Starlight Express: Difference between revisions

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* [[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.)

** In all twentieth-century versions of ''Starlight Express'', Ashley carried a pack of cigarettes and frequently mimed smoking them. The second U.S. tour made her a smoking car [[In Name Only]] and heavily implied that she'd turned to promiscuous sex instead, which would be fine if it hadn't been presented in the sleaziest manner possible.

** 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.]

** The 1992 London revamp excised the C.B., who provided the catalyst for most of the conflict in act two. Ironically, the rewritten reversal was more violent than before.

* [[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 1980s.

** In the closing number "Light At The End Of The 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:

{{quote|ENGINES MUST OBEY CONTROL!! ''[[Break the Cutie|ENGINES MUST OBEY CONTROL!!]]'' '''[[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|DO!! WHAT!! YOU'RE!! TOLD!!!]]'''}}

** [[Brick Joke|Subverted]] once everyone shouts: "Shut it, control!!"

* [[Cool Train]]: Most of the characters.

* [[Cult Classic]]: Despite Andrew Lloyd Webber's attempts to disown ''Starlight Express'', it has attracted a small but extremely dedicated fanbase, many members of which dress up as the characters a la ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'', interact with the actors backstage, and travel throughout cities and overseas to attend as many productions as possible.

* [[The Eighties]]: No matter what decade it is currently, and no matter what decade you saw it in, this musical can't hide any of the aspects from this decade. And they still have the electronic drums and synthesizers from that period for each new performance.

* [[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.

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

* [["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

{{quote|''I had crystal lamps, Irish linen

''To set off my red velvet dress.

''Those who rode on me compared me to

''The Orient Express.''}}

* [[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.

* [[Magical Negro]]: Poppa sings blues and gospel, gives sage advice about self-worth, and breaks-down after his first race for Rusty to take his place. The role is usually, though not always, played by a black actor, since Lon Satton set something of a precedent in the original London cast. When not played by a black actor, the character is more similar to Santa Claus. See also [http://bellesdomain.co.uk/rusty.htm here] and [http://bellesdomain.co.uk/poppa.htm here].

** And in some productions, the same actor plays the Starlight Express when it manifests to Rusty.

* [[Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number]]: Three songs did this: First, there was the opening of Act II, 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.}}

* [[Sentient Vehicle]]

* [[Slasher Smile]]: Oh, God, C.B. [http://bellesdomain.co.uk/stex/brochures/us03_40.jpg And] [http://bellesdomain.co.uk/stex/brochures/j90_28.jpg how] [http://bellesdomain.co.uk/stex/brochures/b97_22.jpg very].

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

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

* [[Steam Never Dies]]:

{{quote|''Diesel is for unbelievers

''Electricity is wrong

''Steam has got the power that will pull us along.''|"Light at the End of the Tunnel"}}

* [[Sung Through Musical]]

* [[Villain Song]]: The original version of ''Starlight Express'' had "C.B.", the gleeful confession of a serial killer caboose.

** While the character of Greaseball is not anywhere as villainous as C.B. his introductory number "Rolling Stock" still counts.

** Electra's introduction song, "AC/DC", is another example.

* [[What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs?]]: ''Starlight Express'' attracts three main demographics: children, lovers of [[Camp]], and stoners.

* [[What Do You Mean It's for Kids?}: Depending on the incarnation, ''Starlight Express'' includes hate-motivated beatings, a [[Serial Killer]] villain, [[Domestic Abuse]], marital infidelity, a young woman singing a solo about her favorite sexual experience, a retired prostitute, a character who maintains an equal-opportunity harem, an ocean's worth of sexual innuendo in general, and references to smoking, alcohol, and drugs. The show manages to get away with all these elements because the characters are anthropomorphic toy trains. The Las Vegas version of the musical, which featured the main female characters in showgirl costumes, actually ''wasn't'' intended for kids, but attracted family audiences regardless.