London 1984 Production
The Starlight Express is a rock musical which follows the
story of a nine year old’s dream, in which his toy trains come to life. The
engines race their way through three heats and two finals, singing songs about
steam, diesel, electric, and much more.
Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the show is well known for
being performed on roller skates, it was one of the longest running shows in
the West End and is probably Germany’s favourite musical. A large amount of
people were involved in bringing the show to life, including; lyricist Richard
Stilgoe, director Trevor Nunn, choreographer Arlene Phillips, musical directors
David Caddick and Paul Bogaev, and many more.
Rusty is the protagonist of Starlight Express,
a small steam train who wants nothing more than to not only take part in the
race, but also win it.
Pearl is an observation car and one of the four
coaches, she catches Rusty's eye and eventually falls in love with him herself.
Greaseball is a diesel engine who thinks highly of
himself and is the favourite for winning the race.
Electra is an electric train who is also a likely
winner, and is said to be 'the engine of the future'.
Poppa is an old steam train and Rusty's father. He
was one of the best racers in his youth.
Dinah is Pearl's best friend, Greaseball's
girlfreind, and one of the coaches. She is the dining car.
Act I
The voice of Control playing with his toy trains
opens the show, Overture beginning as he drifts to sleep.
Greaseball and his gang of diesel engines come on
stage singing Rolling Stock, saying how great they are and how no
one could beat Greseball in the race.
Rusty comes on stage and the diesels exit,
leaving him to sing Call Me Rusty to the coaches as he dreams of
winning the big race.
Rusty goes off and the coaches introduce
themselves with A Lotta Locomotion.
Greaseball returns
and sings Pumping Iron, another brag about how amazing him and
the diesels are.
Rusty is sent off
to collect the Freight train for all the racers to choose their partners for
the race. He returns with them singing Freight, introducing
themselves.
Electra and his
crew appear and sing AC/DC which has a weird electronic sense,
showing the stark difference between this new modern train and the others.
The racers then
choose their partners, Pearl being asked to join Electra to Rusty's
disappointment. Not knowing who to race with, Pearl sings He'll Whistle
at Me to Rusty, telling him that he isn't enough for her. She then goes
off to race with Electra.
Race: Heat One begins, and
Greaseball, coupled with Dinah, cheats to ensure his place as winner. Dinah
becomes upset with Greaseball and tells him that 'that was unfair', to which
Greaseball replies by dumping Dinah.
Seeing Dinah upset,
C.B. comes over and sings There's Me, telling her that she isn't
by all by herself.
Poppa comes onstage
with Poppa's Blues, introducing himself with a song that reflects
his personality. Then, Belle introduces herself with Belle the Sleeping
Car.
Poppa then suggests
that Rusty races with Belle now that Pearl has run off. They sing Starlight Express Introduction, in which Rusty
begins to believe in the Starlight Express (the equivalent of God).
Then Race:
Heat Two begins, in which Electra and Pearl win, and Rusty and Belle
are eliminated.
Rusty is crushed by
first loosing Pearl and then Heat Two, and seeks some comfort in Poppa, who
decides that he himself will race with Boy, Boy, Boy.
Then comes Race:
Heat Three which sees Poppa win. Poppa says he's too old now and
retires, having proved to Rusty that steam power is not outdated yet. He then
nominates Rusty to take his place and finish the race for him.
The rest of the trains, including Pearl, tease
Rusty who is then determined to beat them. They think he has no hope and sing Laughing
Stock.
Rusty is left alone
onstage and wraps up the first half with Starlight Express, expressing
his fears, but beginning to believe.
Act II
Act II begins with The Rap, where
everyone is arguing whether or not Rusty should be allowed to race in Poppa's
place seeing as he was disqualified in Heat Two. Finally it is said that he
should be able to race with C.B. as his partner.
Greaseball suggests
to Pearl that she should race with him, so she ditches Electra and, despite
Dinah's anguish, races with her best friend's boyfriend, stating that it's
'only fun'. Dinah then goes off to sing U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. to Ashley, Buffy,
and Belle, telling them how she'd been dumped for Pearl, and how she'd never
take him back.
The girls then sing Rolling Stock (Reprise)
to Dinah, convincing her to win back Greaseball's heart. Electra, who
now needs a partner, invites Dinah to come with him, and in the name of making
Greaseball jealous, she accepts.
A plot twist comes with C.B. singing his
self-titled song C.B. to Electra, showing his evil side and his
plans to wreck Rusty so that Electra wins.
C.B. holds Rusty
back in Race: Uphill Final, causing him to come in last, with
Greaseball and Electra having drawn. Pearl finds out what has happened and
threatens to tell, but Greaseball says that then she'll be disqualified, so she
keeps it to herself.
Before Rusty is
consumed in misery, the Rockies come and tell him in Right Place, Right
Time, that it's not about talent, it's luck. and if you're unlucky then
you won't win.
Again, Rusty sings
to the Starlight Express, and in I Am The Starlight, the Starlight
Express appears and says that Rusty can win, if he believes in himself and in
the Starlight Express. Rusty then finds Dustin who agrees to race with him.
Meanwhile, Dinah decides that she has had enough
of racing without the attention she craves from the engines, for none whistle
at her. She sings He Whistled at Me (Reprise) and leaves Electra
who promptly invites C.B. to go with him.
Rusty,
Greaseball, and Electra race against each other (with Dustin, Pearl, and C.B.
respectively) in Race: Downhill Final. Whilst Greaseball and
Electra are distracted by fighting, Rusty sneaks into the lead. Greaseball
uncouples Pearl, almost killing her, and speeds into first place as Rusty slows
to rescue Pearl. Greaseball then attempts to steal C.B. from Electra, as he
won't win by crossing the finish line without a partner. As they bicker, Rusty
zooms ahead, leaving the others to go off course and crash into a tunnel. He
finishes first, and is given the title of champion.
Electra trundles on complaining about how it
wasn't fair in No Comeback, then vanishes for the remainder of
the show.
The battered up Greaseball and C.B. appear and
sing One Rock & Roll Too Many, and all the others enjoy a
good long laugh it them. Then Poppa shows up searching for Rusty, ordering
Greaseball to take him to Pearl, for that is the most likely place to find
Rusty.
Pearl, who has gone to a secluded spot, sings Only He (Has The Power to Move Me), realising it has
always been Rusty there for her and who she should've chased, and that maybe
she has missed her only chance with him.
Rusty finds her, and blinded by his love he
forgives her instantly, together singing Only You.
The rest of the cast turn up, commenting on how
beautiful romance is, and Greaseball realises what a fool he'd been, and
apologises profusely to Dinah who can't resist and takes him back. Greaseball
is then told by Poppa that he could be a steam train too, and Control instructs
the trains to listen to him.
The show closes after Poppa and Belle lead the
cast in a final song; Light at the End of the Tunnel.
