Movin' Out tells the turbulent story, without using any dialogue, of five friends. The principal characters are drawn from those who appeared in various Billy Joel tunes: high school sweethearts Brenda and Eddie ("Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"), James ("James"), Judy ("Why Judy Why"), and Tony (Anthony in "Movin' Out"). Over the course of two decades their lives, and the world in which they live, change irreversibly. The five friends graduate from college in the '60s and have their lives shattered by the Vietnam War. At a time when America finds itself involved in another messy foreign conflict, it is a piece that strikes resonant topical chords.


ACT ONE

The lives of a group of close friends are forever changed over the course of two turbulent decades. Long Island in the ?60s (It's Still Rock and Roll to Me). The king and queen of prom, Brenda and Eddie, are finished (Scenes from an Italian Restaurant), while forever sweethearts James and Judy are ready for marriage (Reverie (Villa D'Este)/ Just the Way You Are). Their friend, Tony, is looking for that kind of love (Movin' Out - Anthony's Song), and finds it with Brenda, who has become her own woman (For the Longest Time/ Uptown Girl/ This Night/ Summer, Highland Falls). War takes the men away from home (Waltz #1 - Nunley's Carousel), leaving their loved ones to pick up the pieces (We Didn't Start the Fire/ She's Got a Way). James loses his life in combat, while Tony and Eddie return home broken as Judy grieves (The Stranger/ Elegy - The Great Peconic).


ACT TWO

In Act Two, The vets try to cobble their lives back together (Invention in C Minor). Tony can?t seem to find a way to reconnect with Brenda (Big Shot), while Eddie can?t connect with anyone (Angry Young Man). Spiraling into a lonely existence of drugs and self-loathing, Eddie takes a tour through a nightmare of his past, projecting Judy as his guide (Captain Jack/ Innocent Man/ Goodnight Saigon). By chance, he encounters Judy jogging in the park, and her forgiveness allows him to finally set his life back on track (James/ River of Dreams/ Keeping the Faith/ Only the Good Die Young). Brenda and Tony rediscover the love needed to heal their wounds (Shameless). The friends reunite to discover they have all found their way back home (I've Loved These Days).