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Starlight Express is a rock musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek. It is known best for its spectacular choreography, performed entirely on roller skates.

Contents 1 Background 2 Plot 3 Characters 3.1 The Trains 3.2 Electra's Components 3.3 The Coaches 3.4 The Freight Trains 3.5 Other Engines 4 Additional productions

Initially, Lloyd Webber planned to produce a musical movie adaptation of Rev W. Awdry's Railway Series books. This plan fell through, as Awdry felt that Lloyd Webber wanted a greater degree of creative control than he was prepared to give. A legacy of this early scheme is the Really Useful Company, named in reference to a catchphrase used in several of the books.

Lloyd Webber was interested in developing the idea of a musical about trains further, and conceived what he described as "a Cinderella story". Rusty may be seen to take the place of Cinderella, Greaseball and Electra the Ugly Step-sisters, and the Starlight Express the fairy godmother.

The West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn, choreographed by Arlene Phillips, and designed by John Napier, opened on March 27, 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it ran for 7406 performances. Original cast members included Stephanie Lawrence and Frances Ruffelle. The theatre had been reconfigured to include a race track that extended into the stalls and around the front of the dress circle. In November 1992, the London production, christened The New Starlight Express, was re-launched with heavy revisions to the material, partly influenced by the subsequent productions described below. Many fans felt the revamp damaged the spirit of the show.

The Broadway production opened on March 15, 1987 at the Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 761 performances. This version featuring revisions to the plot and the addition and omission of several musical numbers.

Although the material has been altered heavily since the original production, the basic plot has remained the same: in a child’s dream, a racing tournament takes place on a model railway, with engines from all over the world competing. Representing the USA is Greaseball, an arrogant diesel locomotive who bears a strong resemblance to Elvis Presley, whose girlfriend is Dinah the dining car. He is accompanied by the Greaseball Gang, also diesel locomotives. In the yards lives Rusty, a steam engine who dreams of winning the race but who is seen as slow and old-fashioned by everyone else. He is in love with Pearl the observation car, but when he asks her out she turns him down. A late entry to the race is Electra, a state-of-the-art electric locomotive who bears some resemblance to David Bowie, with the Components, his own personal freight cars. He convinces Pearl to race with him. Poppa, an old steam engine and past racing champion, serves as Rusty's mentor. To bolster his confidence, he tells him the legend of the Starlight Express, a midnight train who helps engines in distress. What ensues is a series of races that call to mind the Biblical tale of David and Goliath and the children's classic The Little Engine That Could, as the weak battles the strong and the underdog aims for the prize, with important lessons to be learned by all.

• Control, the young boy who plays with his trains at night. However, in some newer productions, Control is a girl.

• Rusty the Steam Engine, the show's protagonist, is a steam train who longs to enter the race and win.
• Poppa, another steam train who is old and can no longer race. Some think he might be Rusty's father.
• Greaseball the Diesel, a diesel locomotive and Control's favorite. He's self-centered jerk who will do anything to win.
• Electra the Electric Train, the new engine on the scene, a bright and colorful ladies' man.

• Krupp, Electra's armaments and bodyguard.
• Wrench, Electra's repair truck.
• Volta, Electra's freezer truck and original race partner.
• Joule, Electra's dynamite truck.
• Purse, Electra's money truck.

• Pearl the Observation Car, the newest coach who instantly catches Rusty's attention.
• Dinah the Dining Car, sweet and southern.
• Ashley the Smoking Car, laid back and always in search of a cigarette.
• Buffy the Buffet Car, smart and sassy and the most mature of all the coaches, a street-wise girl with a New York accent.
• Belle the Sleeping Car, an old sleeping once compared to the Orient Express. The character was eliminated from the revised production.

• Flat-Top the Brick Truck, a friend of Rusty who longs to be part of Greaseball's gang.
• CB the Red Caboose, the caboose and brake truck, was cut from the London production from 1992 onwards and is only a minor character in later revised versions.
• Dustin the Big Hopper- The sweet and kind Big Hopper who races with Poppa to help give Rusty a boost.
• Rocky 1, 2, 3, and 4-the box cars, and part of the freight. Rocky 4 was removed from the show following the 1992 revamp. In the new UK/US tour, they all have been replaced by the Hip Hoppers, who essentially are updated versions of the same characters.
• Tank, Gook and Lube-Dirty, nasty Diesels who are Greaseball's henchmen.

• Bobo the French Engine
• Espresso the Italian Engine
• Ruhrgold/Weltschaft the German Engine
• Turnov the Russian Engine
• Nintendo/Hashamoto the Shinkansen Bullet Train
• Prince of Wales/City of Milton Keynes the British Train

From 1987 to 1989, a large-scale, "in-the-round" production toured arenas in Japan and Australia.

On June 12, 1988, a production opened at a specially built venue, the Starlighthalle, in Bochum, Germany. As of April 2006, it is the only permanent production playing. It has been seen by more than 11,000,000 people.

From March 24 - July 18, 1990, Starlight Express toured Japan.

A downscaled production toured in the US and Canada from May 23 - September 30, 1990.

On September 14, 1993, an abridged, 90-minute production without an intermission opened at the Las Vegas Hilton, where it ran for slightly more than four years.

A completely re-designed production designed to be performed on ice toured the United States in 1997. The soundtrack was pre-recorded, with the skaters, mostly non-singers, miming along while performing their complex routines.

From October 1997 until April 1998, a Spanish-language production played at the Teatro Polanco in Mexico City. A cast recording was made but, owing to complications with the rights, it never was released.

Following the closure of the London production, Lloyd Webber announced a new production to open in Biloxi, Mississippi in 2003. Titled Starlight Express: The Third Dimension, the touring production was a downscaled and shortened version of the show, with further revisions to the material by American lyricist David Yazbek. Owing to the restrictions of touring theatres, the production commissioned digital video company Inition to produce high definition race footage in 3D to replace the live racing. The show ran from April 1, 2003 until June 13, 2004. (This version of the show also was presented at Dublin's Point Theatre for four weeks in the summer of 2006.)

In late 2004, a non-equity tour based largely on the second US tour opened in Manchester. The tour strayed greatly from the original plot and the concept of "family fun." Instead of using the old London costumes, the coaches were dressed like Vegas showgirls. The production featured 3D film and stunt skaters to recreate the excitement of the original London show. The production is still playing, although there was a break in late 2005 when the majority of the cast changed.

Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals
The Likes of Us • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat • Jesus Christ Superstar • Evita • Cats • Song and Dance • Starlight Express • The Phantom of the Opera • Aspects of Love • Sunset Boulevard • By Jeeves • Whistle Down the Wind • The Beautiful Game • The Woman in White