Billy Joel has checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital, a New Canaan, Conn., psychiatric facility specializing in substance-abuse problems, Joel’s spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
Joel, an iconic singer-songwriter popularly known as “The Piano Man,” had been expected in Chicago during the next couple of weeks to take part in the preview process for “Movin’ Out,” the new pre-Broadway musical based on his songs. It begins preview performances at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago next week and is scheduled to open on Broadway in October.
In a prepared statement, Joel’s spokesperson said that Joel’s stay at Silver Hill, a treatment center popular with celebrities, was a prescheduled 10-day visit “to deal with a specific and personal problem that had recently developed,” and that Joel “expects to leave the facility in a few days, as planned.”
Because “Movin’ Out,” conceived and directed by Twyla Tharp, is based on Joel’s large existing body of work, it’s unlikely to be greatly affected by Joel’s condition. A spokesperson for the producers of “Movin’ Out” confirmed that the Chicago preview process and the July 19 opening night all will continue as scheduled.
It is currently unclear, whether Joel still will be coming to Chicago as planned.
