Starlight Express holds a special place in my heart as it was the first professional play that I ever saw. It may have been the first real play I remember seeing at all. I first saw the show in London in 1989 while living in England. I've been hooked on theater since then. When the show came to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s I saw it several times, feeling drawn to the high energy, the lighting, the skating, and the message of overcoming the odds by doing difficult things. This message resonates with me since I tend to take on challenging tasks. There are always difficult things we encounter in life and finding the inner will and power to overcome them can be fulfilling and educational. My students faced the challenge of taking on skating, dancing while skating, and as if that wasn't enough - singing, acting, and facing the fear of navigating the set while on wheels. If you are not challenged there is no way to learn from the experience. I am so proud of the inner will and power to conquer difficult tasks these students have achieved.
I want to thank all those who have helped. Parents, you are amazing and I couldn't have done this without you. I am in your debt. A huge, heartfelt thank you from myself and the cast to Troy and Erica, you are the heart and nervous system of this production; it would be dead without you. I look forward to future endeavors with the both of you. To my fantastic and awesome wife Jalee and six kids, I love you and thank you for the support.
-Joshua Scott, Director
ABOUT THE SHOW
A child’s train set magically comes to life and the engines race to become the "fastest engine in the world". Will underdog Rusty triumph and win the race and Pearl's heart? Or will Greaseball’s gang ruin everything? Starlight Express is a musical unlike any other. It's a rock 'n' roll spectacular, a sporting event, and – at its heart – a simple, hopeful love story.
Starlight Express was first produced in 1984 in London's West End and has been produced all over the world since then.
In 1976, inspired by a trip on the Valley Railroad in New England with his children, Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a few songs for a proposed cartoon about animated trains. The cartoon was never produced but the ideas stayed alive. In the early 1980s, drawing inspiration from R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, rap and country and western music for his upbeat score, Lloyd Webber took those initial songs and ideas and composed a full length musical about trains. Eventually, he teamed up with lyricist Richard Stilgoe, expanding upon the concept of his lifelong fascination with trains and Starlight Express came to life.
