Starlight Express: Difference between revisions

* [[Bad Girl Song]]: Depending on the version, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F50f76_CdIU "A Lotta Locomotion"] has elements of this: except for Dinah, who establishes herself as a wholesome, hardworking waitress, the coaches characterize themselves in terms of the vices they enjoy. ("A Whole Lotta Locomotion,", however, is a [[Chorus Girls]] song.)

** The Broadway adaptation of the show rewrote "Belle the Sleeping Car" to emphasize Belle's career as a prostitute, which would ordinarily be the opposite of this trope... except that the Broadway version removed some drug references and greatly increased the comedic factor of the character, rather than portraying her as the resigned, despondent old woman she was in the London show. [http://bellesdomain.co.uk/belle.htm See this link to contrast the two.]

* [[Broken Aesop]]: According to the finale, electricity and diesel fuel will eventually run out, but somehow steam power is sustainable. What exactly are we burning to get this magical steam? Also (presumably) coal burning steam engines are better than environmentally friendly options like solar and nuclear power. This last one may be because it was written in the 1980s1980's.

** In the closing number "Light Atat Thethe End Ofof Thethe Tunnel,", the characters do briefly consider solar and nuclear energy, but then dismiss them because 1) How is one supposed to make use of solar power at night? and 2) People would get poisoned by nuclear fallout. Oversimplifications, to be sure - but, then, this is a children's story.

** Richard Stilgoe, the show's lyricist, knew full well that steam engines polluted the environment; he claimed that it was far easier for audiences to sympathize with a steam locomotive than a diesel or electric one, since steamers had more of a historical precedent. But the finale, according to him, is meant to symbolize the triumph of "old-fashioned craftsmanship" over new technology. Take a moment to consider why a steam locomotive is not a suitable representative of "old-fashioned craftsmanship.".

* [[Control Freak]]: Control, naturally enough:

* [[Crapsack World]]: All productions contain aspects of this, but it was most obvious in the original London version. (Thethe comparatively more lighthearted London revamp turned the setting into a [[Crap Saccharine World]], as did its Broadway predecessor).) The dystopic nature of the setting is the subject of the Rockies'/Hip Hoppers' number "Right Place, Right Time.".

* [[The Eleven O'Clock Number]]: "One Rock And& Roll Too Many" .

* [[Ensemble Darkhorse]]: A disproportionate amount of ''Starlight Express'' fan art and fan fiction centers on Electra's components, who are tertiary when compared to most of the cast.

* [[Good Bad Girl]]: Buffy. She dresses like an old-fashioned pin-up girl and, in the 1980s London and Broadway productions, quickly establishes her promiscuity, but she has a sweet personality and no one criticizes her for her behavior.

* [[Gossipy Hens]]: The coaches chat about Rusty's [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|lack of racing experience]] immediately before breaking into "A Lotta Locomotion.".

* [[Heavy Meta]]: "Poppa's Blues" is a blues song about how a blues song is structured.

* [[Info Dump]]: The first third of the show is one giant Intro Dump, where each of the 20+ characters gets at least a verse to introduce themselves.

* [["I Want" Song]]: Several, including portions of "Call Me Rusty", and of course "Starlight Express".

* [[I Was Quite a Looker]]: Belle. As she says in her song:

* [[Love Redeems]]: Pearl's original second-act solo, "Only He," had her resolve to change her wayward ways and learn faithfulness after Rusty rescued her.

* [[Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number]]: Three songs did this: First, there was the opening of Act II2, in which all the engines prepared for the big final race in the championship. In the West End production and the recent US tour, it was called "The Rap,", and was rewritten three times, basically because the first one didn't really sound like rap. The second one, written in 1992, sounded a little more like rap, but the early period. In 2003, a new rap was written which more accurately represented the genre. For the 1987-1989 Broadway version exclusively, a new song was added as kind of a continuation to the "Freight" coda, which had electricity, steam, and diesel fighting against each other in contrapuntal song, which then led to the big races which would then end with one train winning the "Silver Dollar" (rather than the Champion of the World). The other song that falls in this category is "The Hymn To Victory" which has been in every production since. This is another continuation of the aforementioned "Freight" Coda, with everyone raising their voices in an even louder, earth-shaking chorale, with a massive High C from Rusty. Here, this song is sung [[The Song Before the Storm|before the final heat, specially prepared on a downhill course.]] Rusty joined in the singing, even though he was disqualified from the final, so you can hear the [[Control Freak|Control's voice]] ordering for the Marshals to stop Rusty from entering the tracks, {{spoiler|but it is too late.}}.

* [[Porn Stache]]: The actor who originated C.B. sported one, in keeping with his early "trucker" character design. Eventually, the character was redesigned into the aforementioned "tin soldier,", which fit his [[Tenor Boy|voice type]] better.

* [[Something Blues]]: "Poppa's Blues".

* [[Spelling Song]]: "U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.".

* [[This Is a Song]]: "Poppa's Blues.".

* [[Totally Radical]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9whdKasGK8 The twenty-first-century version of "The Rap,"], which somehow sounds more characteristic of the 1980s1980's than its 1980s1980's predecessor.