Skates on for Starlight Express

The cast of high speed musical Starlight Express will be putting on their skates and racing to Liverpool Empire Theatre this July as a part of an all new national tour. It’s fair enough to say Starlight is one of the most unique musical experiences ever staged, with the original run on London’s West End lasting a staggering 7000 performances. A futuristic tale about love and hope in the face of adversity, the Andrew Lloyd Webber favourite offers two hours of sci-fi, speed, spectacle, spirit and stunts.  Donning their skates for the UK Tour will be Mykal Rand, who joined the cast in 1987 and has since performed in over six different productions. Joining him on stage will be seasoned Starlighters Kristofer Harding as Rusty, Jamie Capewell as Greaseball, Lothair Eaton as Poppa (Whose Starlight stints in Las Vegas, Bochum and New Zealand total more than 2,500 performances to date), Amanda Coutts as Pearl (we last saw her in Liverpool making the best out of a bad situation in We Will Rock You) and Ruthie Stephens as Dinah. A  Bill Kenwright production, it’s on at the Empire from July 17 to 28.Tickets are available from Liverpool Empire box office, by calling 0844 871 3017 or online at www.atgtickets.com/liverpool. Here’s the lowdown on Starlight Express: With lyrics by Richard Stilgoe and choreography by Arlene Phillips (who returns to direct and choreograph this new production), it has been seen by almost 20 million people and gross box office world-wide is estimated at over £270 million.  The show opened at the Apollo Victoria in London in March 1984. In April 1991 Starlight Express became the second longest running musical in London theatre history at that time. The show has also been produced in Germany, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and Mexico, as well as having a production on ice in 1997. In 1993 the entire creative team re-grouped to revise the show for a new generation. New songs were added, numbers were re-choreographed and the show was re-launched at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London. In Bochum, Germany, it plays in an especially adapted theatre. This is the first UK tour for Starlight since 2004.