Starlight Express
Facts and figures:
· 7550 Shows by June 2007
· over 11,5 Million spectators
· up to 524 actors involved in “Starlight Express” since 1988
· Universal Music Platinum Award (December 2005) for the Starlight Express Live Album for selling more than 400.000 records
Theater:
· two race tracks amid the audience and a roller skating rink across the dance floor
· due to the safety of the audience and the actors a 105 metres long railing boots up the floor during the racings
· six model trains run through a circular strech of a railway which has a diameter of 30 metres and is set up on the dance floor
Set
· A three-level set on a stage area of 1.100 square meteres
· Total length of roller skating rinks: 280 metres, 30 metres of which run across the dance floor
· Two sloping tunnels
· Purpose-built floors (set and roller skating rink) out of specially laminated and epoxy resin treated plywood
· 840 Luminescent tubes placed in the floor represent the railway sleepers
· 8000 fibre-glass routed lights set in the floor, the back and the sidewalls
· hydraulically controlled four-axle bridge (total weight: 9 tons)
· hydraulic bridges, mobile platform systems and stage entrances
· two laser systems
· 24 Telescan searchlights
· 800 spot lights
· 27 wireless microphones
· 110 single loudspeakers
· overall capacity (music): 40.000 watts
Action, Speed, Fire: STARLIGHT EXPRESS
The long running musical production STARLIGHT EXPRESS in Bochum, Germany, has become even more explosive by fascinating new show effects! As of November 2006 the most successful STARLIGHT EXPRESS presents the world championship of international trains in a unique scenery of pyro-effects, smoke jets and a completely new light design. Grandparents, parents and children love this musical show on skates since more than 19 years. More than 11,5 million visitors have seen the show since the premiere in 1988. That means that STARLIGHT EXPRESS in Bochum had more visitors than any other musical production on Broadway, in the London Westend or any other place in the world.
Spectacular Races
Racetracks straight through the auditorium, fantastic costumes and make up, romantic ballads and stirring songs. Breathtaking light effects and actors on skates with a speed of more than 60 km/h. All this is STARLIGHT EXPRESS, the musical success by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Heebie-Jeebies are guaranteed, when the complete auditorium is lit by more than 8000 twinkling stars and when the lovely steamtrain Rusty meets the STARLIGHT EXPRESS and learns to believe in himself. 26 dancers and singers are performing this exciting show seven times a week. 24 of them on roller skates and two of them on inline skates – for the first time in STARLIGHT EXPRESS history two trick skaters were hired in 2004 and they are showing the most amazing stunts on skates. The STARLIGHT EXPRESS live album received a platinum award for more than 400.000 CDs sold between 1988 and 2005.
Records
STARLIGHT EXPRESS found its place into the Guiness-Book-of-Records already before the premiere: The theatre was built in only 12 months and it was the first theatre ever that was built for just one musical. The total production costs were about 20 million US $. In 2001 STARLIGHT EXPRESS became the most successful musical theatre of the world, two years later the 10.000.000th vistor came to see the show in Bochum.
Brief summary of the plot
It’s evening and a mother asks her little child to put the toy trains away and go to sleep. The boy falls asleep and in his dream the trains and carriages become alive. Trains from all over the world enter the station: It’s their night of the world championship.
There’s the young steamtrain Rusty, cute, but technically out of date and without any chance against his modern opponents. Rusty is desperately fighting against a macho like Greaseball. Greaseball is the rocking diesel train, looking like Elvis, charming like Elvis. Rusty is in love with Pearl, the 1st class carriage, but she decides to race with Electra, the glamorous electric train. It looks as if Rusty is racing against all odds.
Three, two, one – go! Waving flags, flashing lights and glittering helmets. Trains and their carriages are racing over the tracks as fast as lightning. The competition between the trains becomes more and more serious and not every train is playing fair. But all of a sudden he is there: The magic STARLIGHT EXPRESS, bright as the milky way in the sky. The night is filled with stars and Rusty learns the lesson of his life: Believe in yourself! Encouraged by the STARLIGHT EXPRESS Rusty joins the final race. And Pearl starts to comprehend where her heart belongs …
Credits:
Producers: Thomas Krauth, Andrea Friedrichs/ Starlight Express GmbH | Director: Dion McHugh | Artistic Director: Steven Rosso | Set Design and Costumes: John Napier | Lighting Design: David Hersey | Lighting Design Assistants: Rick Belzer, Douglas Cox | Year of Production: 2007 | Location: Bochum Theater
Source of information: http://www.starlight-express-musical.de/
