"Mamma Mia" - "Movin Out" - "Hairspray"

Comparing the Broadway hit "Hairspray" to the new Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel collaboration "Movin' Out" is akin to comparing the movie "Grease 2" to "Citizen Kane" or "Apocalypse Now." One is a simple, contrived ditty that is fun and derivative, yet unmemorable. "Movin' Out" is powerful and enrapturing, and will achieve an enduring legacy of dramatically advancing the state-of-Broadway theater art. There has not been as stunning an opening on Broadway since "Les Miserables" sixteen years ago.

Since I saw both "Hairspray" and "Movin' Out" in a three-day span, and the two are the hottest new hits in an exciting Broadway season, comparisons are appropriate.

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If you have the opportunity to see only one play this season, it should be "Movin' Out." "Hairspray" will invariably run for years, but will have no enduring legacy once its run is over. It's a fun experience for those who enjoy campy novelty entertainment. Harvey Fierstein's Edna Turnblad is the most outrageously campy Broadway character since Tim Curry's Frankenfurter in "Rocky Horror Show." But "Hairspray's" 1960s civil rights theme is largely unmoving and the music unmemorable. "Movin' Out's" Vietnam-based theme is far more interesting and relevant.

While "Movin' Out" can claim some creative ancestry with the stage versions of "Tommy" and "Mamma Mia," never before has such a powerful combination of music and dance been seen on Broadway. "Tommy" was about the music, not the dance; "Mamma Mia" achieves an exceptional level of entertainment by building a reasonable storyline around the familiar hit sounds of Abba. The dance numbers of "Mamma Mia" offer traditional Broadway choreography that never pulls attention from either the music or story. Certainly "Fosse" and "Contact" brought inspirational dancing to the stage, and any number of musicals have combined excellent dancing with memorable musical numbers.

But "Movin' Out" transcends comparisons to traditional musicals. From the very first number, "It's Still Rock n Roll to Me," I was transported into a world in which Twyla Tharp's electrifying interpretative jazz and ballet dance numbers and Billy Joel's hit songs merged seamlessly to create a radical and emotionally captivating theatrical experience. The ensemble of dancers, anchored by Benjamin G. Bowman (as James), John Selya (Eddie) and Elizabeth Parkinson (Brenda), and lead vocalist Michael Cavanaugh with the "Movin' Out" band could easily transport their performance to a large concert hall and target it to a more youthful concertgoing crowd, who would likely be on their feet, dancing in the aisles, and throwing bouquets onto the stage from start to end. Instead, the more staid Broadway audiences withhold the cheering to the end. As captivating and electrifying as the dances may be, Cavanaugh delivers a tour de force concert of Billy Joel's greatest hits in a voice reminiscent of a very early Joel, but with an even wider range on the high notes.

In Chicago, where "Movin' Out" previewed, critics complained that the storyline was insufficiently communicated, and Tharp is reported to have reworked the show before its New York opening. The story was sufficiently established to allow segues from one number to the next and several numbers were stunning, especially "Captain Jack" and "Goodnight, Saigon."

There's even a happy ending. Perhaps some in the audience are completely unfamiliar with Billy Joel's music or truly dislike Twyla Tharp's choreography. Otherwise, I can't imagine any but the most scroogelike audience-member disliking "Movin' Out." Of course, I also remember Dennis Cunningham delivering a scathingly negative review of "Les Miserables" sixteen years ago on WCBS-TV in New York. Who, he asked, would want to see a play with no dialogue - an opera that is not an opera? Critics will be critics.

Jack Myers Entertainment Report's entertainment rating system is based on a maximum of five jacks and a minimum of zero jacks. 0 = awful; 1 = pretty bad; 2 = okay but don't go out of your way to see it; 3 = reasonably good but not special; 4 = very good and worth paying attention to; 5 = exceptional. Opinions are based on my own likes, dislikes and preferences.