Starlight Express rolls (literally) into Sacramento's Community Center Theater Reviewed by Joe Blenkle/Sacramento Stage & Theatre
Rusty (right) and The Coaches in a scene from STARLIGHT EXPRESS playing at Sacramento's Community Center Theater Mar. 10-21, 2004. Photo by Joan Marcus
Perhaps STARLIGHT EXPRESS brought out the little boy in me. After all, it had a story about racing trains, bright colored lights, roller skating, and some neat 3D movies to watch. I pretty much sat enthralled through the entire production.
My wife on the other hand said she was ready to leave after five minutes. This is the first time we've had a major disagreement on a Broadway Series show at the Sacramento Community Center Theater.
But since I'm writing this review, you can probably guess which way we'll head here: STARLIGHT EXPRESS was a thouroughly enjoyable experience and probably one of those shows you could sit through several times without getting tired of it.
My first reaction to the costumes in STARLIGHT EXPRESS (which pretty much was formed in the opening minutes) was POWER RANGERS: THE MUSICAL (no, it doesn't exist, but it's an interesting idea). The characters came out one by one wearing helmets and then removed them putting them to the side under their arms - I saw Power Rangers - until I realized the helmets were really in the shape of locomotives. Okay, now I get the "Express" in STARLIGHT EXPRESS.
The story revolves around an unseen little boy who is setting up an imaginary race between trains from different countries. The winners of each race will then compete for the championship.
The actors and actresses in the production chug across the stage on their skates, going up ramps, turning acrobatic flips, and generally keeping the audience in awe that there are no collisions, falls or crashes on the stage - which gets quite crowded at times. It's great fun!
But that's only the beginning. In between the skating and musical numbers, the audience is treated to the "races" which are presented on a large projection screen in 3D. Each member of the audience is provided with a pair of 3D glasses and instructed to put on their "safety goggles" before the start of each race.
The races are a little reminiscent of Roller Derby, with a lot of blocking and hitting as the "trains" race through tunnels, around turns and over obstacles. And they break a lot of things! The pieces, of which, come flying out at the audience in all their 3D glory.
The championship race comes down to the defending champion from the U.S., Greaseball, a diesel engine; Electra, an electric-powered engine; and Rusty, a steam-powered engine who is trying to win back his girl Pearl, an observation car who has "coupled" and un-coupled" from the other two contenders several times.
Want to take a guess at who wins? Love always seems to triumph in the end!
Musically, STARLIGHT EXPRESS is a mix of styles - with rock tunes, country western, rap and other styles blending together in a variety of train-themed songs such as "Whole Lotta Locomotion," "Freight," "U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.," "Light at the End of the Tunnel," and of course, "Starlight Express." Nothing really memeorable here, but all the songs are fun and fit the production well.
STARLIGHT EXPRESS plays at the Sacramento Community Center Theater through Mar. 21, 2004. Tickets are priced at $15-$55. Showtimes are at 8 p.m. daily with 2 p.m. matinees on Mar. 11, 13, 14, 18, 20 and 21. There will be no performance on Monday, Mar. 15. For ticket information, call the Sacramento Community Center Theater box office (916) 264-5181, Wells Fargo Pavilion box office (916) 557-1999, or Tickets.com (916) 766-2277.
For more information on STARLIGHT EXPRESS and other Broadway Series productions, visit the California Musical Theatre web site at: CaliforniaMusicalTheatre.com.
