Starlight Express--can ANYONE defend this show?- Page 2

[sweeedboy]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 11:52am

I saw Starlight Express on my first trip to London. I think i was about 7 at the time. The only other professional show I had seen at the time was Phatom of the Opera, which for a 7 year old was a SNOOOZE FEST! I remember my mom getting us tickets for the second to last night we were there.
Most of the trip I didn't really get along with London. I didn't like the food, I didn't really get the whole medival thing and I was just kinda over it (Now it ranks as one of my favorite cities).
I remember the whole trip changed when i saw starlight express. I had never been so imersed in a theatrical experience before. I remember my mouth being absolutely agaped as they raced around the theater, and the moving bridge absolutely blew my mind. The music (and lyrics) were perfect for a 7 year old growing up in the 80's. I adored every minute of it.

When I got back to the states the first thing i did was lace up my roller skates with He-Man on the side, go down to my basement, and act out the entire show with the CD.

Nowadays I rarely listen to it, as it is so dated and the lyrics very sophomoric. But the show will always hold a special place in my heart and you can find me on an odd sunday turning on "The Rap" and smiling pleasently.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 12:26pm

I saw this in London and hated it. It was so loud that I had to hold my hands over my ears--I was actually in pain for the whole duration of this mess of a show.

I have been in London many times and it is a wonderful city to visit, with excellent theatre. On my first visit in 1973 I saw GYPSY with Angela Lansbury and loved it. She later brought the show to NYC and got glowing reviews. Other shows that I have seen there and loved include PYGMALION with Diana Rigg, SEPARATE TABLES, OLIVER, and FOLLIES also with Diana Rigg. She is quite an actress. But STARLIGHT EXPRESS, forget it!

[raphael06]

Posted: 4/4/07 at 1:10pm

Growing up as a kid, my mom owned this CD that was a collection of ALW songs sung by random folks. There were two songs from STARLIGHT EXPRESS on it that I enjoyed alright and were done pretty well so when the show came into town a few years ago, I thought I would enjoy it as much as I enjoyed ALW's other stuff and immediately grabbed some tickets... I was completely confused! and still am to this day. All I could think of the whole time was, "POWER RANGERS ON SKATES: THE MUSICAL"?!

[binau]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 7:09am

I just saw this in London and think it’s a MUST SEE. Obviously you have to recognise it is a…family show and is completely insane/bizarre but this is truly one of the most unique musicals in existence and you really do have to experience it live. Behind Jamie Lloyd’s sunset it’s probably my 2nd fav ALW experience now. 

[Huss417]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 8:58am

binau said: "I just saw this in London and think it’s a MUST SEE. Obviously you have to recognise it is a…family show and is completely insane/bizarrebut this is truly one of the most unique musicals in existence and you really do have to experience it live. Behind Jamie Lloyd’s sunset it’s probably my 2nd fav ALW experience now."

The OP is probably happy you responded to their post 17 years later. :)

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 10:58am

Wow a thread brought back to life from 17 odd years ago. 
Add me to the list that loves this show, but in saying that, I wish it was still the original  score not the updated one. 

[nealb1]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 11:31am

SE was the first Broadway show I ever saw in July 1988.  It was just so much fun.  Got a ticket at the TKTS booth 2 hours before curtain, and had dinner at Sizzler, where Ellen's Stardust Diner is now.  I had a great seat, way down front, inside the figure 8 set up, and each time the big skating would start, the plexiglass walls would come up, with the sounding alarm. Was the first time seeing Jane Krakowski.  And, I just couldn't get over how talented and stunningly beautiful she was. Loved every minute of it.  

The national tour of SE came to Los Angeles and played at The Pantages in February 1990 for 3 months.  Saw it twice during the run, and loved it just as much as seeing it the first time.  

Had several friends in the Las Vegas residency run of the show at The LV Hilton that I had done shows with before, but never saw it during that run.  

Updated On: 10/14/24 at 11:31 AM

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 1:12pm

I saw this show on tour (1990-ish, maybe) and loved it.  Were I to see it again, I'm confident I would love it still.  There has not been a single ALW show I've seen that I didn't love.

[Huss417]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 1:43pm

nealb1 said: "SE was the first Broadway show I ever saw in July 1988. It was just so much fun. Got a ticket at the TKTS booth 2 hours before curtain, and had dinner at Sizzler, where Ellen's Stardust Diner is now. I had a great seat, way down front, inside the figure 8 set up, and each time the big skating would start, the plexiglass walls would come up, with the sounding alarm.Was the first time seeing Jane Krakowski. And, I just couldn't get over how talented and stunningly beautiful she was.Loved every minute of it.

The national tour of SE came to Los Angeles and played at The Pantages in February 1990 for 3 months. Saw it twice during the run, and loved it just as much as seeing it the first time.

Had several friends in the Las Vegas residency run of the show at The LV Hilton that I had done shows with before, but never saw it during that run."

I remember Tad's Steakhouse in Times Square but for the life of me I can't recall a Sizzler. I'm going to blame it on age. :)

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 2:29pm

I saw the show in Germany last year (without really knowing any German) and the spectacle and sheer athleticism were the main things that grabbed me.  It wasn't a show I knew super well before but I was always interested in it as a curiosity.  I do like the score a good amount, but it's more that individual songs stand above others rather than the entire score being strong as a whole.  That said, I think "I Am Me" is inane (and doesn't even make contextual sense), but I'm glad they brought back "CB" in the form of "Wide Smile" and I don't hate "I Do", though I did also like "Only He"

I'm planning on going in London and most of my friends are also intrigued by the camp and silliness of it

[binau]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 3:33pm

chrishuyen I'm very interested to hear what you think of the German production compared with the London production, both in terms of the physical production but also how understandable the German one is because it's not in English right?

 

 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 3:44pm

binau said: "chrishuyen I'm very interested to hear what you think of the German production compared with the London production, both in terms of the physical production but also how understandable the German one is because it's not in English right?"

Right, it's all in German (though apparently some of the accents can be pretty rough since most of the cast are English speakers anyway), so I mostly familiarized myself with the cast recordings beforehand and could usually follow along with the songs based on what I knew from the English lyrics.  The main part I missed was the announcements from Control for what was happening during the races (since the blocking doesn't make it super clear either), some of the political maneuvering from CB, and also some of the puns and jokes, which my friend (who DID understand German) relayed to me at intermission/after the show.

Having only seen clips of the London production, the German version sticks with the same original costumes and whatever script changes had happened prior to London (they still have the national trains etc.), though I think the song list is the same with the exception of Hydrogen.  Also the two race officials(?) are on inline skates in the German production as opposed to scooters in London.  Will be excited to see the London production just to compare more in depth!

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 5:21pm

Mr. Tuttle said: "It's the best roller skate musical."

Better than The Rink or Xanadu? I don’t think so. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/14/24 at 9:17pm

Hated CATS, but loved Starlight Express in London, where the skating scenes circled around the orchestra (stalls) level, which was huge (it was an old movie palace).

it was just fun.  I’ll admit that I didn’t play the OCR very often, because it was fluff; but it was a lot of fun.  Saw it twice in London, but never saw it in NYC, because I couldn’t see it working on the Uris (Gershwin) stage without looking incredibly cluttered.

[LuckyDipster]

Posted: 10/15/24 at 5:09am

SE was my first West End show back in the 90s when I was a teenager and the sheer spectacle blew my mind.  I bought the album and played it a lot.  These days I only hear the songs when they play during my shuffled playlists and I don't love them as much as I used to, but they're alright and they bring back fun memories.  I haven't kept up with all the changes over the years and I'm sure that the new London show would feel very different if I were to see it, but my guess is that I would still enjoy it.

[cambell22]

Posted: 10/15/24 at 4:24pm

I saw this in London in 1998, I waited in line for a cancellation and ended up getting a ticket.  The excitement was amplified because Princess Diana had seen SE the night before and it was all of the tabloids. The set and production design were amazingly over the top.  Phantom had the chandelier,  Miss Saigon had the helicopter, Les Miserables had the barricade, and Starlight Express had a bridge.  All jaw dropping Coup de théâtre's of their time. 

Updated On: 10/15/24 at 04:24 PM