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#TBT – Today I was reminded that I am a part of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express history! An original cast members for the German production in 1988 and part of the first national tour in the USA & Canada. Because of Starlight Express, I had the opportunity to perform all across the US and Canada and live in Europe for several years with my beautiful wife Renee Chambers Liciaga. I also was blessed to meet, work and become friends with some of the most talented artist in musical theater. What an incredible experience! A big shout out and much love to all Starlight Express alumni!
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Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music), Richard Stilgoe (lyrics) and Arlene Phillips (choreography), with revisions by Don Black (lyrics, ‘Next Time You Fall in Love’), David Yazbek (music and lyrics for the 2nd US tour) and Alistair Lloyd Webber & Nick Coler (composer and lyricist respectively, ‘I Do’ added for the 2nd UK tour). The story follows a child’s dream in which his toy train set comes to life; the actors famously perform wearing roller skates. It is one of the longest running musicals in West End history with 7,406 performances, but the Broadway production only ran for 761 performances. It is the most popular musical show in Germany.[1] A new production toured the UK in 2012, produced by Bill Kenwright Productions.[2]
Starlight Express, A Brief History Lesson
German Production:
On 12 June 1988, a production opened at a specially built venue, the Starlighthalle in Bochum, Germany. As of 2013, it is the only permanent production playing, and it is the most popular musical in Germany. It has been seen by more than 14 million people as of March 2012.[5]
The Starlighthalle was built especially for the production in an extraordinary time of less than one year. Both the special building and record breaking build time were documented in the Guinness Book of Records. The Starlighthalle was specially designed for the show, with large tracks on three levels in a U-like shape with the audience sitting in the middle and around these tracks. On stage the tracks even run over three levels which allows several race combinations. In 2003 a ‘Y’ shaped track was added to the smallest inner track, the Parkett, dividing it into 3 seating areas and allowing greater flexibility of staging and more tricks for the skaters. A good impression of the Starlighthalle can be seen on the official website [1] from a 360° panorama view and lots of high resolution pictures from the show, featuring the current cast.
In March 2008, Starlight Express ran a talent competition with German Television to find the next Rusty and Pearl. The show started on 31 March and was called ‘Musical Showstar 2008’. The competition was won by Kevin Köhler and Anna-Maria Schmidt. Schmidt dropped out of training, but Köhler premiered as Rusty on 1 August 2008.
The show advertises as “Das rasanteste Musical im Universum!” (“The fastest musical in the universe!”).
First US (& Canada) Tour:
The first US Tour, a downscaled production directly descended from Broadway, ran in the U.S. and Canada from November 1989 – 12 April 1991. Rather than scaling the show up to fill stadiums, the set was small enough to fit regular regional theatres. The races were mostly on film, with the racers zooming out to circle the stage from behind the screen occasionally. The tour was a direct development from the Broadway production, inheriting some of the cast, as well as costumes. The set was obviously very restricted by the necessities of tour, but a small loop of race track extended out into the audience and a start gate/bridge was incorporated into the set design.
[orginal source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlight_Express]
