‘Movin’ Out’ show is movin’ in at JPJ

Some musicals almost seem to write themselves. Who needs to sit around the computer keyboard trying to dream up the characters Brenda and Eddie when Billy Joel already created them at his piano keyboard?

The star of “Movin’ Out,” which teams up two dozen of Joel’s songs with the choreography of Twyla Tharp, said the Tony Award-winning musical takes its cues from the rich stories in Joel’s songs to unfold a full spectrum of emotions.

“Billy Joel is such a great storyteller,” Kyle Martin said. Martin plays the Piano Man, a narrator character reminiscent of Joel who laces the musical thread that unites the musical’s numbers.

“It’s what they call a ‘jukebox musical.’ It’s all told through songs,” Martin said. “There’s no dialogue whatsoever.”

Brenda and Eddie, for instance, come straight from Joel’s song “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” Sergeant O’Leary from “Movin’ Out” is here, as is Tony. Judy from “Why, Judy, Why” is on hand. And you’ll want to keep an eye out for the Uptown Girl, too.

The good news is that there’s no homework to do ahead of time to keep stories and characters straight. There’s no plot to keep track of. Just pop in one of Joel’s CDs (try “Turnstiles” to reacquaint yourself with James from “James”) and you’re ready to go.

“It’s definitely an enveloping story and an enveloping musical,” Martin said. “There’s such a spectrum of emotions going through this musical.”

Through the songs and the sensitively done choreography, audience members will get swept along into stories of love, loss, redemption, tragedy, innocence and joy, Martin said. The music and the movement blend to keep the energy level high.

“The dancing is just phenomenal,” he said.

“Movin’ Out” is a good choice if you like your music loud, too, Martin said. “The band — we all play off each other,” he said. “It does create a dynamic energy throughout the audience.”

The joys of young love and new relationships are well represented, and as the characters face the ups and downs of life, the dancers convey the soaring, dipping, dizzying rhythms of life.

“It speaks to everyone at different moments in your life,” Martin said.”Some people come for the music, some people come for the dance.”

Still others, he said, come to get caught up in the stories. “We Didn’t Start the Fire” takes a sweeping look at America’s place in world events throughout much of the 20th century.

The tangle of emotions created by seeing loved ones head off to war is addressed in a number during which “I don’t see a dry eye in the house,” Martin said.

The song that gets to Martin each night, even after almost two years on the Piano Man’s bench, is “Shameless.” The song and its story of a reuniting couple is “so powerful and emotional there are times I’ll break into tears,” he said.

If you’re a fan of happy endings, you just might find yourself singing along with “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.”

“I’ve come to fall more in love with the show the longer I’ve done it,” Martin said. “Each time I perform it, I definitely find something new.”

theater

“Movin’ Out”

7:30 p.m. Tuesday

John Paul Jones Arena

$67 to $47

http://www.johnpauljones  arena.com

(888) JPJ-TIXS (575-8497)