In the least self-consciously Tharpish work I've seen by the estimable choreographer, Twyla Tharp, Movin' Out departs from her usual iconic work. For nearly two hours, Ms. Tharp's dancers rollick and roll to twenty-four Billy Joel standards and enact the story of young couples swept up in the emotions of their youth, the turbulence of war, and its aftermath.

When the curtain went up, Darren Holden, and his rock band crew blasted through the overture, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," from their loft perch over the stage. Notice was served that between the blurring fury of his gyrotechnical piano technique, and the high speed power of the dancers, if we'd missed our afternoon caffeine it didn't matter. They had enough energy for the full house.

Reprising their Tony Award nominated roles as Brenda and Tony, Elizabeth Parkinson and Keith Roberts created characters known to anyone who's ever come through the crucible of high school. Rasta Thomas as Eddie, put the final point on the triumvirate of eye-riveting principals in the danced narrative of Movin' Out.

Portraying teenagers in the briefly idyllic time just before the Vietnam Era, they were soldiers and home fronters who came through the war years. Then, as the searching, sometimes lost souls of the '70's, redemption was their reward for having survived their lives and times. These three, particularly, not only consummate dancers, but actors as well, fully created the characters of their rolls. They personified Brenda, Tony and Eddie as credibly as actors besides performing the complex and seried movement that is always a hallmark of Twyla Tharp's work.

Looking like the result of cross breeding between Anne Margaret and Nicole Kidman, it was not just her red hair and forever-after legs that riveted attention when Ms. Parkinson was on stage. As one third of the smoldering chemistry with her partners, Roberts and Thomas, her indefinable "IT" marked every moment of her considerable stage share with star-quality sizzle.

This must also be said for the talents of Roberts and Thomas. Very different in their physicality, but equally strong in their parts, even their facial nuances, seen in binocular close up, brought authenticity to the torment and rapture in their boys-to-men metamorphoses. Each of these performers demonstrated virtuoso quality as they propelled the tale of a nearly lost generation to its glad conclusion.

A coin tossed in the air is usually called "Heads!" or "Tails!" but I think Twyla Tharp would call it "Edge!" Using Billy Joel's distinctive tunes and narratives as the backbone of a unified story line, is such a call, blending her synthesis of music, theater and dance into the thrilling production, Movin' Out.

Elizabeth Parkinson in Movin' Out Photo © & courtesy of Joan Marcus

Elizabeth Parkinson in Movin' Out's Mulberry Street number Photo © & courtesy of Joan Marcus