A white, filmy smoke drifts onto stage as the music's volume gently rises. Suddenly, bright purple and red lights explode like solar flares, rising from the ground to the ceiling, scanning the audience.

The music builds, the lights dance, and in a burst of energy, performers rocket into the spotlight.

In a whirlwind of dance and rock 'n' roll, the Broadway tour of "Movin' Out" - a Twyla Tharp creation based on Billy Joel songs - has taken East Lansing by storm.

"It's very, very popular," Wharton Center spokesman Bob Hoffman said. "It has been the highest gross in sales for a one-week engagement that Wharton has ever had."

"Movin' Out" has pulled in more than $1 million for the six-day show at Wharton. The last time the $1 million mark graced Wharton was the showing of "The Phantom of the Opera" over an eight-week stay in 2003.

Tickets are still available, but selling fast, and Hoffman urges hopeful students to obtain seats as soon as possible.

Hoffman attributes the show's popularity to the audience's love of Joel's songs.

Chemical engineering senior and "Movin' Out" fan Rose Kanasty agrees.

"You can see the show for the first time and already know the songs," she said. "And you get to enjoy an evening of hearing a bunch of your old favorites."

Hit songs in the show include "Uptown Girl," "Goodnight Saigon" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me."

"Movin' Out" is set in Long Island during the Vietnam War. The story follows the love and despair of five friends during the tumultuous war-torn time and hormone-packed years of their lives.

James and Judy are high school sweethearts, but tragedy strikes when James is killed during an accident for which his friend Eddie feels horribly responsible.

The remaining characters, Brenda and Tony, deal with the separation of their new love when Tony goes off to fight, and the problem of reconnecting as a couple when the war ends.

What's the different thing about this show? Unlike other musicals, the actors themselves do not sing, and there is no spoken dialogue.

In the spirit of breaking boundaries, lead singer and pianist Darren Holden strings the plot together with 26 Joel songs while the scenes are acted out through modern dance on stage.

"It's using the dance form and the music we all know, but there's a compelling story using visual narrative," said Rob Roznowski, assistant professor and head of acting at MSU.

Joel's songs were written independently over the years, but Kanasty said they are given new meaning in the show, and without a plot, "Movin' Out" would be more like a dance recital than a musical.

Holden said although the songs probably weren't written with a musical in mind, when put together, they create a streamlined story.

Holden, who was born in Ireland, first appeared on Broadway as a singer with "Riverdance" and is currently promoting his new country CD. He said Joel was his first musical idol and has been a role model for him, along with Elvis Presley and Elton John.

"I find it the quickest two hours of every day because it takes you to a different place; I never get tired of singing those songs," Holden said.

Not only is the music great, but there's also a 10-piece rock band suspended above the dancers.

That's a little different from the orchestra with "Les Misérables."

Holden said audience members can easily think they're at a Kiss concert from the band and visual effects combination.

Although the music combines with dance to express emotions, the audience is guided through the plot by lyrics, which is a challenge as a singer, he said.

Joel was not writing music at the start of the Vietnam War, but Holden said the songs' feelings are expressive of the times.

"Billy has this magic of capturing different eras with his music," Holden said. "He was around for the time in the show, and he absorbed what was going on around him."

Tharp's musical is one of several popular culture song shows hitting Broadway along with "Mamma Mia!" and the new Beach Boys' production "Good Vibrations."

Kanasty said there is a limit to the number of popular music shows that can be made before crossing a line from refreshing to "cheesy."

"I never want to see the day when there is a musical on Broadway composed entirely of Britney Spears' songs," she said.

Although the popular music band wagon is taking theater by storm, this genre is anything but new, said Frank Rutledge, professor of directing and theater history.

As far back as the 1600s, actors performed contemporary music in connection with plays and performances in venues called "curtain raisers" and "curtain closures," Rutledge said. Later, these performances took form as vaudeville productions and burlesque shows with artists such as Lawrence Welk.

"It's always been there, it's always been popular," Rutledge said. "They will continue - they are essentially variety shows with familiar material that is endearing, non-threatening and totally pleasurable."

But Roznowski said Tharp's musical is innovative because she combines dance and music to create a weighty message - something all previous pop song and dance shows are missing.

For example, the ABBA music show "Mamma Mia" is a comedy about a bride and her interviews with three men who could possibly be her true father. Although created with pop songs, the musical follows a classic format by including dialogue.

It is the lack of dialogue and emphasis on the emotional art of dance that makes "Movin' Out" so moving, Roznowski said.

"People were unprepared for it, but everyone who came out afterwards were singing praises because of the choreography," Roznowski said. "Her work is just so interesting and challenging yet it completely tells the story."

Holden said hot issues other producers are hesitant to touch, such as drugs and war, are tackled in "Movin' Out," and Tharp's use of music and dance create an excellent forum for discussion after the show.

Hoffman said the Wharton Center is proud to bring innovative and conversational pieces to the MSU community.

"We just bring good quality entertainment to East Lansing - it's good for the area," he said.

And proving that touring Broadway shows are just as high-caliber as the companies located in New York City, Hoffman said after the East Lansing performance, Holden will switch locations with current on-Broadway singer Michael Cavanaugh.

Most fanfare is awarded to "Movin' Out" because of the dancing, which Holden said is amazing.

And this is coming from a guy who worked with "Riverdance" for three years and saw legs moving as though they were not attached to their bodies.

Holden said Tharp is the most demanding choreographer he has known.

"The dancing is beyond anything I've ever seen before," Holden said. "She gets every last drop of sweat."

The stamina required to perform the super human moves is unbelievable, and the dance combinations the performers pull off are awe-inspiring, he said.

As a result, audience attention is diverted to the main stage.

But the musicians do not feel slighted because the originality of a rock band is always noted by the audience, and the band members and singer often receive standing ovations, he said.

"'Movin' Out' has set the standard, and other shows will have to meet that to do well," Holden said.