| The characters and plot/storyline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| first you need to know THE CHARACTERS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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RUSTY- A naieve steam Engine who searches for the Starlight Express.He has lack of courage to Race without Pearl until he finds out he is the Starlight and he can Achieve anything! POPPA-A once-champion steam engine who is wise and guides Rusty. GREASEBALL-A Union Pacific diesel Locomotive the reigning champion from the U.S.A, an Elvis lookalike who is so into himself and what is best for his ego. ELECTRA-Ac-Dc-Elec-Trickery, He is the flashy new train on the rails who quotes "Feel my magnetisim you will agree" he gets what he wants including Pearl. PEARL-An observation car who is brand new and is desired by all engines. She is searching for her dreamtrain, cause some day "He'll whistle at me". DINAH-A a sassy country dining car who has caught Greaseballs heart. And has lost it at the same time. ASHLEY-A smoking car who puffs into the small hours with some good advice to follow. BUFFY-A buffet car with a little something for everyone including a good plate of sarcasm. ROCKY 1-The leader of the Box-car Trio. Who backfilps and handstands. With some good advice for the losers "I wasn't in the right place at the right time" ROCKY 2-The middle of the Box-car Trio. " " ROCKY 3-The baby of the Box-car Trio. " " RED CABOOSE-Can show compassion and caring but is everyone's friend, so watch your back. DUSTIN-The hefty coal tender car with a heart to match. remember "Aggregates are really great!" FLAT-TOP-The brat of the pack who's got Greaseballs influence. BOBO-The power of the Sudest from France. ESPRESSO-The romance of the Italian Rome-to-Milan Express. NINTENDO-The force of the Shinkanssen Bullet from Japan. RUHRGOLD-The muscle that pulls the German Intercontinental Express. TURNOV- The might of the Trans-Siberian express THE PRINCE OF WHALES-The royal train of Great Britain who's never on time. JOULE-A member of Electra's high tech gang, A dynamite carrier. KRUPP-A member of Electra's high tech gang, An armored car. PURSE-A member of Electra's high tech gang, A money car. VOLTA-A member of Electra's high tech gang, A refridgerator car. WRENCH-A member of Electra's high tech gang, A repair wagon. GREASEBALLS GANG- The wild bunch. with the hair to match! | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| THE STORY/PLOT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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* A shorter explanation from the Las Vegas Production playbill* STARLIGHT EXPRESS is a little boy's dream. In this dream his toy trains come to life for a spectacular race across America. The competition between steam, electric, and diesel engines is fast and fierce. Who will win! Hold on for a white knuckle ride! The excitement and thrills are non stop as the actors perform the entire 90-minute show speeding around on rollerskates. A variation of the traditional story of the little engine that could, STARLIGHT EXPRESS is a fun-filled celebration, through music and dance, of love and the triumph of individual spirit and achievement. -Arlene Phillips, '95 Starlight Express in my opinion a quick run through The numbers represent the songs Well it all starts out.... a little boy named Control.. (which you never see just hear)..is playing with his trains. His mom tells him to go to sleep. After he waits till she's gone he keeps playing with his trains then he falls asleep. His trains come to life..in his dream. Then entry of national trains is where all the engines are introduced by control. Each one comes out at a time and waves thier national flag. Then "from the U.S of A the reigning champion Greaseball the diesel engine" out comes Greaseball with his gang. 1. Rantin and ravin about how they are the best and that "we gotta keep it goin all night".. "Rollin Stock were Rollin stock"... the song ends and Rusty the steam engine rolls out singin "woo, woo, woo, woo, nobody can do it like a steam train." Now Greaseball and his gang decide to pick on Rusty and push him around.."Hey there Steamtrain where ya been?".. "you got work to do we got a race to win".. "fetch the coaches from the marshalling yard!".."wheres the schedule?".. "WHeres my guard?"... "Rusty were not here for fun Rusty we got a race to run!".. so control stops the bickering by ordering "stop dispute".."Rusty fetch the coaches!" .. Then the guys heckle him some more. And he goes and fetches the coaches. Out comes Rusty, Pearl, Dinah, Buffy, and Ashley. Rusty is now angry cause he gets made fun of. 2. He sings "Call me Rusty if you dare!".. And the girls tell him to "Turn your fire down!" .. They also make fun of him "hey listen to the one man band!!". "Rusty you dont understand!". "You'll be nowhere you'll be last!". "You aint goin nowhere fast!" and they sing 3. "Alotta locamotion.. thats what we need" then the coaches introduce themselves.. and tell how they want a fast engine to pull them "From the eastern ocean to the western sea. Locamotions gonna carry me!" Pushing forward from the group Pearl expresses her love for a steamtrain.(no one in particular)she sings 4. "He'll whistle at me"...daydreaming "Don't give me insistent hummin, horns and bells and distant drummin. I want steam that's underpressure as it rises to a scream..".."Everybody's waitin for thier dreamtrain.." Then the frieght trains come out..Rocky's 1,2,3, Flat-top, Red Caboose and Dustin. singing 5. "Frieght is great".. the girls giggle and laugh cause everyone on the rails knows them as "The dumbtrucks".. "forty tuns of empty crome. the lights are on but nobody's home!".. They sing in rivalry on how being a passenger train is better "I should hate carrying frieght nobody living in me, got to be a living breathing passenger train!".. the guys"Frieght is great. it's commerce and hoppers..it's quarters and tons.."..We don'd hold people, people talk a lot. that isn't what we like" Then control orders them to identify themselves and they explain themselves... Then all of a sudden a blast of radio waves and metallic sounds shoots out from the cieling the lights dim and flicker. Laser lights scan the theatre A big white light shines from the center of the stage. The passenger and frienght cars stand in awe.. Brand new futuristic car's pull out.. saying in a computeristic sound "Confirm, Electra, confirm." "Go to Electra. RUN"... Electra descends from the cieling in the (bridge or ramp or whatever the production uses) It is dark almost so all you can see is the display on his chest flickering and showing lines moving... he steps off and rolls forward.. he sing's 6. "I am electric I have the contacts I am Electric the future is me" .. " feel my magnetism you will agree. I am Electric come closer to me" Then all the passenger cars and frieght cars get pulled towards him. they all circle him staring as if they are under a spell...he ends it "I can switch and turn you on to me!!" Greaseball noticing what was going on comes out and yell's "HOLD IT!" all of a sudden everyone is untranced.. Control says "Oh, no here comes trouble!" the girls drooling over handsome Greaseball scream "IT's Greaseball, It's Greaseball, Greaseball the diesel! Choose me Greaseball race with me!" .. Dinah already tring hard to keep Greaseball her's yells "Back off girls he's mine" and he sings 7. "Here comes the diesel train with it's steal refrain hear me knockin".."Trying to build my body tryin to lose my mind" and he does a little 8 count dance with each car..and combs his hair some more and flirts with the audience... At the end of the song control announces that everytrain needs to be hitched up for the race "Now, Hitchup! If you aint in two's you lose!" Rusty wants to Race with Pearl but her knowing her wide variety to race with she back's off.. Rusty quotes "C'mon Pearl wanna race with the fastest engine in the world?" Pearl whittingly says "Oh, I'd love to Rusty but where is he?" Rusty say's 8."Right here! Where I go the rest better follow look out everybody move aside!" .. the girls sing "Crazy, can you believe him he's Crazy! Love him and leave him he's CrazY!" He races throughout the auditorium going really high on the sides and scaring the girls ... trying to prove he can do it and that he will be the best someday! At the end of the song Electra sends one of his coaches to ask Pearl to race with him.. Rusty say's "But were all set" pearl-"I always said that if someone new!" Pearl knowing that Rusty is her true love is confused.. she has to choose between Electra and Rusty! What's she to do... she sings 9. "SOmeone help me make up my heart!".."One of them has style set's the world a light, the other makes me smile.. so who get's the part? Make up my mind make up my heart!" Electra is on one side of the theatre in the wings and Rusty is on the other side.. you can see them ... at the end of her song Rusty and Electra start to skate down to her.Electra get's there first and whisks her away. Rusty stands there sad "DId you have to break up my heart?" Control announces Race one.. It's Electra and Pearl, Greaseball and Dinah, Espresso and Buffy, NIntendo and Joule. Electra and Greaseball win places in the final. After the race Greaseball unhitches Dinah because she is slow, although he still got a place in the final..he dumps her off.. and get's ready to leave her when the Red Caboose comes along.. He feels sympathy for Dinah and sings to her 10."THere's me".. He tells her "I'll be near standing by, never fear you can cry.. near the while you will smile and I'll be there to see.." DInah feeling better.. skates away with him.. The lights turn red and out comes Poppa singing the blues 11. "The first line of the blues is always sung a second time".. The Rocky's, Flat-top and Dustin are all part of Poppa's gang. They do backflipps and handstands.. Poppa tells them "Oil is the work of the diesel himself" meaning Diesel is bad. Rusty comes along seeming down and sad.. poppa-"Rusty why you looking sad?" rusty-"I got no hope Pearl decided she's not racing with me" so Poppa after trying to convince Rusty to race forever say's he will Race.. Rusty tells him "I wont race without Pearl!" Poppa ignoring it takes Dustin and decides to race.. The other engines heard about Poppa's decision and tell him he's going to be a laughing stock 12. "Rolling stock, he'll be a laughin stock!" Controll Announces Race two.. POppa and Dustin.. and I dont remember who else *Sorry* anyways Poppa gets a PLace in the final.. Poppa being worn out and overexaughsted say's "Rusty go take my place" he says he can't "THeres no place for steam onn the reailroad today!" Poppa sings to him about the Starlight Express 13. Rusty wondering if it is true sings to the Starlight Express "Are you real? Yes or no? Starlight Express Please answer me yes I dont want you to go.." OVERTURE / INTERMISSION THIS IS NOT FINISHED!! | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| WHERE'S IT PLAYING | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
At the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London, England |  And at the Starlight theatre in Bochum, Germany.
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