Starlight Audience Gets a Taste of Express Market

Broadway patrons and concert goers may have noticed something new in the concession options at Starlight.

The new grab-and-go option Starlight Express Market quietly opened this summer to give customers an option to purchase popcorn, candy, chips, cotton candy, and a variety of beer and non-alcoholic beverages in a quick, efficient way.

“The Starlight Express Market gives us the opportunity to offer a large variety of beverages and fun grab-and-go snacks. Adults and kids alike have taken advantage of our large variety of offerings in a quick service market,” Ashley Pettigrew, Director of Operations for Levy, the hospitality group that manages Starlight’s food and beverage services.

In true theatrical fashion, Starlight Express Market gets its name from Starlight Express, the 1984 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and electric engines in the hope of impressing a first-class observation car, Pearl. The show was presented at Starlight in 2003.

The Express Market is located in the North Pavilion at the top of the seating bowl. Currently, a register is located outside the market to pay for items. Beginning in the 2025 season, customers will be able to swipe a credit or debit card to enter this area. At exit, the card will be charged the amount of the purchase.