Starlight Express

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 7:42pm

What do you guys think about Starlight Express? It just seems such an odd show. How did it work on Broadway and such. Thanks.

[otis33]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 7:43pm

I saw it twice in London, the original tour in the late 80's, and the most recent tour. It's a silly show, but if you give over to it, it's fun. It's "entertainment," but my no means life-altering.

[Unmasked05]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 9:19pm

I LOVE STEX..........go to the Starlight Express Bochum website to see a great commercial for the show. I wish there was a theatre around here that was built just for STEX like in Bochum.

The music is cool...I like AC/DC..."it's okay by me"

[focusingonmoviesmatt]

Posted: 9/11/05 at 9:56pm

Its still one of the shows i regret most not seeing. I did see the vegas production in 1995. I'm not sure if it was the same as on broadway.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 1:29am

I heard the track didn't circle the audience on Broadway, like it did in London. Is that true? What theater did it play in? I wish i had seen the tour that played here about 2 years back, as well as the Urinetown tour - ugh!

[Quasi]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 2:47am

In Bochum it is the best version of the show, because of the theater which was build for it. There are 2 racing tracks which go right through the audience and then there is also a kind of cross through the I think its called mezzazine in the USA. I mean the district right in front of the stage.
In fact it is a family show and I do not like it as much but I loved seeing my 8 year old sister seeing this show, because she was overwhelmed and that was really satisfying.
Greetings from Bochum.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 2:54am

I think it played at the Gershwin on Broadway. I saw the most recent US national tour and liked it very much. it's cats on wheels...

[Greekmusicalfan]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 4:32am

I saw it in London twice, some time ago and I enjoyed it very much. It was pure silly fun and nothing more but it did a great job at that ! Way more spectacular and entertaining than Cats !

[Sant]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 11:09am

I have to say that of all the Andrew Lloyd Webber shows I've seen this one is my least favorite. Yes it is entertaining and fun in its own silly way and definitely a spectacle, but I found the score very weak.

On Broadway it played in the Gershwin. The race track did extend into the auditorium but not around it like in London. Lloyd Webber himself would have liked this show to open in a non-Broadway venue, like some old warehouse or something.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 11:17am

I like the music, but have never seen the production....sigh

[Demitri2]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 11:59am

I loved the Broadway production. To this day I've never seen such an incredible set on stage. Technically everything was timed to the exact second. On stage left and right, there were arches on different levels with a bridge center stage that would slant up and down attaching to different tiers. You would see skaters exit on the top level while the bridge would magically tilt and catch them as they made their entrance on a different level...all perfectly timed. If I'm not mistaken though I recall hearing there were numerous cast members who were injured during rehearsals and its initial run. Visually the show was amazing and I never understood why its run was so short compared to the London production which ran for years. It certainly has mass family audience appeal.There was one thing about the show I found odd though. Andrea ("Annie") McCardle who had also headlined with her name above the title in "Jerry's Girls" had an incredibly small role in the chorus and wasn't even given a solo. She was one of two back up singers in one of the musicals numbers. The last time I can recall seeing a one time actress in a starring role in a similar situation was Betsy Joslyn who went from the lead role in "A Doll's Life" to a maid in the chorus in "High Society". I've often wondered if this has something to do with keeping up one's Equity status for related health benefits.

[Sant]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 12:13pm

As far as I know (somebody correct me if I'm wrong!) STARLIGHT EXPRESS opened only a few weeks from LES MISERABLES. And though neither show received positive-only reviews, LES MIS got far better reviews than S.E. STARLIGHT's reviews included lines like "could have been done with puppets because so little acting is involved"...

So what happened here, I guess, was pretty much the same as happened in 1975 with A CHORUS LINE and CHICAGO - the other became a blockbuster & smash hit while the other struggled for a couple of years before closing.

[Magdalene]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 12:56pm

One of my favorite ALW shows! Maybe not the best show in the world, but definitely a lot of fun with some songs that stay with you!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 9/12/05 at 2:13pm

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but to me, the feel of this show is overwhelmingly "British." I don't know why, besides the obvious facts, but it just seems like a show that would be more successful in Europe. Anyways, do you guys recommend any of the recordings?