The Broadway production of Starlight Express opened on 15 March 1987 at the Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 761 performances, closing in January 1989. This version featured extensive revisions to the plot and the addition and omission of several musical numbers. [1]
Production Details[]
Background[]
Tony Awards 1987 Starlight Sequence and Light
Fearing a backlash against his success as a 'Brit on Broadway', Lloyd Webber became convinced that Starlight Express ‘should never go near’ Broadway.[2] Instead, he wanted to take the same approach as he had done with Jesus Christ Superstar: release a concept album then tour the show across America, in Starlight's case, in a tent. "It should have been like the circus coming to town", Lloyd Webber explained in 2021. "the Starlight Express came to your city, played a couple of weeks and went on. But that idea never found any favour."[3]
The concept album album was recorded, but RUG producer Brian Brolly ultimately accepted a lucrative offer from Broadway producer Jimmy Nederlander to ‘shoehorn Starlight into one of his Broadway houses’[2]. The Broadway production amassed an advance box office of over $5 million.
Starlight Express began previews at the Gerswin Theatre on 24th February. The opening night was scheduled for February, but was delayed twice to give the creative team more time to perfect the moving parts of the set. The production eventually opened on 15th March, after 22 previews[4].
New Material[]
By 1987, Starlight Express had been running in London for almost 3 years. As the creative team approached the second production, they took the opportunity to revise the material and adapt it for an American audience. The changes they made affected every aspect of the show, from plot, music and characters to set and costume design and choreography. In his playbill note for the production, lyricist Richard Stilgoe joked that there were ‘eight crates of rewrites’ somewhere in Manhattan.[5]
Characters[]
- C.B. was renamed the Red Caboose
- Belle became Memphis Belle
- A fourth Rocky was introduced, after the film "Rocky IV" had been released in 1985
- The British Engine was re-named from "City of Milton Keynes" (an in-joke about British Rail) to "The Prince of Wales".
- The Second and Third class Sleepers were removed – with "Pumping Iron" moved, the performers were already onstage as Joule, Volta and Wrench
Plot/Structure[]
- Rather than racing simply for the accolade "Champion Engine of the World", the trains race for a prize, the "Silver Dollar".
- The "Entry of the National Engines" was moved to the beginning of the show, in the place of the orchestral Overture.
- "Pumping Iron" was moved from after "Freight" to after "AC/DC", reframing the song as Greaseball making a direct challenge to the appearance of Electra.
- Before each race, some characters cheer for the racers.
- The race structure changed from 3 heats with 1 winner each in the final, to 2 heats with 2 winners each in the final. Rusty didn't race in the heats at all, making Belle, originally his race partner, redundant (This decision would lead to Belle being cut from the show in later productions).
- For the "Downhill Final", Rusty appears transformed, like Cinderella at the ball. Rusty even introduces himself as "The Starlight Express". None of the other characters recognise him, not even Control. However, this gave the actor playing Rusty at most 3 minutes to change costume between one of the biggest songs and the most athletic race number. Also the costume was not particularly distinctive in the fast-paced scenes, and while it had fine details the overall effect was not sufficient to justify the effort needed. The disguised Rusty idea was scrapped early on the Broadway run and reverted back to Rusty entering the Final as himself.
- During the "Downhill Final", Caboose steals the Silver Dollar. At the end of the race, Rusty disappears looking for Pearl, however the ensemble accuse Rusty of having stolen it. After "Only You" the ensemble catch up with him and he consents to being searched if the opposition have to do likewise. This led to a lengthy slapstick chase ("The Chase"), which concludes with Caboose crashing into Greaseball and Electra. This extra scene was cut during the show's run, replaced with the simpler story of Caboose, Electra and Greaseball crashing during the race.
Musical Numbers[]
- "Engine of Love" was used when Rusty brought the Coaches in near the beginning of the show.
- Pearl was removed from "A Lotta Locomotion", so it was sung only by Dinah, Buffy and Ashley.
- "He Whistled At Me" was replaced with a ballad, "Make Up My Heart."
- "There's Me" became a duet between Caboose and Dinah.
- "The Rap" was replaced by the "Hymn to Victory/Silver Dollar" as the original plot-driven rap, mainly concerning Rusty's predicament, was irrelevant. Instead the new plot point of the "Silver Dollar" was strengthened.
- "No Comeback" was cut. Instead, Electra joined Greaseball and Caboose in "One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many", rearranged with choreography that was more slapstick and less sexual innuendo-laden.
- "Only He" (Pearl's solo) was replaced with an expanded "Only You" (duet) between Pearl and Rusty, using the same melody.
Set Design[]
The Broadway budget was also much larger than the budget in London. As the New York Times noted, Starlight Express was 'beefed up' for America – the ‘limbo-like’ setting of the London production was replaced by a ‘miniature toy-land America festooned with landmarks, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the New York skyline’ that ‘lit up like a pinball machine’.[6]
To build the set, 120,000 pounds of steel, 7,000 sheets of plywood, 22 miles of fibre optics, 1,500 feet of fluorescent tubing were required.
Costume Design[]
The increased budget also allowed the production to fully realise John Napier's vision. Many characters were completely re-designed, with an overall bigger, squarer feel to the costumes - closer to the mechanical, and further from the human elements of the characters.
In keeping with the "Cinderella" basis of the story, Rusty gained a costume change after meeting his "Fairy Godmother" the Starlight Express, and as he turned up for the final race, nobody recognised the no-longer-Rusty Steam Engine. Practically, this required the actor to fit in a complete quick costume change in between one of the most demanding vocal numbers and the most demanding physical scene - winning the final race - with only seconds for the costume change. Rusty's "Starlight Express" costume became mythical, however photos have since been discovered that show a black and shiny silver version of his costume, with the words "Starlight Express" on his chest.
Musical Numbers[]
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Act 1
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Act 2
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| Race: Heat 1 | Race: Heat 2 | First Final | Final Selection |
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Cast and Creatives[]
Cast[]
Replacement Swings: Dorie Herndon, Harold Yi, Roger Kachel, Marvin Engran, Terri Homberg, Dawn Marie Church, Marty Simpson, Janice Lorraine Holt, Jennifer Prescott
Replacement Booth Singers: Willy Falk, Hal Miller, Francis Ruivivar
Creative Team[]
- Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe
- Director Trevor Nunn
- Second Director Dion McHugh
- Designer John Napier
- Makeup Supervisor Nancy Powell
- Choreographer Arlene Phillips
- Assistant to Choreographer Ilse Challis
- Dance Captain Denny Shearer
- Skating Coach / Consultant Michal Fraley
- Stunt coordinator JP Romano[7]
- Orchestrations by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
- Musical Direction and Supervision by David Caddick.
- Musical Director Paul Bogaev
- Sound Designer Martin Levan
- Lighting Designer David Hersey
- Produced by Martin Starger and Lord Grade in association with MCA Music Entertainment Group, Stage Promotions (Four) / Strada Holdings, Weintraub Entertainment Group, inc.
Gallery[]
Media[]
Video[]
The Broadway transfer of Starlight Express used a new logo - the title was given a clear, italic font and layout, and this was given a background of a Shooting Star - keeping the sweeping feel of the original logo, with its sense of movement and a headlight, but rather than the suggestion of the shape of a train, the Shooting Star gave us brightly coloured star-shaped imagery. This logo went on to appear in later touring productions.
Cast Recording[]
A cast recording was not made of the Broadway transfer. However, the production was preceded by a concept album that features versions of many of the songs recorded by American artists.
Press[]
- LA Times Interview January 1987 - with Barry K. Bernal
- NY Times March 1987
- LA Times March 1987
- Christian Science Monitor March 1987
Trivia[]
On both Broadway and in the West End, the musical Wicked is playing in the theatre that hosted Starlight Express (the Gershwin Theatre and the Apollo Victoria respectively).
References[]
- ↑ www.playbillvault.com Starlight Express
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Unmasked, Andrew Lloyd Webber
- ↑ https://variety.com/2021/legit/news/andrew-lloyd-webber-phantom-of-the-opera-trans-performers-1235092600/
- ↑ Fraley, Michal: Skating the Starlight Express (2011), ISBN: 978-1-4583-7432-5
- ↑ Richard Stilgoe's playbill note, Broadway 1987
- ↑ NY Times Review, March 1987
- ↑ Fraley, Michal: Skating the Starlight Express (2011), ISBN: 978-1-4583-7432-5