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"'Piano Girl' Cancels Long Island Debut"
Red Cross Scrambles To Get The Ball Rolling Again

(August 8th, 2005)

Alexa Ray Joel, daughter of legendary "Piano Man" Billy Joel and supermodel Christie Brinkley, has cancelled her first public performance that was going to take place at the "Red Hot Red Cross Ball" on Saturday, August 20th, 2005 in Southampton, New York. It had been rumored that her famous parents were going to attend the event and a father/daughter duet may have taken place.

In what was expected to be one of the biggest fundraisers ever held on the East End, the "Red Hot Red Cross Ball" is making its initial foray in the Hamptons this summer. For years it has been a staple on the society circuit not only in Palm Beach, Florida, but in the country of Monaco as well. Although top DJs Peter Paul and DJ Diamond as well as performers from Cirque de Soleil continue to perform, losing Alexa Ray Joel could result in lost revenue for the charitable organization that provides emergency relief for victims of disaster and is about to face the most active hurricane season in recent history. Now that Alexa Ray Joel is unable to perform, the Red Cross is urgently in need of another headliner for the gala that is only 15 days away.

The American Red Cross aids countless people daily, but now that the tables are turned, who will step in and come to the aide of the Red Cross?


"It's His Home"
By: Braden Keil
(August 13th, 2005)

Billy Joel wants to stay in the Hamptons, or at least maintain a presence there. For a while, it looked as though the legendary entertainer had soured on the South Fork, putting all of his East End properties on the market, after buying a whopping waterfront mansion on Long Island's North Shore.

So far, he's already sold two homes - one on Shelter Island, New York and the other in North Haven, New York - but he's decided to take his dockside Sag Harbor, New York home off the market.

The two-story, 18th Century home - which was an antique store and a separate bait-and-tackle shop before Joel combined the structures into a 4,000-square-foot residence - is perched on two of the town's docks, and had a $5.4 million asking price.


Alexa Ray Joel Pulls Out of Fundraiser Due To Sick Relative
By: AJ Carter
(August 15th, 2005)

Organizers of the Red Hot Red Cross Ball were to have spent an anxious weekend deciding how to recoup from Alexa Joel backing out as the entertainment for the Saturday Southampton benefit. Promotional materials trumpeted 19 year-old Alexa, daughter of "Piano Man" Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley, making her public debut as an ivory-plunker, with hopes that Dad might be moved to a duet. But when Alexa cited the need to be with an ill grandparent in California, all promotion came to a halt. "It's really affecting us," said Nicole McElroy, whose firm Events East has been planning the event for the Red Cross, which so far is out $65,000.


"Twyla Tharp and Billy Joel Musical 'Movin' Out' of Broadway; Final Performance December 11th, 2005"
By: Ernio Hernandez
(August 18th, 2005)

Broadway's Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel collaboration, "Movin' Out," will end its three year run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre December 11th, 2005, producers announced August 18th, 2005. The dance-heavy musical will play its final performance on December 11th, 2005, having played 28 previews and 1,303 regular performances.

"Movin' Out" boasts most of its original lead cast - who have taken breaks here and there, but returned - including Tony Award nominees John Selya, Elizabeth Parkinson, Keith Roberts, Ashley Tuttle, Michael Cavanaugh as well as Scott Wise and Benjamin Bowman.

"I am so proud to have been a part of this landmark production. As important as the creation of the show, a wonderful family has been created here," lead producer James Nederlander stated in a release. "It has been an extreme pleasure to spend the past three years in the company of some of the most talented and gifted artists that Broadway has ever seen. Long after the final performance, the memory of this show will live in the new standard of excellence and commitment they have set."

Producers of the Broadway run - James Nederlander, Hal Luftig, Scott Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Clear Channel Entertainment and Emanuel Azenberg - also present the still-running National Tour which launched January 26th, 2004. The show returned its $10 million capitalization in late 2004, according to production spokespersons.

The bookless show, currently residing at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre, uses Joel's song lyrics and Tharp's choreography to tell the story of five friends and lovers across three decades through love, war and loss. There is no dialogue and all songs are performed by the pianist/singer, who sings non-stop and heads an on-stage band during the show.

Following a tryout at Chicago's Shubert Theatre, the show officially opened on "The Great White Way" October 24th, 2002 following previews since September 30th, 2002. The new show took home the Tony Awards for Best Choreography (Tharp) and Orchestrations (Joel and Stuart Malina).

The songlist includes many of Joel's hit songs and even interpolates some of his classical work. "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" functions as a sort of overture, introducing the characters. The story kicks off with "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" and moves through other songs as the popular "We Didn't Start The Fire," "Big Shot," "Uptown Girl" and "Captain Jack," as well as more obscure early work like "James," "Summer, Highland Falls," and "Prelude/Angry Young Man." As a final curtain coda, Cavanaugh belts out the apropos "New York State of Mind."


"Dancers Are 'Movin' Out' - But Not Until Run Is Over"
By: Joe Dziemianowicz
(August 26th, 2005)

What's the next step? Dancers deal with that question all the time. But it assumed greater significance for the cast of "Movin' Out" - the Twyla Tharp musical based on Billy Joel songs - when producers announced last week that the show will shutter on December 11th, 2005.

Elizabeth Parkinson and John Selya, Tony-nominated leads still performing five times a week in the nearly three year-old show, say they'll be onstage for the last leaps and lifts.

"I'll be here until we close," says Parkinson, 40, who took a year off from the show to have a baby. "I can't foresee leaving. The way the show is constructed, we have freedom that makes every night new and interesting. It's been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Selya, 35, echoes that, adding: "There are always things to improve from night to night. I always return seeking redemption."

With the show's conclusion, he'll search for R&R. "I'm in the best shape of my life, but my body is looking forward to not having such grueling demands," says Selya, who has suffered relatively minor hip, knee, back, ankle and groin injuries from the show.

Looking ahead, the dancers' paths could intersect post-"Movin' Out." Both are involved with Dre Dance, a contemporary company created by actors Taye Diggs and Andrew Palermo.


"'New York State of Mind' Book Review"
By: Howard Price
(August 31st, 2005)

The very slight difference between poetry and song (aside from the possibility that music has been added) is that, in song, one has a control over the rhythm that makes the rhymes line up, control that isn't necessarily evident when the lyrics are written down without the musical staff as a guide. This is the singular drawback to "New York State of Mind," which takes Billy Joel's magic words and presents them in the format of a children's book. You can tell there's a rhyme scheme in there, but it's not easy to catch.

"New York State of Mind" follows a small brown dog and his high class ladyfriend around the city of New York, with each centerspread being a tribute to one of the many landmarks of the Big Apple. From Radio City Music Hall to Wollman Rink to Greenwich Village, nothing gets left out.

Lovingly rendered watercolors by Izak makes this book a sort of young person's tourbook of New York, and are reason enough to make the purchase. As an added incentive, the book also comes with a CD of the single.

Grade: B+