Andrew Lloyd Webber

STARLIGHT EXPRESS | London, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, Starlight Auditorium

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Due to overwhelming demand, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express has already extended bookings through to 16 February 2025. Seen by over 20 million people across the world since its London premiere in 1984, Starlight Express will make its triumphant return to London from 8 June 2024 at the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, a state-of-the-art cultural destination only 12 minutes from central London.

A true theatrical event, Starlight Express will fully immerse audiences of all ages inside a world of speed, song and storytelling as an incredible cast of 40 whizz around and above, performing some of musical theatre’s most beloved songs, including “AC/DC”, “Make Up My Heart”, “Light at the End of the Tunnel” and the iconic “Starlight Express”.

As a child’s train set magically comes to life and the engines race to become the fastest in the world, Rusty the steam train has little hope of winning until he is inspired by the legend of the ‘Starlight Express’. Casting and all further information regarding the production will be announced in due course.

The first show by Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, Sunset Boulevard is currently playing at the Savoy Theatre in London. Starlight Express will be the second show produced by Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, the new partnership of Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer of some of the world’s most famous musicals, and Michael Harrison, critically acclaimed, award-winning international producer.

Playing at the Starlight Auditorium 8 June 2024 – 16 February 2025.

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INTERVIEW: @fantomedelopera

Interview

Twitter account @fantomedelopera tweets all about Gaston Leroux’s Le Fantôme de l’Opéra / The Phantom of the Opera, haunting the Palais Garnier since its 1909 serialization, and its many adaptations.

→ Tell us about your Twitter account, @fantomedelopera.

It was set up to be a kind of news service for anyone interested in the latest developments in the Phantom of the Opera world. But there’s a general focus on the novel and the 1925 film, as those are two personal favourites.

→ In your opinion, what has made Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical adaptation such a worldwide success?

It’s a phenomenal score, and the alchemy of the original production is hard to beat. Also, the story itself naturally lends itself to a theatrical setting, being of and about the theatre.

→ Recently, there have been some quite drastic changes to the production in London’s West End. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, the producers have halved the orchestra, from twenty-seven down to fourteen, and veterans of the show have been unceremoniously fired.

Designer Maria Björnson’s opulent proscenium has been dismantled, with the central descending Angel – her favorite setpiece – removed altogether. Even the iconic boat scene has been impacted, with the candelabra no longer moving. The lighting is now far brighter and more saturated, too, and the Phantom no longer stalks the catwalk above the stage.

Lloyd Webber’s bizarre insistence that the 2021 version is “substantially identical” to the original, and remains director Hal Prince’s production “in its entirety”, has caused confusion amongst audiences who were promised an “enhanced” show. Prince, who died in July 2019, opposed changes to the production. The so-called “brilliant original” is no more in Britain. Some minor restaging aside, however, it can still be seen on Broadway and in Japan.

→ What’s the future for Gaston Leroux’s story? Do you think the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical will ever close?

I don’t think the Broadway production will outlast the end of this decade. France has recently played host to two straight-play adaptations. Several TV and film adaptations are planned, including a movie musical produced by John Legend, set in modern-day New Orleans. Every year a new graphic novel or computer game based on the Phantom of the Opera is released. Follow me on Twitter; I’ll keep you posted!

Follow @fantomedelopera on Twitter.

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