by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
Matthew Friedman is the Piano Man in the hot new musical Movin' Out. Matthew's ascension to Broadway star is a bizarre story of a man being in the right place at the right time. Matthew was a lawyer and played piano bars on weekends. He's spent his youth idolizing Billy Joel and knew all his songs since he was a kid. He went on to study piano and composition with jazz great David Lalama and electronic music pioneer Herbert Deutsche at Hofstra University.
At a party where Matthew was playing, he met a member of the Movin' Out cast, and he suggested that Matthew audition for the show, which he did, but didn't get the role. Some time later, through odd circumstances, Matthew was invited to play at Billy Joel's wedding in 2004. He impressed a producer with the show and he suggested that he audition again. At that time, Matthew got the job, and has been starring in the show ever since. Matthew is one of the 10 people to hold this position since the show first arrived on Broadway in 2002, and he has played to critical acclaim all over the United States, Canada, and Japan.
To find out more about Matthew's role in this Tony Award winning show, I called him on the road to chat about his experience.
"Getting this role was purely fortuitous in that I stumbled into it from playing Billy Joel's wedding and doing a second audition. Basically the show was born when renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp devised a play from Billy Joel's songs and choreographed dances that tell the story while a band and I play 20 feet above the stage. For me, it's a dream gig since I've been performing Billy Joel's music all my life. This gig is the peak of my career. I never get tired of performing the show and I wake up in the morning looking forward to the next show," Matthew said.
I asked Matthew if he'd ever go back to practicing the law. His answer was candid: "Never!" he stated unequivocally.
Matthew went on to say, "Amazingly, my voice has held up. Recently, I did get a bad cold that had been going around the cast, but I was still able to perform. I'm living my dream and I will continue with this show as long they'll have me. The show is very popular because of the music and Tharp's incredible choreography. With all the polytechnics and lights, it's a multimedia experience for the audience. It's weird, because I started at the top, but I've made many friends and I'm not worried about the future. I'd like to continue working on Broadway in some capacity after I eventually leave this show."
Movin' Out will be presented at the Moran Theater February 29, 2008, at 8 pm.
Article Published in the 03-08 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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