About the work
Starlight Express is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, premiered in 1984 in London. The distinctive feature of the piece is that all the performers appear on roller skates and embody railway trains.
Plot
The story is told as a child's dream: the old steam engine Rusty is mocked by the more modern trains, especially the arrogant diesel engine Greaseball and the electric train Electra. In a great race all the trains compete against one another. Rusty, supported by the Starlight Express locomotive and the carriage Pearl, who believes in him, must rise above himself. After setbacks and the intrigues of his rivals, Rusty wins the final with the power of belief in himself.
Cultural significance
Starlight Express is one of the longest-running musicals in the world, with the Bochum production regarded since 1988 as a phenomenon in its own right on the German musical market. The piece demonstrates Lloyd Webber's ability to combine spectacular entertainment with catchy pop music.