenly you find yourself on the wrong side of the stage, going into a different role than what you’re rehearsing," he says.

Sean Kelly was born in San Raphael, in Marin County, California. There he trained at the Marin Ballet, under the direction of Maria Vegh. Though he refuses to give his age, "Are you kidding?" he laughs, he will admit to being in his late 30s.

Isn't that a bit old to be performing in a show that is nearly all dance? "Well, if I was still in performing classical ballet, then I would say yes," he says. "But this show is contemporary in every way."

Sean Kelly lived in Houston from 1985 through 2000. "It was nice to have a steady paycheck, and I loved living in Houston," he recalls. "The city really supports its arts community, and that is so refreshing."

Kelly was a member of the Houston Ballet and danced here for many seasons as a Principal Dancer, eventually becoming Ballet Master. He danced all of the company's full-length classics and many contemporary works by such choreographers as Ben Stevenson, George Balanchine, Glen Tetley, Christopher Bruce, Paul Taylor, Jiri Kylian, and Stanton Welch, among others.

Kelly has been on the road for many years now. He is single and doesn't even have time for a pet. "I am just never home."

Previously he toured the US and Japan as Dance Supervisor with the musical 'Swing' and has been a guest artist with a variety of companies throughout the US as well as abroad. Recently he staged Ben Stevenson's "Cleopatra" for both the Boston Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

Kelly is also a choreographer having created numerous works with the Houston Ballet as well as Diablo Ballet, Lexington Ballet and Ballet Spartanburg. He has been invited to teach at the Houston Ballet Academy, the Beijing Dance Academy, the High School for Performing and Visual Artists and Tulsa Ballet Theatre's summer program.

Not happy to rest on his laurels, Kelly has participated in three international ballet competitions and was a member of the original Broadway cast of "Movin' Out," which won Tony awards in 2003 for Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations.

The show's story follows five friends from their 1960s high school graduation to their reunion some years later. In between, everyone finds or loses love, the men go to Vietnam (where one perishes on the battlefield), and everyone must readjust to life after the war.

With no traditional dialogue, the story is told through more than two dozen or so well-known Joel songs like "New York State of Mind," "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me," "Prelude/Angry Young Man," and "Uptown Girl," among others.

Tharp's delicious choreography tells the rest of the story. An exhilarating band is led by Darren Holden, who sings lead and plays piano.

Asked what he misses most about Houston, he says, "The people and my friends. Even though the early '80s were a tough time in Houston, I really liked it."

The last time Kelly was in town was a sad occasion, the funeral of his friend and local ballet star Mark Arvin.

This time, in addition to chowing down on Texas barbeque, he says, "I also can't wait to go to JR's and the Brazos River Bottom! There is nothing like line dancing with a cute cowboy."


"'Movin' Out' Is Billy Joel & Twyla Tharp at Their Very Best As Seen Through Work of Superbly Talented Cast"
By: John Perkins
(April 8th, 2005)
 

Wow, what a show! Billy Joel fans will love it, dance enthusiasts will adore it and audiences regardless of their thoughts of what theatre should be will get caught up in the high energy excitement of it all, the beauty of the dancers, their athletic abilities to be able to sustain the Twyla Tharp choreography for two hours, the solid musicianship of the band, the vocal work of Michael Cavanaugh as well as the lights and the general pizzazz of the hit show on stage at the Saenger Theatre "Movin' Out."

The audience cheered at several times during the show on opening night as they reveled in the music and the dance of the Twyla Tharp conceived and directed musical built around 24 of Billy Joel's songs. If they had had their way, they would still be in the theatre begging for more but unfortunately, there had to come and end of the evening. But that evening will continue through Sunday at the Saenger and it is highly advised that if you can get a ticket you should not miss "Movin' Out."

This nonstop evening brings one hit song after another from the pen of Billy Joel and work of the dancers as they perform the Tharp choreography with its demanding balletic moves requiring the dancers to be at their talented best is simply superb.

The story of "Movin' Out" delivered sans any dialogue, begins in the '60s on Long Island where the king and queen of the prom Eddie and Brenda break up while forever friends James and Judy are ready for marriage. Tony, their mutual friend is looking for love and finds it with Brenda.

When the Vietnam war intervenes, the boys go off to war and in the process James is killed in action leaving Judy to grieve while Tony and Eddie return home to pick up the pieces of their lives.

The post war result finds Tony unable to connect with Brenda while Eddie seems to be mad at everyone and turns to drugs and takes a nightmare trip through his past with Judy as his guide.

In the end the friends re-unite as Eddie sets his life back on the right track and Tony and Brenda rediscover one another.

Joel's music spells it out beautifully from the opener of "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" to his portrait of the "Uptown Girl" and his war anthem "We Didn't Start The Fire". There's also much to be gleaned about these friends from songs like "Big Shot," "An Innocent Man," "Only The Good Die Young," and the return to the opening "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" which was where the viewer was first introduced to these characters.

Providing the voice for these songs from his location high atop the stage at the grand piano is Michael Cavanaugh who is taking a break from his Broadway appearances in the show to let New Orleans audiences enjoy the very best he has to give and it is plenty. With a voice that is reminiscent of Joel's he plays the piano and sings wonderfully to bring the songs and the story to life.

What can we say about the dancers except that they are simply superb. Brendan King who takes the role of Eddie was a hit with his audience as he connected with them from the start. Brenda appeared through the work of Laurie Kanyok and she was simply wonderful. Corbin Popp portrayed Tony with all the right looks and moves, and Julieta Gros was seen as Judy and was particularly effective as she danced en pointe in "The Stranger" and "Elegy: The Great Peconic."

Matthew Dibble as James gave us a likable character and John Carroll was seen as Sergeant O'Leary/Drill Sergeant to complete the cast of principals.

It should also be noted that there was excellent work from the members of the ensemble who helped bring this exciting work to the stage, and from the musicians working behind Cavanaugh whose stellar musicianship and vocal work also brought excellence to the production.

Santo Loquasto designed the set which was lit by the design of Donald Holder, a design that really added to the evening with its light show. Suzy Benzinger costumed the lithe bodies of the dancers and Brian Ruggles and Peter Fitzgerald had the sound tuned in perfectly with their design.

"Movin' Out" is one of those shows that you would loved to see over and over again, but it is in New Orleans only until Sunday so if you're going to see it you have to hurry. You certainly won't be disappointed at what you see and hear.


"Pop Tunes Given Fresh Legs"
With Billy Joel's Songs As The Groundwork, Twyla Tharp Adds Footwork and Builds A Hit In 'Movin' Out'

By: Everett Evans
(April 8th, 2005)

Modern dance icon Twyla Tharp knows that the word "ballet" holds little allure for many people who buy tickets to her Broadway hit "Movin' Out." Much of the show's audience gravitates instead to the score: familiar Billy Joel pop songs, performed by an onstage band.

The show makes its Houston debut Tuesday, as the National Tour launches a two-week stand at Hobby Center.

From its inception, "Movin' Out" posed a marketing dilemma: Is it a ballet? A Broadway musical? Or something else entirely?

"People didn't know what to call it," Tharp says. "We suffered the brunt of that when we opened [the pre-Broadway tryout run] in Chicago. It was a confusing beast for audiences and critics, who'd expected a book musical. It became: What do we call it? Billy said, 'Don't call it anything. Just call it 'Movin' Out.'"

Since October 2002, when "Movin' Out" opened on Broadway to enthusiastic reviews and packed houses, it's been clear that you can call it a hit.

New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley praised "a shimmering portrait of an American generation." Times dance critic Anna Kisselgoff wrote, "As a dance critic, I am perfectly willing to call "Movin' Out" a show, and a terrific one at that," but chiefly described it as a "contemporary ballet" in which "the dancing dominates" and the dance vocabulary "is pure Tharp."

"My intent was to do a dramatic work that could challenge the 19th Century classics Giselle and Swan Lake," says Tharp. "It's a story told in dance."

Spanning the 1960s, '70s, & '80s, Movin' Out chronicles the lives of five working-class Long Island friends: buddies Tony, Eddie, & James; Brenda, who leaves Eddie for Tony; and Judy, who marries James. The men go to Vietnam, where James is killed. Tony and Eddie return, shattered, and try to rebuild their lives and restore ties with Brenda and Judy in the soul-searching aftermath.

The work is danced to the live performance of an onstage, 10-piece rock band, led by a pianist/vocalist who does all the singing.

Though Joel's music inspired the story and sets its mood, "Movin' Out" is Tharp's baby. She conceived, choreographed and directed; she selected and assembled the music. After the show's Chicago tryout drew mixed-to-poor reviews, she revamped it into a confident blockbuster hit.


Twyla's Inspiration

A note in Tharp's Playbill bio credits Jesse Huot, Tharp's son and stage manager, "for having the idea for this show in the first place and talking her down daily ever since." Tharp had been looking for a full-length theater piece to reach a wider audience. In 2000, her son suggested, "Let's rock and roll, Mom."

In her studio, Tharp had danced to Joel's songs for years. They seemed a good basis for a long work, she says, "because he's such a good storyteller. I always felt his songs had this sense of a community."

So she chose a handful, choreographed them with dancers from her company, videotaped the results, and asked Joel to take a look. He loved the results and put his entire catalog at Tharp's disposal. She found her principal characters in such Joel standards as "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)."

Yet by the Chicago tryout, what had sounded promising struck critics as "opaque" and "confusing." Tharp shares a story about her friend Jennifer Tipton, a lighting designer, who attended a Chicago performance.

"She was sitting next to a lady who sometimes had her hands over her eyes, and at other times, put her hands over her ears. At intermission, Jennifer turned to the lady and said, 'So you don't like the show?' And the lady said, 'No, I like it a lot - I just don't know how to take it in.' My job was letting the audience know what to focus on, where to look."

Tharp changed nearly a third of her choreography. She added a prologue, set to "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me," to establish the era's mood. She dropped numbers, including Eddie's early solo to "I Go To Extremes," as the wrong content for the moment. Such changes made the story clear: what was happening, what the characters felt. Tharp says she wanted to convey her characters' emotions so that "from 100 feet away, you would know how these people feel about each other from the movement."

Though that movement spans a range of emotions, from grief to rage to tender, halting reconciliation, one often is struck by the almost hyperkinetic athleticism of much of the dancing - especially in solos like Eddie's "Prelude/Angry Young Man." Did Tharp intend to wow with sheer physical feats?

"Audiences have access to phenomenal physical feats from the world of athletics," Tharp says. "Dancers no longer are excused from this. In fact, they never have been... If you look at dancers as athletes, in flexibility, speed, power and all-around ability to take a physical challenge, there are few in the athletic field who can can match them."

"Movin' Out" would appear more rewarding artistically than her 1985 assignment helming the Broadway version of the classic film musical Singin' in the Rain, which had a mixed reception and a modest run of 351 performances. In a few bits, such as the exuberant finale, with the full cast in slickers, Tharp was able to apply her own signature. But most of the project required signature numbers to be recreated intact from the film - a significant constraint.

"I don't think of comparing in those terms," Tharp says. "They're such separate things."

She remains equally quiet about her upcoming projects.
"I don't like to say what I'm working on because, in a short time, things change a thousand times over. And then I will have been a liar, and I don't like that. I don't like that people have expectations."

One cannot help wondering, though, if the critical and commercial success of "Movin' Out" makes it more likely that she will return to Broadway - and if so, whether she will do another primarily dance piece or helm a more traditionally structured musical melding dialogue, song and dance.

"I don't want to categorize what's next. I think the success of this one will make the next experience different."


"What The Heck Do You Call It?"
'Movin' Out' Defies Categories, But It's Really Ballet

By: Everett Evans
(April 9th, 2005)

At first glance, "Movin' Out" seems to continue two recent stage trends: the chiefly dance show with little dialogue or song (as in "Fosse" or "Contact"); and the so-called "jukebox" musical whose score consists of old pop music (as in "Mamma Mia!" and this season's "Good Vibrations" and "All Shook Up."

Yet as Tharp is quick to point out, "Movin' Out" differs from all the above. "Fosse" (like the earlier Jerome Robbins' Broadway) was a retrospective revue compiling numbers from a legendary choreographer's shows, re-creating old dances (and the songs that went with them), minus their original context. Susan Stroman's "Contact" was a mixed bill of dance theatre: three newly choreographed short stories set to recorded music from varied sources.

The "jukebox" shows use old songs in the format of traditional book musicals, with new scripts built around them - an awkward mix "Movin' Out" avoids by keeping its songs on a separate plane, as accompaniment for the danced narrative.

As a full-length piece of dance theatre, the nearest thing on Broadway recently was a London import: Matthew Bourne's striking new staging of Swan Lake, with its potent gimmick of an all-male corps.

Whatever the flavor of the accompanying music, and whether the musicians are onstage or in the pit, it's a story told in dance. Just bite the bullet and say the "B" word: Ballet.


"Billy's In A Rehabbed State of Mind"
By: George Rush & Joanna Molloy
(April 12th, 2005)

The "Piano Man" is out of rehab. Billy Joel completed his treatment at the Betty Ford Center over the weekend, we've learned. And the cherry on top is that he outwitted the omnipresent paparazzi by checking out at 6:30am Sunday morning.

The 55 year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer spent a full 30 days drying out in Rancho Mirage, California - his longest stint in a recovery program. And he's telling friends he feels he's finally licked his problem with alcohol - an affection for wine.

New Yorkers have been rooting for the beloved musician, who immortalized the Daily News in "New York State of Mind" and who has fought to help fishermen and the environment of his native Long Island.

"He looks really fit," says a pal who saw Joel on Sunday. "He's dedicated to a healthy and sober lifestyle."

This time, the pal says, "Billy has completely sworn off all alcohol."

His wife, Kate Lee, 23, and their two pugs, Fionnula and Sabrina, flew to California to meet him. The couple had breakfast at the Parker-Meridian Hotel before flying back to their home on Long Island.

Joel has no immediate plans to perform but is looking forward to Columbia's fall release of his retrospective boxed set, which will include previously unreleased songs.


"Joel 'Fit & Healthy' and Out of Rehab"
(April 12th, 2005)

Rocker Billy Joel is "fit and healthy" after finishing his spell in rehab, according to friends.

The "Uptown Girl" star ended a 30-day spell at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California on Sunday morning - and pals say he is convinced he has finally kicked his alcohol addiction.

A friend says of Joel - who gave waiting paparazzi the slip by skipping out of the center at 6:30am - says, "He looks really fit. He's dedicated to a healthy and sober lifestyle.

"Billy has completely sworn off all alcohol."

According to the New York Daily News, the 55 year-old's wife, Kate Lee, and their two dogs flew out from their Long Island, New York home to meet Joel before they all returned home together.


"Billy Joel Checks Out of Rehab Center"
(April 12th, 2005)

Billy Joel has checked out of a California rehabilitation center a month after entering the facility for treatment of alcohol abuse.

The 55 year-old singer left the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, early Sunday morning, his publicist, Claire Mercuri, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press Tuesday.

Joel entered the clinic in March after suffering what Mercuri then said was "a recent bout of severe gastrointestinal distress." He was to receive "treatment of alcohol abuse," she said.

He is now back at his Long Island home with his wife, Kate Lee.

In June 2002, Joel spent about two weeks at Silver Hill Hospital, a substance abuse and psychiatric center in New Canaan, Connecticut. He later said he entered the hospital because he had been abusing alcohol.

The Grammy-winning artist, whose hits include "Piano Man," married the 23 year-old Lee last year. It was his third marriage.


"Billy Joel Leaves US Rehab Clinic"
Singer Billy Joel Has Left A Californian Rehabilitation Clinic Where He Was Being Treated For Alcohol Abuse

(April 13th, 2005)

His publicist confirmed that the 55 year-old had now checked out of the Betty Ford clinic, in Rancho Mirage, where he had spent 30 days.

Joel has returned to his Long Island home with his wife Kate Lee, who he married in October 2004.

He previously sought treatment during a 10-day stay at a substance abuse and psychiatric hospital in 2002.

He later admitted he had been drinking to excess.


Discreet Treatment

Months later he was again admitted to hospital after crashing his car into a tree - his third accident in three years - but emerged relatively unscathed.

Joel entered the Betty Ford clinic in March after what his publicist described as "a recent bout of severe gastrointestinal distress".

The clinic is a world-famous rehabilitation center, with a reputation for discreetly treating celebrities.

Joel has put his pop career on hold in recent years, concentrating on writing classical scores.

He is also writing another children's book, which is due to be published in the autumn.


"Joel Sprung From Betty Ford"
(April 13th, 2005)

Billy Joel is back at home on New York's Long Island after checking out of the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, where he spent 30 days being treated for alcohol abuse. The 55 year-old "Piano Man" entered the clinic last month after suffering what his public relations gal, Claire Mercuri, then said was "a recent bout of severe gastrointestinal distress." Which apparently was caused by too many bottles of red, bottles of white....


"Joel's Dark Past Revealed In New Book"
(April 22nd, 2005)

Rocker Billy Joel's darkest days are set to be exposed in an explosive new biography, which reveals the longtime boozer was once found passed out in a closet after guzzling furniture polish.

Newlywed Joel, who has just completed a stay at a rehabilitation centre to finally kick his alcohol drink demons, is portrayed as a heavy drinker who once slept with his best friend's wife in Hank Bordowitz's "Billy Joel: The Life & Times of An Angry Young Man."

A source at publishers Billboard Books says, "The book will recount how Billy moved in with one of his best friends and the friend's wife when he was living in New York."

"When his friend was out of the house, Billy allegedly crawled into the wife's bed."

Bordowitz also reveals, "He (Joel) was known as a blackout drinker, getting so drunk he couldn't remember what he did the night before."


"Billy Joel Concert Cancelled"
By: Larry Rodgers
(April 28th, 2005)

After initially postponing his March 31st, 2005 concert at America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona Billy Joel has decided to cancel it. "Billy Joel recently completed his (alcohol-rehabilitation) treatment at the Betty Ford Center and will continue outpatient treatment over the next several months," Sony Music said. Beginning Friday, refunds may be obtained at the point of purchase. The Phoenix, Arizona concert would have marked a rare arena appearance for the singer/pianist, 55, who retired from large concert tours in 1999.