The Broadway musical featuring Billy Joel’s songs and characters from his lyrics is Movin’ Out.
Movin’ Out is a 2002 jukebox musical conceived, directed, and choreographed by Twyla Tharp. Rather than using newly written songs, it builds its score from Joel recordings, including “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “James,” “Uptown Girl,” “Goodnight Saigon,” and “Only the Good Die Young.”
The story follows American young people from Long Island during the 1960s and the Vietnam War era. Its characters are drawn from figures named or described in Joel songs, including Brenda and Eddie, James, Judy, Tony, and Sergeant O’Leary. The production is unusual because the dancers do not sing: a pianist and band perform the vocals above the stage while the dancers act out the story.
The musical premiered on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in October 2002 and ran for 1,303 performances before closing in December 2005. It earned Tony Awards for choreography and orchestrations. American Idiot, Mamma Mia!, and Jersey Boys are also song-based musicals, but they use music by Green Day, ABBA, and the Four Seasons, respectively.