Starlight Express is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1984 with lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It is roughly based on The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. It is the second longest-running musical in London theatre history.
In 1988 Starlight Express began a run in German in Bochum, Germany. From 1988 till 2003 it has sold nearly 10 million tickets, making it the third highest selling musical of all time, behind Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, both running on Broadway.