Starlight Express Credits[]
London - 1984 - Sound Designer
Broadway - 1987 - Sound Designer
Japan/Australia - 11/1987 - Sound Designer
US Tour - 11/1989 - Sound Designer
Biography (1984)[]
Due to the complex control of sound required for Starlight Express a new computer assisted mixing console had to be custom designed and commissioned for the show. New equipment was also designed and built to enable sound to be moved smoothly and quickly around all parts of the theatre. The actors had to learn to use the radio mics for several weeks prior to opening but there were no problems for the cast when they were moving fast on skates. We had to work closely with Liz Da Costa and the costume department and the mikes have been designed to go into the helmets and wigs. They are the smallest mikes ever to be used in a West End show. Some of the actors did find it difficult wearing transmitter packs if they had not done so before. Andrew Lloyd Webber's music contains loud dynamic passages and very quiet passages and does demand an extremely high degree of control; therefore the sound system had to be sufficient not to run out of steam.
Biography (1987)[]
Early in his career as a recording engineer and record producer Martin Levan worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber on his Variations album, after which Andrew introduced him to the theatre to supervise the sound for the London production of Song & Dance. He then re-designed the sound for Cats in London and went on to design the sound for Cats on Broadway. In 1984 he won a Grammy for his co-production of the New York cast album of Cats. Other recent recordings include the German Cats cast album, the English Starlight Express cast album and most recently the Phantom of the Opera cast album. He also recorded Andrew Lloyd Webber's much-acclaimed Requiem. In London he designed the sound for Blondel by Tim Rice and Stephen Oliver and the award-winning London production of Little Shop of Horrors. Martin designed the sound for Starlight Express and Phantom of the Opera in London and Song & Dance on Broadway. He also designed the sound for Sir Kenneth Macmillan's ballet Requiem staged at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Martin and his wife Karen live in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, with their three children Remy, Toby and Kim.