Starlight Express
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Contents |
[edit] Introduction
Starlight Express is a through-composed rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Richard Stilgoe (lyrics), with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek. It is perhaps most well known for its spectacular choreography, performed entirely on roller skates.
Conceived in the late 1970s by Lloyd Webber as a fairytale for his then young children, Starlight Express became one of the Mega Musicals of the 1980s.
[edit] Characters
Control-Control is the young boy who is playing with his trains at night.
The Trains
Rusty the Steam Engine-The protagonist of the Starlight Express. Rusty is a steam train who longs to enter the race and win. Everyone thinks he can't do it and they put him down. He wishes on the Starlight Express, asking for help and strength. He's also in love with Pearl, the Observation Car.
Poppa- Another steam train who is old and can no longer race. He's the one who encourages Rusty to race and tells the young train about the Starlight Express. He races with Dustin to boost Rusty's spirits but he collapses and Rusty must take his place. Some think he might be Rusty's father.
Greaseball the Diesel-A diesel locomotive. Striking a resemblance to Elvis, Greaseball the Diesel is the favorite train of Control and the center of attention until Electra shows up. He's a hunky jerk whose girlfriend and race partner is Dinah until he dumps her because she complains about his cheating. He races with Pearl after he dumps Dinah.
Electra the Electric Train-Electra, an electric train, is the new engine on the scene. His bright, colorful and a ladies' man. He races with Pearl and then Dinah after Greaseball dumps her. He has his own line of compartment trucks.
Krupp- Electra's armaments and bodyguard.
Wrench - Electra's repair truck.
Volta-Electra's freezer truck and original race partner.
Joule - Electra's dynamite truck.
Purse - Electra's money truck.
The Coaches
Pearl the Observation Car-Pearl is the newest coach and is instantly catches Rusty's heart. However, she doesn't returns his feelings and acts rather cruel towards him during the show at some times. She races with Electra and later with Greaseball after he dumps Dinah. Pearl is looking for her one true love and she searches for it until the end when she sees that Rusty is the one for her.
Dinah the Dining Car-Sweet and southern, Dinah is the dining car. She's madly in love with Greaseball but when she nags him about his cheating during the first race, he dumps her and leaves her alone until Electra has her race with him.
Ashley the Smoking Car- Laid back and always in search of a cigarette, Ashley enjoys hanging out with the other coaches and giving them advice when it's needed. She's been around the block and knows a thing or two about love's ups and downs.
Buffy the Buffet Car-Smart and sassy, Buffy is the most mature of all the coaches. She's a street-wise girl with a New York accent.
Belle the Sleeping Car- An old sleeping car that was once "compared to the Orient Express". She now hangs anound the fuel dump with Poppa and the Rockies. In the newest productions, she does not appear.
The Freight Trains
Flat-Top the Brick Truck-Flat-Top is the brick truck and while he is friends with Rusty, he longs to be apart of Greaseball's gang.
CB (Caboose) the Red Caboose- CB (Or Caboose as he's known outside of London) is a caboose and brake truck in the freight. While he comforts Dinah in "There's Me", he also sabotages Rusty in one of the early heats. Many of his fans belive he is completely insane. CB's part is not as big in the new version of the show than in the original (for example, the song "There's Me" has been cut).
[edit] Popular Musical Numbers
The 6 hit tracks are "Starlight Express", "Crazy", "Light at the End of the Tunnel", "AC/DC", "I am the Starlight" and "Only He/You" (This song has been replaced by the new song "Next Time You Fall in Love")
[edit] Productions
[edit] London
The initial production opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London on March 27 1984, directed by Trevor Nunn with choreography by Arlene Phillips and design by John Napier. The theatre was heavily rebuilt to include a race track that extends into the stalls and around the front of the dress circle on which the characters 'race'. In November 1992, the London production was re-launched featuring heavy revisions to material, partly influenced by the subsequent productions described below. Many fans consider that the revamp damaged the spirit of the show. Christened The New Starlight Express, the production closed on January 12 2002, having played 7406 performances. Cast members included Stephanie Lawrence, Frances Ruffelle, John Partridge and Jo Gibb. Scary Spice was rumoured to have tried out for a role.
[edit] Broadway, New York
On 15 March 1987, a second production opened at the Gershwin Theatre, New York, featuring revisions to the show’s plot and musical numbers including the addition of the new songs, Engine of Love and Make Up My Heart as well as dropping No Comeback, Call Me Rusty and He Whistled At Me. It was deemed a failure, possibly due to its origins, its flashiness, but Andrew Lloyd Webber felt that it would have succeeded if it had been released off-Broadway. It lasted 761 performances ending January 8, 1989.
[edit] Bochum, Germany
On June 12, 1988, a third production opened at a specially built venue, the Starlighthalle, in Bochum, Germany. As of April 2006 it is the only permanent production playing and on 5th April played to its 11,111,111st visitor.
[edit] Japan/Australia Tour
From 1987 to 1989, a large scale production, in-the-round toured arenas in Japan and Australia. The tour began November 15, 1987 and ended May 8, 1989.
[edit] 1990 Japanese Tour
From March 24 - July 18, Starlight Express toured Japan.
[edit] 1st North American Tour
In 1990, a downscaled production toured in the US and Canada beginning May 23 and ending September 30.
[edit] Las Vegas
On 14 September 1993, a production opened at the Las Vegas Hilton, which played until 30 November 1997 before being replaced by Star Trek: The Experience. The show was shortened to 90 minutes in length with no interval, with much of the material cut to shorten the show.
[edit] Starlight on Ice
A completely re-designed production played in the United States in 1997. The soundtrack was entirely pre-recorded, the performers onstage being mostly non-singers who mimed along whilst performing a set heavy on choreography.
[edit] Mexico City
From 29 October 1997 to April 1998, a Spanish-language production played at the Teatro Polanco in Mexico City. A cast recording was made but owing to complications with the rights, never officially released.
[edit] Second US Tour
Following the closure of the London production, Lloyd Webber announced a new production to open in Biloxi in 2003. Entitled Starlight Express: The Third Dimension, the touring production was a downscaled and shortened version of the show, with further revisions to the material by the American lyricist David Yazbek including a new song, A Whole Lotta Locomotion, in place of A Lotta Locomotion and a more updated Rap. Owing to the restrictions of touring theatres, the production commissioned digital video company Inition to produce high definition race footage in 3D to replace the live racing. The show began April 1, 2003 and ended June 13, 2004.
[edit] Starlight Express: The 3rd Dimension UK Tour
In late 2004, a non-equity tour based largely on the 2nd US Tour opened in Manchester. The tour detracted much from the plot, and the idea of "family fun". Instead of using the old London costumes, the coaches in particular became all the more like Vegas showgirls. The production featured 3D film and stunt skaters to recreate the excitement of the original London show. The production is still playing, although there was a break in late 2005 when the majority of the cast changed.
[edit] Ireland
From July 25th, 2006 until August 19th, 2006 Starlight Express: The 3rd Dimension appeared in Dublin's Point Theatre. Despite the rather cramped stage, the production was a success, running for four weeks.
[edit] Amateur Productions
The first amateur production was mounted in April 2006 by Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Ohio after one of the directors, Jay Muldoon, made a personal appeal to Andrew Lloyd Webber. The production was regarded as a prototype for the potential release of the show materials to other amateur companies, and was videotaped by the really useful groups for reference purposes.
[edit] Plot
Although the material has been heavily altered since the original production, the overarching plot remains the same: in a child’s dream, a racing tournament takes place on a model railway. This race is entered by engines from all over the world. Representing the USA is Greaseball, an arrogant diesel locomotive who bears a strong resemblance to Elvis Presley, whose girlfriend is Dinah the dining car. He is accompanied by the Greaseball Gang, also diesel locomotives.
In the yards lives Rusty, a steam engine who dreams of winning the race but who is seen as slow and old-fashioned by everyone else. He is in love with Pearl the observation car, but when he asks her out she turns him down.
A late entry to the race is Electra, a state-of-the-art electric locomotive, with the Components, his own personal freight cars. He bears some resemblance to David Bowie. He convinces Pearl to race with him.
Greaseball wins the first heat by cheating. He trips Rusty, causing him to crash. Dinah objects, and Greaseball dumps her.
Poppa, an old steam engine and past racing champion, tries to persuade Rusty to keep racing. But Rusty's confidence is completely shattered, and he refuses. Poppa tells him the legend of the Starlight Express, a midnight train who helps engines in distress, but Rusty remains unconvinced.
Poppa enters the next heat in his place, but in doing so causes himself some serious damage. His sacrifice wins Rusty a place in the final alongside Electra, Greaseball and the French train, Bobo (or in the German production, Weltschaft/Ruhrgold).
Rusty prays to the Starlight Express for help. The train appears to him and tells him that he doesn't need any supernatural help - all he needs is the confidence to believe in himself. Fired up with enthusiasm, Rusty seeks a carriage or wagon to race with him, as required by the rules. He finds the shy and overweight aggregate hopper, Dustin, who readily agrees to race.
In the final, unexpectedly, Rusty and Dustin come in first place. Steam is the champion of the day. CB is defeated, Greaseball humbly accepts his fate and apologises to Dinah, and she accepts him once more, but Electra leaves in an infuriated fit of bruised ego. Meanwhile, Rusty seeks Pearl. With his new-found confidence, he again asks her out. She realises that he is the one she loves, and they return to the other engines. Poppa leads them in a final triumphant song.
[edit] Concept
The initial idea behind Starlight Express was that Andrew Lloyd Webber planned to produce a musical movie adaptation of Rev W. Awdry's Railway Series books. This plan fell through, as Awdry felt that Lloyd Webber wanted a greater degree of creative control than he was prepared to give. A legacy of this early scheme is the Really Useful Company, named in reference to a catchphrase used in several of the books.
Lloyd Webber was interested in developing the idea of a musical about trains further, and conceived what he described as "a Cinderella story". Rusty may be seen to take the place of Cinderella, Greaseball and Electra the Ugly Sisters and the Starlight Express the fairy godmother.
