Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 18, 2026

Starmites

Starmites is a musical with music and lyrics by Barry Keating and a book by Stuart Ross and Barry Keating. It was first presented in 1980 off-off-Broadway by the Ark Theatre Company. It opened off-Broadway in 1987 and on-Broadway on April 27, 1989, where it ran for 60 performances. It received six nominations at the 43rd Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won zero.

Last revised
Jul 18, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
638 w
Citations
7
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Starmites
Original logo
MusicBarry Keating
LyricsBarry Keating
BookStuart Ross
Barry Keating
Productions1987 Off-Broadway
1988 American Stage Festival
1989 Broadway

Starmites is a musical with music and lyrics by Barry Keating and a book by Stuart Ross and Barry Keating. It was first presented in 1980 off-off-Broadway by the Ark Theatre Company.1 It opened off-Broadway in 19872 and on-Broadway on April 27, 1989, where it ran for 60 performances. It received six nominations at the 43rd Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and won zero.

Plot

Eleanor, a shy teenager from the 80s, creates and explores a dream world (Innerspace) featuring various fictional characters and settings pulled from her large sci-fi comic book collection. The bulk of the show follows Eleanor's self-insert character Milady and her misadventures with the Starmites, a troupe of spacefaring rogues that are portrayed as an old school boy band.

History

Starmites was staged off-Broadway by Musical Theater Works at the CSC Theater in 1987, with staging by Mark Herko. It featured Liz Larsen, Gabriel Barre, Steve Watkins, and Sharon McNight.3 It was staged in Milford, New Hampshire at the now-defunct American Stage Festival, August 10–27, 1988. That staging was directed by Larry Carpenter, and featured Liz Larsen and Sharon McNight, all of whom would remain with the show when it opened on Broadway at Criterion Center Stage Right on April 27, 1989 and closed on June 18, 1989 after 60 performances and 35 previews. Directed and staged by Larry Carpenter with choreography by Michele Assaf, it featured Liz Larsen as Eleanor and Bizarbara, Gabriel Barre as Trinkulus, Brian Lane Green as Spacepunk, and Sharon McNight as Diva and Eleanor's mother.

There are three versions of Starmites available through publisher Samuel French for amateur and professional performance: Starmites Lite, a junior version of Starmites, intended for grade school and middle school performances; Starmites High School; and Starmites Pro, intended for professional-level performance.456

Recording

A recording featuring members of the original Broadway cast was released on April 27, 1999 on the Original Cast Record label (ASIN: B00000GBYT).7

Songs

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1989 Tony Award Best Musical Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Gabriel Barre Nominated
Brian Lane Green Nominated
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Sharon McNight Nominated
Best Direction of a Musical Larry Carpenter Nominated
Best Choreography Michele Assaf Nominated
Theatre World Award Sharon McNight Won
1988 program source ↗
References

References

  1. "Opening This Week", The New York Times, p. D56, October 26, 1980
  2. Gussow, Mel (April 29, 1987). "THE STAGE: 'STARMITES,' A MUSICAL". The New York Times. p. C16. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017.
  3. Gussgow, Mel. "The Stage: 'Starmites,' A Musical". The New York Times. April 29, 1987, p.C16
  4. Starmites Lite information, SamuelFrench.com, accessed April 21, 2012
  5. Starmites High School information, SamuelFrench.com, accessed April 21, 2012
  6. Starmites Pro information, SamuelFrench.com, accessed April 21, 2012
  7. Amazon.com
External links