Le monde des musicals

Version 1

Starlight Express (1984-03-Apollo Victoria Theatre-London) Original Version

Type de série: Original
Théâtre: Apollo Victoria Theatre (Londres - Angleterre)
Durée :
Nombre :
Première Preview : Tuesday 27 March 1984
Première : Tuesday 27 March 1984
Dernière : Inconnu
Mise en scène : Trevor Nunn • Dion McHugh •
Chorégraphie : Arlene Phillips •
Producteur :
Commentaires : The West End production, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Arlene Phillips opened on 27 March 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, where it ran for 7,406 performances, closing on 12 January 2002. Original cast members included Stephanie Lawrence, Frances Ruffelle, Jeff Shankley, Jeffrey Daniel and Ray Shell.Starlight Express had one of the most spectacular stage sets ever created. As well as the steeply-banked central arena, there were swooping race tracks that extended into and around the theatre's auditorium. One of the set's most dramatic elements was the six-tonne steel bridge. During the show's high-speed races, the bridge lifted and tilted to connect the various levels of the set. This means the actors started racing on a track in the stalls and end up in the dress circle.

Version 2

Starlight Express (1992-11-Apollo Victoria Theatre-London) Revised Version

Type de série: Recréation
Théâtre: Apollo Victoria Theatre (Londres - Angleterre)
Durée : 9 ans 1 mois 3 semaines
Nombre :
Première Preview : Monday 23 November 1992
Première : Monday 23 November 1992
Dernière : Saturday 12 January 2002
Mise en scène : Trevor Nunn • Dion McHugh •
Chorégraphie : Arlene Phillips •
Producteur :
Avec : Mark Walker (Greaseball), Samantha Lane (Ashley), Voyd (Buffy), Caron Cardelle (Dina), Reva Rice (Pearl), Lon Satton (Poppa), John Partridge (Electra), Greg Ellis (Rusty)
Commentaires : 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. Five songs ("Crazy", "He'll Whistle at Me", "Make Up My Heart", "Next Time You Fall in Love", "The Megamix") were added, 12 songs (the Overture, "Engine of Love", "Call Me Rusty", "Hitching and Switching", "There's Me", "Belle The Sleeping Car", "Heat Three", "Wide Smile", "High Style", "No Comeback", "Only He", "Only You") and two characters ("C.B." and "Belle") were cut.

Belle, having proved incompatible with the shorter 4-race system on Broadway, was cut along with C.B. Cutting C.B. required a near complete overhaul of the plot (though the lighting design didn't change – his spotlight still came up in "Freight" right up to the last performance of the show), as without a clear cut villain, Rusty, Electra and Greaseball had to cause their own problems or be the victims of circumstance to move the story along.

The "Overture" was scrapped, with the "Entry of National Trains" moved to the opening of the show from its former place following "Freight". The energetic, high speed "He Whistled at Me" was reworked into "He'll Whistle at Me" and moved to earlier on in the show. In its original place was the languid ballad "Make Up My Heart" that was first recorded on a 1987 studio recording. "Pumping Iron" was moved to immediately after "AC/DC", shifting the intention from merely boasting to a direct challenge from Greaseball to the newcomer and cutting off the end of the preceding song. This meant that the 2nd and 3rd class Sleepers were no longer seen, as the performers who had filled those roles were now on-stage as the female Components. Rather than winning a heat each, as in the 5-race structure, Greaseball and Electra come first and second in the first heat, securing places in the final for each of them. Rusty now didn't race at all until the final, only reluctantly taking Poppa's place after the title song. Poppa won the second heat with Bobo coming second.

"The Rap" was completely re-written, as the debate – whether or not Rusty should be allowed to race in Poppa's place when he'd already been disqualified – was completely redundant. It became an anthem to how great racing is, rather than an argument. Pearl still switched engines to Electra, leaving Dinah uncoupled. With Belle gone, Ashley and Buffy carried "Rolling Stock (Reprise)" by themselves, allowing them each more vocals. After the Uphill Final, when Dinah uncouples Electra, with no C.B. he partners Buffy instead for the Downhill Final. Rather than being crashed intentionally, Electra and Greaseball crash accidentally at the end of the race. Electra then took C.B.'s place in "One Rock 'n' Roll Too Many", and also took one of Greaseball's spoken lines("You mean I could be converted to steam?" became "D'you think I could be converted to steam?") afterwards to be included in the scene. As a second finale, "The Megamix" was added. It consists of a few phrases from most of the songs in the show, including one that by the end was no longer there – "He'll Whistle at Me" was cut in 1996, but remained represented.