The Painful History of Lloyd Webber's Crazy Train Musical

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 3 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,4 тис.

  • @selectedshipper8282
    @selectedshipper8282 3 роки тому +2192

    I can’t believe they made a whole musical based on ALW’s Thomas the tank engine fanfiction

    • @brackcarmony6385
      @brackcarmony6385 2 роки тому +41

      Considering there are people who based their entire online persona around fan fiction. I'd think it'd be an easy sell -_-

    • @fishbutler6170
      @fishbutler6170 2 роки тому +117

      to be fair, love never dies is basically a fanfic of his other show

    • @lucylucyinred
      @lucylucyinred 2 роки тому +64

      Me reading this comment at the beginning: haha funny joke
      4 minutes later: they weren't kidding

    • @MrKenichi22
      @MrKenichi22 2 роки тому +40

      I can believe it, Considering Andrew Lloyd Webber named his company “The Really Useful Group,” and the fact that he was a fan of the books (as am I) It’s bound for someone to decide “I must make Thomas the Tank Engine… The Musical.”
      The guy made a musical about T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and it was meant to he a song and dance music video-opera that essentially retold the poems off the book.
      It was a stroke of Luck that The Rev W. Awdry met Britt Alcroftt who made a scaled up tv show recreating his books.
      Otherwise this would be Thomas the Tank Engine vs Starlight Express.

    • @Tiggmuffin
      @Tiggmuffin 2 роки тому +8

      And believe it or not....a Cinderella cartoon he was doing music for, he couldn't stop thinking about what train personalities her and the step sisters would have. Amazing! What a time to be alive!

  • @raphaelmarquez9650
    @raphaelmarquez9650 4 роки тому +3092

    I want to see a live action adaptation of Starlight Express, using human faces on CG trains, to just to watch the world burn.

    • @Loaf_0f_Bread
      @Loaf_0f_Bread 3 роки тому +146

      Please no I still have ptsd from the cats movie.

    • @firesonic23
      @firesonic23 3 роки тому +51

      So a shitty version of Thomas

    • @Vinyl_guy
      @Vinyl_guy 3 роки тому +12

      yup

    • @jonathanwarrdddedcxddeecec4787
      @jonathanwarrdddedcxddeecec4787 3 роки тому +28

      @@firesonic23 I think the new Thomas episodes are 3-d animation already

    • @bluskidu
      @bluskidu 3 роки тому +9

      @@jonathanwarrdddedcxddeecec4787 Nope not anymore, it's switching to 2d

  • @MsDaphne13
    @MsDaphne13 4 роки тому +2115

    It's so weird that some people view this musical as a flop when it literally hasn't stopped being performed professionally since 1984!

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +223

      MsDaphne13 Very true!

    • @MsDaphne13
      @MsDaphne13 4 роки тому +63

      @@WaitintheWings I also meant to say, great video. I enjoy your work and the amount of research you put into it :)

    • @Seal0626
      @Seal0626 4 роки тому +60

      The Broadway production only lasted 18 months, which by Starlight Express standards, is a flop.

    • @CallMeRedon
      @CallMeRedon 4 роки тому +96

      The thing about Starlight is that in terms of success, it failed to bring in the critical success on Broadway that other works of Webber’s creation would manage to do. I might be wrong, but on WitW’s video for Beetlejuice, he makes the comment of Broadway playing it safe when it comes to certain shows because theater usually drew older crowds. Starlight appeals to both kids and adults, but where the West End was able to pull off just under two decades of success and draw families in despite critical kickback, Broadway’s production was apparently doomed from the start; technical issues were especially bad with the set and track’s bridge (something that broke down multiple times, especially before closing) being made far more different than the London set. It didn’t help that Starlight never got to test the waters in its original form. London managed both excitement and intimacy while having characters with depth, but intimacy and depth got toned down for excitement for American audiences. Cats in aerobic wear was one thing, but trains on skates was something else. Starlight on Broadway was essentially viewed as a spectacle, not as a musical, and it suffered for it.

    • @MsDaphne13
      @MsDaphne13 4 роки тому +71

      @@CallMeRedon "Viewed as a spectacle not a musical" - I think you're absolutely right.
      I can (and frequently do) go on at unnecessary length about why I think the original London plot is so interesting and subversive, while later revisions have sometimes forgotten to consider things like character and plot!

  • @gemmakendall1523
    @gemmakendall1523 4 роки тому +1188

    Andrew Lloyd Webber: makes one of the most dangerous shows in musical theatre history. Julie Taymor: ‘hold my drink.’

  • @jadehamilton2819
    @jadehamilton2819 2 роки тому +447

    Storytime: I was in a school production of "Starlight Express" at my special school in 2002 (I played Control in tandem with a girl from the year above) Our music teacher knew Richard Stigoe (because disability arts is a VERY small world) and he came to our public performance of the show and gave a speech before curtain up. He said: "This is the version of Starlight Express I've been waiting to see for 20 years." It turned out that, when ALW suggested the idea of the show to him, Stilgoe said: "Fantastic idea, let's do it with people in wheelchairs!" ALW looked at him like he'd taken leave of his senses and said: "No. We'll do it with people on roller-skates."

    • @peterkiviat9969
      @peterkiviat9969 Рік тому +10

      I saw the original cast production in London and the original on Broadway and there was no comparison. Whether you bought it or not, the original in London, politically incorrect as it was, was a truly spiritual experience, with top of the line vocals. Overly pro-religion, anti-drug, anti-smoking and possibly anti- gay messaging was replaced with just sort of nothingness on Broadway.Nothing. The original was overly long, and has been revamped many times. I think it's biggest success was in Germany, where audiences fell in love with whatever their version was

    • @radish6691
      @radish6691 Рік тому +37

      @@peterkiviat9969Cool story but completely unrelated to the comment you replied to 😂

    • @littlesongbird1
      @littlesongbird1 Рік тому +1

      @@peterkiviat9969 I heard the las vegas version was well received.

    • @peterkiviat9969
      @peterkiviat9969 Рік тому +1

      @@littlesongbird1 so did I., though I believe it was, like many B'way musicals in Vegas, seriously shortened and tightened up .

    • @melodyabcdefghijklmnopqrst1663
      @melodyabcdefghijklmnopqrst1663 9 місяців тому +1

      What were the anti-gay parts?

  • @elise2955
    @elise2955 4 роки тому +1947

    The absolute dedication of the cast members is a feat of it's own. No matter what you think of the show, you cannot argue that the sheer force of effort of the team is unfuckingbelievable!

    • @Baconjuice
      @Baconjuice 4 роки тому +52

      It kind of makes watching the show worthwhile; because the cast put their bodies on the line for our entertainment.

    • @jonathanwarrdddedcxddeecec4787
      @jonathanwarrdddedcxddeecec4787 3 роки тому +33

      The blood stained socks from bursting blisters really made me cringe. That must’ve really hurt

    • @WobblesandBean
      @WobblesandBean 3 роки тому +5

      Totally unrelated, but I love your hair!

    • @AirglamGuru
      @AirglamGuru 3 роки тому +1

      *its own 😅

    • @Mino6421
      @Mino6421 Рік тому

      ​@@jonathanwarrdddedcxddeecec4787sowas ist normal in einem solchen Business😅

  • @HeyItsOlive415
    @HeyItsOlive415 4 роки тому +1408

    "at the end of the day when they would take their skates off, they would find bloody socks!"
    Ballet dancers: ahhhhhh, finally more people to join the club

    • @Charlotte-ci4is
      @Charlotte-ci4is 4 роки тому +11

      The actors were dancers😶

    • @Author.Noelle.Alexandria
      @Author.Noelle.Alexandria 3 роки тому +74

      @@Charlotte-ci4is You’ve never seen the feet of ballet dancers after a day in pointe shoes.

    • @anneshields2010
      @anneshields2010 3 роки тому +10

      Some of the cats dancers got sore feet too I have a friend who was in the touring production of cats and she got painful feet

    • @cannibalisticrequiem
      @cannibalisticrequiem 2 роки тому +28

      @@anneshields2010 "Sore" is in no way the same as "bleeding feet from blisters".

    • @lanpingpug
      @lanpingpug 2 роки тому +22

      My ballet teacher used to make us walk on pointe in a circle for ages and ages. I had a couple of pairs of shoes that had bloodstains around the box.

  • @JamesBerkley1
    @JamesBerkley1 4 роки тому +858

    Fun fact, I have been in 5 productions of STARLIGHT EXPRESS and I have never been injured in the show. I would do another production in a minute!

    • @l.tc.5032
      @l.tc.5032 2 роки тому +60

      Don't jinx it.

    • @ryanlitster8993
      @ryanlitster8993 2 роки тому +21

      Wow. That is so great. Bet you have a lot of great stories! Happy New year. Never saw it but would love to!

    • @j.r.cilliangreen4083
      @j.r.cilliangreen4083 2 роки тому +12

      Brave brave man

    • @jyurso
      @jyurso 2 роки тому +4

      I saw this show in Hartford CT about 15 years ago, and I really want to see it again!!! I can't find it anywhere.

    • @brackcarmony6385
      @brackcarmony6385 2 роки тому +13

      And we act as if there aren't acrobatics shows that aren't orders of magnitude more dangerous than starlight express -_-

  • @LegitFUry
    @LegitFUry 2 роки тому +467

    WitW: “He could sing three notes at a time.”
    Me: “WTF, no he can’t?”
    *singer becomes train*
    Me: ”…well I’ll be damned!”

    • @johnmaynor3851
      @johnmaynor3851 3 місяці тому

      Mel Torme from the Big Band era was able to do the same thing and learned how to do cyclical breathing that allowed him to hold a pitch for 10 minutes.

  • @ceruleancraftshop
    @ceruleancraftshop Рік тому +93

    True story: my dad was the lighting technician on this show on west end for years, and my mum was a massive fan. They met over this show. It holds such a special place in my heart

  • @TheMildlyCoolMinocat
    @TheMildlyCoolMinocat 3 роки тому +556

    I cannot fathom the amount of cocaine Webber was taking to not just think of this, but to spend 3 years working on it and never hesitate. What a mad lad.

    • @darwincity
      @darwincity Рік тому +18

      So this is why Pablo Escobar became so wealthy...

    • @mike-m123
      @mike-m123 Рік тому +22

      He's oddly determined, even with his most recent Cinderella

    • @charlottesoliven9239
      @charlottesoliven9239 Рік тому +29

      He makes bad musicals and masterpieces. That’s why I have so much respect for him as an artist. He just creates and sometimes he finds gold.

    • @craigusselman546
      @craigusselman546 Рік тому +1

      this musical was seriously f-ed up.

    • @justoverit
      @justoverit Рік тому +2

      ​@@charlottesoliven9239 To be fair, a lot of what he does is taking stories that already exist and kinda plagarizing music lol

  • @flippyfan4444
    @flippyfan4444 4 роки тому +566

    what tf do you mean what went wrong this is glorious

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +50

      Spencer Valdez Lol you got me there

    • @gemmakendall1523
      @gemmakendall1523 4 роки тому +11

      28:00 Is there nothing actors won’t do for a Tony?

    • @pika23
      @pika23 4 роки тому +5

      It looked neat in the commercials! I thought it was about roller skaters when I was a kid.

    • @AlbertoMartinez765
      @AlbertoMartinez765 4 роки тому

      RIGHT!!!

    • @Tamwyn107
      @Tamwyn107 4 роки тому +15

      2manynegativewaves I think the shows are different everywhere. There’s a big difference between the broadway production, west end and the one in Germany. The story in Germany seems to have more heart than the broadway production but it also has different songs. They are changing the show every year a little bit with new songs, cause the son of Webber is working there as a composer, they are changing the costumes, they modify the stage with rotating seats, they got ramps for the stuntmen with inline skates, they got drones, the got something like a modern chandelier with toy trains that are for control before the show starts. But there’s also enough place for the characters rusty, pearl, Diner, red cabost, papa/Mama to develop their characters.
      This version is changing constantly and that’s making it’s success, which sows the weakness of the ground material, but in Bochum it’s forming it to a strength.
      They funny thing is, the cast is international but sometimes with heavy accents, cause Andrew Lloyd Webber himself is picking the cast members xd so up this day u got plenty of children that are singing starlight express songs without real german words, like me when I was a child haha 😂

  • @starsINSPACE
    @starsINSPACE 4 роки тому +525

    Somewhere out there, there's an alternate universe where a Starlight Express cartoon movie with merch as successful as the Cars franchise.

    • @SusanAHubbard
      @SusanAHubbard 4 роки тому +15

      I would watch it lol

    • @michaelhollander5411
      @michaelhollander5411 4 роки тому +19

      Steven Spielberg was going to make an animated film version of
      Starlight..and also one for"🐱"Cat's"too

    • @carolinemcgovern4488
      @carolinemcgovern4488 4 роки тому +22

      @@michaelhollander5411 I think Cats would have worked better animated IMO.

    • @mrcritical6751
      @mrcritical6751 4 роки тому +4

      Cats at least wouldn’t have been traumatising in animation

    • @SusanAHubbard
      @SusanAHubbard 4 роки тому +1

      @@mrcritical6751 Depends on who animated it? :D

  • @doctorwholover1012
    @doctorwholover1012 2 роки тому +125

    I'm obsessed with the concept of this musical - the sheer balls to go "okay, hear me out; what if we put a roller derby team on a broadway stage and made them sing ballads about being trains?!?" 👁👄👁 where does this shit even come from? God, the recesses of his mind 💀

  • @rosebyanyname
    @rosebyanyname 4 роки тому +493

    “Starlight Express is the perfect gift for the kid who has everything except parents.”
    STOP! STOP! HE’S ALREADY DEAD!

  • @averyeml
    @averyeml 4 роки тому +481

    That Robert Torti guy was just PAINFULLY familiar and after a google I’m blown away to discover he’s the guy who played the dad of Zack and Cody on Suite Life.

    • @averagegirl7113
      @averagegirl7113 2 роки тому +32

      16:08 even has clips from the show and I was still shocked when I Google him

    • @neverlandnights
      @neverlandnights 2 роки тому +22

      He was also the Pharoah in Joseph! You can see him for a moment at 33:37.

    • @breawycker
      @breawycker 2 роки тому +29

      I can't believe there's a freaking Starlight express reference in Suite Life on Deck

    • @PumpkinBecki
      @PumpkinBecki 2 роки тому +6

      And he was Freddy Fredrickson in "That Thing You Do" singing "Mr Downtown" :)

    • @eloiseharrison8574
      @eloiseharrison8574 Рік тому +3

      I literally came to the comments looking for someone else talking about it after the clip from the show came up, I am Shooketh 😲😂

  • @casualcyberguy1314
    @casualcyberguy1314 4 роки тому +587

    This musical is like a David Bowie song
    Without the subtlety

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +75

      Casual Cyberguy Why did I never think of this comparison!?

    • @Mr.En1gm4
      @Mr.En1gm4 4 роки тому +42

      And with more cocaine consumption.

    • @cremetangerine82
      @cremetangerine82 2 роки тому +2

      Hell, Bowie has a song somewhat related to trains (and the Jewish Kabbalah): “Station to Station”.

  • @DrawnByDragonfly
    @DrawnByDragonfly 4 роки тому +461

    Man I really wish there was some form of professional recording of this show. It sounds insane.

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +77

      Drawn By Dragonfly you and me both!

    • @ladyjennyanytime5195
      @ladyjennyanytime5195 4 роки тому +26

      There's a a few boots of it up on here that are pretty good copies if you look around a bit. :-)

    • @wa11ie
      @wa11ie 4 роки тому +39

      Honestly, I don't think that a recording could do justice to the spectacular that is this show, they never do but this one in particular that is really all about the show. I got to see it in that mentioned German theater when I was younger and it was quiet the experience, I don't think a camera could catch that. Especially because the set is so complex, like you have stuff going on on stage but sometimes at the exact same time there were two people racing around on the outter way doing flips right in front of where I sat. I don't remember a lot of it tho.

    • @krzwis5632
      @krzwis5632 4 роки тому +22

      There's a couple bootlegs out there on youtube that look like they were recorded on old vhs tapes. Imagine a bootleg recorded from someone in a nosebleed seat and its on VHS so its all grainy and gross. You can find a few promotional clips from the german show and I think I have found the occasional close up of a song or two that someone in the audience filmed.
      Still....would be amazing to have this filmed with a multi-camera set up so you can see close ups of stunts and performers

    • @thishelen
      @thishelen 4 роки тому +4

      Drawn By Dragonfly I saw it twice in London...it was incredible. Would love to see it again

  • @MarquisLeary34
    @MarquisLeary34 4 роки тому +137

    Hit or flop, the sheer balls it took to even try this, not to mention the ride or die attitude of the performers, is worth admiring.

  • @NukeOTron
    @NukeOTron 4 роки тому +454

    How to adapt Starlight Express into a movie:
    1. Make 'em Transformers. Really. The biggest hurdle is the whole "They're supposed to be trains, but look like action figures" thing. Since they're toys in-universe, what toy can be both an action figure and a train? As hard to believe as the actors are supposed to be trains, it's hard to believe actual trains could do half the stuff they do in the show. They can race as trains (removing the need for the stylized helmets), and sing as humanoids.
    2. Embrace the '80s. Old synths just work better for this show.
    3. Give the audience a break between songs, if at all possible.
    4. Also, embrace the power of video editing and special effects to avoid injury. It also goes back to the whole "Make 'em Transformers" thing.
    Of course, I say this out of love for the show's soundtrack. You got to give them points for their dedication in having to actually perform the play. It probably just wasn't made for the stage. The screen, maybe, but not the stage as we know it.
    Also, all those train puns, and you couldn't use the term "train-wreck" once? Okay.

    • @cdscissor
      @cdscissor 4 роки тому +10

      See this? I agree with this.

    • @paleopotato736
      @paleopotato736 3 роки тому +12

      Or you could go the Thomas the Tank Engine musical route XD

    • @penguinsrbirds2
      @penguinsrbirds2 3 роки тому +12

      @@paleopotato736 Thomas the Tank Engine/Transformers On Ice, anyone?

    • @raptorfae.6645
      @raptorfae.6645 3 роки тому +12

      I was thinking more along the lines of having the robotic humanoids and trains be different entities,with the humanoids being the trains pilots and mechanics, mentally connecting to them through the helmets to pilot them better (think like vr helmets mixed with the pilots in Pacific rim).

    • @axelkyster2642
      @axelkyster2642 2 роки тому +2

      @@penguinsrbirds2 SE has already been done on ice...

  • @AdjectiveOtter
    @AdjectiveOtter 4 роки тому +227

    Single Train: "What is a Starlight Express?"
    ALL TRAINS: "WHAT IS A STARLIGHT EXPRESS?"

    • @2doot
      @2doot 4 роки тому +48

      There's a man over there with a look of surprise
      As much as to say "Well now, how about that?"
      Do I actually see with my own very eyes...
      A man who's not heard of the Starlight Express?

    • @itzelgc4637
      @itzelgc4637 4 роки тому +33

      When you do a backflip, do you land on your skates?

    • @legislativequeery
      @legislativequeery 4 роки тому +28

      Do you wear a helmet that restricts your vision?

    • @jazzycat8917
      @jazzycat8917 4 роки тому +22

      When you speed down a ramp, can you pump on the breaks?

    • @cannibalisticrequiem
      @cannibalisticrequiem 3 роки тому +17

      Are your socks soaked with blood when you pull off your skates?

  • @BrianaMichelleMeyer
    @BrianaMichelleMeyer 4 роки тому +605

    Ahem. Starlight Express is art and no one appreciates it unless you are from Germany. THIS MUSICAL IS ART AND DESERVES MORE LOVE! So thank you for making this already.

    • @bg9860
      @bg9860 4 роки тому +85

      when I moved to Germany, I was so confused when I learned that Starlight Express was such a big thing here 😂😂

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +131

      Briana Michelle Meyer The Bochum version is nuts lol it’s a completely different starlight

    • @BrianaMichelleMeyer
      @BrianaMichelleMeyer 4 роки тому +9

      Wait in the Wings a few of my friends from Germany have told me about the production!

    • @merlesstorys
      @merlesstorys 4 роки тому +31

      It‘s a true national treasure here and that’s amazing.

    • @Seal0626
      @Seal0626 4 роки тому +7

      I fell in love with it in London in the late 90s. Saw the Bochum show shortly after London closed... and I hated it so much I cried. I've come around to that version a lot more now, especially after what's happened to it in recent years!

  • @Ayden_B
    @Ayden_B 4 роки тому +203

    I mean essentially Starlight Express is just Cats with trains: A group of anthropomorphic cats/trains come out and introduce them selves until the end, where the underdog (Grizzabella/Rusty) go to the Heavyside Layer/ Wins the race

    • @juliamavroidi8601
      @juliamavroidi8601 2 роки тому +17

      there was a tumblr post a few years ago that stuck with me about how that comparison falls short:
      Cats has too little plot.
      Starlight Express has too much.
      Also one important difference is that Grizabella is old while Rusty is young, making it easier for children - the original intended audience - to identify with him.
      Interestingly the og London production did have a character that was essentially a Grizabella replacement called Belle the Sleeping Car (geddit?). It did make sense to cut her, not only because of the Cats comparisons, but on the other hand it's kind of a shame to lose her solo which was among the few sombre moments in the show.
      Her name (but not her character or costume) was eventually recycled for the replacement for Ashley once the smoking car was dropped for no longer being relevant nor seen as appropriate children's entertainment.

    • @kodiibearv
      @kodiibearv Рік тому +4

      right down to both shows having a character named electra. LOL.

    • @squidmochi7811
      @squidmochi7811 Місяць тому

      @@kodiibearvNow that I think about it him and Rum Tum Tugger have the same energy

  • @ellesaoirsehay
    @ellesaoirsehay 4 роки тому +138

    my dance teacher was in the German cast of starlight express and lost half of his finger in an accident doing this show, doesn't phase him but we were all shocked when he told the story

    • @cremetangerine82
      @cremetangerine82 2 роки тому +24

      Knowing how dramatic and over-the-top some performing arts teachers are, he probably considered it a badge of honor.
      “I sacrificed part of my finger for my AAAAAHHHHHRRRRRTTT!”

    • @meowzerzzz
      @meowzerzzz 2 роки тому +5

      If one must lose half a digit, at least his way comes with a badass story

    • @sandiegoretcon1292
      @sandiegoretcon1292 Рік тому +3

      Metal

  • @CSXIV
    @CSXIV 4 роки тому +136

    27:11: (falls off bridge, injures self). The show must go on (gets back on stage).
    (Tears out knee at curtain call): The show must go on.
    (Goes into reconstructive surgery, out 2 months and then goes right back to the show once cleared): The. Show. MUST. GO. ON.
    Don't question the toughness of theater performers.

    • @rainyday6512
      @rainyday6512 4 роки тому +8

      Exactly, recently the actress playing K Howard in “SIX” had something going on with a rib and still performed

    • @annamo9354
      @annamo9354 2 роки тому +8

      Back in my day we used to say "even death is just a bad excuse not to go on stage"

    • @theeccentric7263
      @theeccentric7263 2 роки тому +12

      "Toughness" or glorified self-harm?

    • @cremetangerine82
      @cremetangerine82 2 роки тому +8

      @@theeccentric7263
      Fair point. Far too many people in the creative or performing arts refuse medical treatment in order to “keep their creative spark” or “the show must go on”. It’s unhealthy and not something to be encouraged.

  • @Jeremy-ql1or
    @Jeremy-ql1or Рік тому +28

    The idea to put the choreographed accidents in the show to cover for any real accidents that would inevitably occur was genius.

  • @SuperCosmicMutantSquid
    @SuperCosmicMutantSquid 2 роки тому +232

    Remember everyone; this is may be the world's most expensive Thomas the Tank Engine fanfiction.

    • @Arturobrito0502
      @Arturobrito0502 2 роки тому +4

      Sorry, but its not a thomas fanfic, its a somewhat reconstructed leftover from 3 abandoned projects.

    • @x-fun3149
      @x-fun3149 Рік тому +9

      @@Arturobrito0502 one of which was an animated adaptation of Thomas the Tank Engine, so...

    • @geministrial950
      @geministrial950 9 місяців тому +1

      Oh my god youre right

    • @skinnysnorlax9356
      @skinnysnorlax9356 9 місяців тому +1

      My God…did Thomas and the Magic Railroad cost less to make?!

    • @olivermensinger
      @olivermensinger 4 місяці тому

      @@skinnysnorlax9356 Magic Railroad's budget was 19 million, so I think that was more expensive?

  • @scootinand
    @scootinand Рік тому +40

    Anytime this show gets brought up, the back of my brain is filled sith Peter Griffin, skating around in circles, repeatedly saying "Starlight Express."
    Truly. A legacy.

  • @BewareTheLilyOfTheValley
    @BewareTheLilyOfTheValley 2 роки тому +77

    I really love that the jock found out he loved theater more, lol. It's literally the plot of High School Musical.

  • @AddamsrUs13
    @AddamsrUs13 4 роки тому +142

    YO DEFUNCTLAND WATCHES YOU?! MY two favs?! amazing!

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +38

      Tina Marie Still crazy that my name can be spoken in the same sentence as defunctland lol

    • @rockstickcomics
      @rockstickcomics 4 роки тому +8

      Wait in the Wings I think you’re worthy, you don’t has his production value, but you’ve got the right passion.

    • @missybarbour6885
      @missybarbour6885 4 роки тому +7

      It blows me away every time. Kevin is a secret theater nerd.

  • @mst3khaleesi943
    @mst3khaleesi943 4 роки тому +67

    The line "trains have wheels... rollerskates have wheels... put the actors on rollerskates!" intercut with a clip of Joey was editing and comedic mastery.

  • @rroman1988
    @rroman1988 4 роки тому +86

    That Family Guy sketch was all i knew of Starlight Express. When you said it was about trains I just...I wasn't ready.

  • @kyon813
    @kyon813 3 роки тому +189

    During the intro, I jokingly called the musical a cross between Thomas the Tank Engine and Rollerball.
    I did not anticipate the actual creator of Thomas the Tank Engine being involved in the foundation of this project.

  • @Notchimochi
    @Notchimochi 4 роки тому +119

    When Brendon mention trains and seeing the footage in the intro, I immediately thought, "Trainsformers. Thomas in Disguise."
    4:36 ...I'm gobsmacked.

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +10

      Notchimochi Well...that’ll be stuck in my head all day now.

    • @Notchimochi
      @Notchimochi 4 роки тому +2

      @@WaitintheWings ua-cam.com/video/XBKh9Yz2EQ8/v-deo.html In case you do want to see what it look like, animator James Farr pulled off an impressive animation.

  • @maxleunig4072
    @maxleunig4072 4 роки тому +104

    I'm honestly surprised this hasn't had a revival on West End or Broadway. 1980's nostalgia has been really popular for the past 5 years and Starlight Express is so 80's it hurts.

    • @kieronragoonath4385
      @kieronragoonath4385 8 місяців тому +2

      Actually, a revival comes to West End which opens on June 30, 2024!

  • @caridadchang7895
    @caridadchang7895 4 роки тому +510

    Honestly it likely "failed" because ALW himself didn't have his heart in it at all. This looks like a real life case of a composers simple songs getting turned into an over-produced mess by greedy exces.
    As cliché as that trope is, this is the real example of it

    • @robustfawn
      @robustfawn 4 роки тому +43

      Definitely agree. Workshopping and revisions gone out of control!

    • @Tamaki742
      @Tamaki742 3 роки тому +31

      Well, all he intended for it to be was simple musical for kids, after all.

    • @ladyjennyanytime5195
      @ladyjennyanytime5195 2 роки тому +19

      For Broadway this was definitely the case. They changed the lead character of Rusty to be this happy go lucky train, where as in London he was bullied by others at the start and his character was angry and determined and frustrated because he wanted to race and the audience was sympathetic to him and was rooting for him from that point in. On Broadway there was no reason to really get behind Rusty from the start, also cutting Pearl out of the Locomation number didn't make sense either as you had no introduction to who or what she was. There were many musical differences as well as changes to the characters compared to London. The main thing about it was it was never meant to go to Broadway AT ALL. It was supposed to tour Arenas accross the US like it eventually did in Japan and Australia that same year. But the [producer pulled out of doing it it and so to make some much needed money for The Really useful Groups investors , the board voted that STEX should go to Broadway, it was virtually against Andrews wishes though. It never quite worked as it should have done on Broadway as the co-producers interfered and wanted the changes to the show, not necessarily what Andrew wanted to do. He talks about it in more detail in his autobiography; UNMASKED. Definitely worth a read as it's very gossipy and quite funny in parts. He's actually very honest and open , even so far as not shying away from being self critical. I think with the shows set not encompassing the theatre like London and the changes to the score and plot, it didn't work as well there. Though the 1st German version of the show as well as the Japanese/Australian Arena tours that opened that year and the following were based on that version musically . And as others have mentioned they were both successful productions. The Arena tour went back again to Japan and Australia in 1990/91 and the German production is still running 34 years later after opening, though it's gone through a lot of changes over the years.

    • @MandyMeowington5
      @MandyMeowington5 Рік тому +2

      The fact that the synopsis of this show is A LOT like cats kind of says it all

    • @ChiroVideosTVlondon
      @ChiroVideosTVlondon 4 місяці тому +1

      Failed? 😂😂 it ran for 17 years in London, has run for almost 40 years in Germany, had 2 USA tours, 2 UK tours, an Asian tour and has just been revived at a theatre in London for its third iteration. Failed 😂😂😂😂

  • @paulnewbs997
    @paulnewbs997 4 роки тому +68

    I used to work backstage at Starlight London in about 85/86 it was incredible, the sweat that used to pour off the casts heads after Rolling Stock and Ray Shell just did not stop.Lots of stars came and it was a wonderful experience

    • @OptimusPrime298
      @OptimusPrime298 2 роки тому

      You did work backstage in 85/86? I never knew that

    • @paulpallavre
      @paulpallavre 10 місяців тому +2

      @@OptimusPrime298 It was a strange job but I had just left school and took a job taking the whole company up and down in an old spooky Victorian lift backstage but I used to throw lift parties, lot of fun but long hours without a break.Tom Jobe terrified me

  • @merlesstorys
    @merlesstorys 4 роки тому +142

    Starlight Express was one of the first musicals I‘ve ever seen (that was professionally produced) in Bochum, where the special built theatre for it stands.
    It‘s so good and cool, when you see the "trains" rush in front of you and you can feel with it... and I‘m not even starting with the costumes, because they are out of this world... I look forward to see it again, in sometime...

  • @painterguylincs
    @painterguylincs 2 роки тому +57

    I was fortunate to see the first version with the original London cast. I was UNfortunate to see several other versions. That's not just nostalgia talking, the original really was the best, although the German version I saw in 1990 was a close second. Fun fact: When the divine Stephanie Lawrence left the cast, her showstopping power ballad "Only He" was cut because they couldn't find anyone else who was capable of singing it two minutes after an exhausting race sequence.

    • @anna_in_aotearoa3166
      @anna_in_aotearoa3166 Рік тому +2

      OMG - thanks to this vid all being filler background sound & focused on the roller stunts, Icompletely forgot that the SE cast also had to SING!! 😳 That's just mind-boggling. When you think of how often mega-star singers lipsync public performances due to the demands of just dancing, let alone skating...!

    • @jsainz706
      @jsainz706 Рік тому +2

      is that why 'only you' isn't performed in later versions? I remember it from the original cast but I can't find it outside of that.

    • @AntFraRob
      @AntFraRob Рік тому +2

      @@jsainz706 Actually it was performed in the German version up until mid 2002

    • @jsainz706
      @jsainz706 Рік тому +1

      Ty. I didn't know that! @@AntFraRob

  • @starrycrownsart
    @starrycrownsart 3 роки тому +69

    I desperately want to see Starlight Express, it's so bad and it's wonderful. I appreciate how it fell so hard in the states but thrived in Bochum Germany, they built a theater adapted for it and i'm absolutely here for it

  • @jb7644
    @jb7644 2 роки тому +14

    19:08 can you imagine back in 1987 audiences are greeted with a behemoth staging like this. not even current musicals can afford to replicate this kind of spectacle.

  • @utahnash
    @utahnash 4 роки тому +121

    Ayyyyyy, it’s train sex innuendos the musical. I played Nintendo/Hashimoto before and roller skating down skatepark-like ramps is the most terrifying thing I’ve done in front of a live audience, and also the most painful rehearsal process ever.

    • @LadyDragonbane
      @LadyDragonbane 4 роки тому

      What production was it?

    • @utahnash
      @utahnash 4 роки тому +19

      LadyDragonbane Nothing professional, I did Starlight at my high school. We had a budget to do the show justice though. I loved “derailing” and jumping off a ramp to backstage where I presumably died.

    • @orbweaver9750
      @orbweaver9750 4 роки тому +5

      You lucky so-and-so! I would have killed to have my high school put on this show. I wanted to be Dinah so bad. Too bad me and wheels on my feet go together like oil and water.

    • @JohnTheMod1
      @JohnTheMod1 Рік тому

      There was a train named Nintendo? Really!?

  • @debdnl1403
    @debdnl1403 4 роки тому +40

    Me, hearing about Xanadu: oh roller skates and 80s vibes, love it, so cute!
    Me, hearing about THIS: oh god... oh no... it’s too powerful, it must be s t o p p e d

  • @YeoYeo32
    @YeoYeo32 2 роки тому +4

    Starlight Express is a mindf**k of a musical. You probably had to be on drugs to comprehend what you were watching. The fact that Lloyd-Webber originally intended the songs to be for a musical animated version of Thomas The Tank Engine makes soooo much sense

  • @stuarttayler2411
    @stuarttayler2411 4 роки тому +20

    I did seven years in the German production and it was the greatest experience of my career.... I saw the London production as a teenager and within the first minute knew I had to do this show. It was equally the hardest and most thrilling and rewarding show I've ever done. It is still a massive hit in Germany and has just had its 32nd birthday. It may not have stayed long on Broadway but it was and still is a worldwide success with many Guinness world records to its name... Long live this incredible show!! Love to all the Starlight family xxx

    • @littlesongbird1
      @littlesongbird1 Рік тому +1

      I admire you so much for being a part of this show. I never got to see but wish I could!!!

  • @HaydenofEverything
    @HaydenofEverything 4 роки тому +149

    Drinking game: Whenever there's a train pun, you take a shot.
    Also, I'm pretty sure that the whole idea of Andrew Lloyd Webber wanting to kill people was his way of getting revenge on the person who let Starlight Express touch Broadway.

    • @maxrohtbart6201
      @maxrohtbart6201 4 роки тому +1

      Do you want to kill us?

    • @HaydenofEverything
      @HaydenofEverything 4 роки тому +4

      @@maxrohtbart6201 Did you let my mega-musical about talking musical instruments on Broadway? If you're not the one responsible then you're exempt

    • @CheshireCad
      @CheshireCad 2 роки тому +1

      Everyone is going to be dead by the end of the "training" segment.

  • @junglecat_rant
    @junglecat_rant 4 роки тому +26

    I watched it in 1995 in London and 1997 in Bochum. It was heartwarming and beautyfully executed.
    Just because it didn't went on forever on New York's Broadway doesn't mean anything is wrong with it.

  • @misterbungle7
    @misterbungle7 4 роки тому +36

    I saw Starlight Express in London in the mid or late 1990s when I was a teenager and loved it.
    But OMG that Broadway set!

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +2

      misterbungle7 ITS WILD ISNT IT??

    • @ohauss
      @ohauss 4 роки тому

      Have you seen the Bochum set?

  • @thestationpilot3640
    @thestationpilot3640 4 роки тому +52

    Considering I was obsessed with the original Thomas series as a child, Starlight Express is like uncovering a piece of history completley lost to time. I think seeing his original Thomas vision would be very interesting to see, considering it was sort of the ground work of what would eventually become the aformentioned musical. The designs of the trains in the musical were especially amusing. You did a fantastic job of explaining the history of this rather interesting Broadway piece! Also, "An engine of many colors", was actually produced as an offical epsiode of the series in one one of the newer seasons, albeit with a completley different plot.

    • @LadyDragonbane
      @LadyDragonbane 4 роки тому +3

      Same. I've loved trains (Thomas and the real deal) all my life so it was only natural for me to fall into the Starlight fandom

    • @Arturobrito0502
      @Arturobrito0502 2 роки тому +2

      Same, favorite character was Cb the red caboose shy and always smiles in the outside, but on the inside is a maniac that causes train crashes.

  • @jonaspina3420
    @jonaspina3420 4 роки тому +45

    THANK YOU SO MUCH for including Peter Griffin! It was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the UA-cam notification 🤣

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +10

      Jonas Pina STARLIGHT EXPRESS!

    • @robustfawn
      @robustfawn 4 роки тому +3

      @@WaitintheWings the only joke from FG I've laughed at in the last 10 or so years... it's so accurate to SE you can't not.

  • @Pichipichiprincess
    @Pichipichiprincess 3 роки тому +18

    Jenna roller dancing on 30 rock makes so much sense after finding out Jane krakowski was in starlight express lol

  • @AlexCarson
    @AlexCarson 4 роки тому +93

    I’m definitely writing this as I’m enjoying the introduction to this video lol, but your content is always so enthralling to watch. It’s fun getting to watch such a creative spin on video essays about the theater world/musicals and that’s no different with this video as well. Keep up the great work and Rock On!!

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +12

      Alex Carson You’re so sweet! I’m honestly always self conscious about not diving directly into the musical, but I makes me feel better knowing you like it! :) Thanks again!

  • @AnneBridgeman
    @AnneBridgeman 4 роки тому +21

    Thank you so much for this! Starlight Express was the first big musical I saw, I don't remember a whole lot about it other than the track that looped out into the audience, but when Rusty found the spotlight and belted "Starlight Express", 13-year-old me FELT THINGS.

  • @soljoez
    @soljoez 4 роки тому +5

    It's so sad to me how so many people write this musical off as just being a dumb train musical when it's actually very compelling and sweet. All of the characters are so unique and have individual arcs of their own -- with Greaseball learning to be less of a jerk, Electra rightfully being knocked down a peg, Red Caboose getting a taste of his own medicine, Pearl finding true love, Dinah learning to stand on her own, and Rusty overcoming all odds. It's such a fun, wholesome, happy play -- I wish more people would give it a chance because it really does have so much heart.

  • @onetrackmediarc
    @onetrackmediarc 2 роки тому +16

    I saw Starlight Express at my local theatre. It didn't have the huge round space for racing circuits or massive special effects but I still remember loving it. We had a few stunt ramps and half pipes on stage at times to keep the spectacle up along with the "normal" skating choreography, but for the race scenes, I remember having to wear 3D glasses as a projection was played in the theatre.
    Interesting to see how different versions of the show do their staging.

  • @theherrdark4834
    @theherrdark4834 4 роки тому +4

    I think the reason that the show was a success in Germany and England was that it was a connection to trains, in these countries trains are still a major part of their everyday public transportation. In the US by the eighties, rail public transportation has been gutted to nothing and throughout the eighties, rail right aways were abandoned and only the freight rails were left, and long-distance trains are what was left replaced by busses and airlines.
    The majority of US citizens under 30 at that time never even rode a train, outside of an amusement park or a train museum.
    England and Germany has never stopped using rail, Las Vegas success it is about spectacle, which Vegas is famous for.

    • @Seal0626
      @Seal0626 4 роки тому +1

      Add that to the fact that they never seem to bother with clarifying that they're toy trains, not real(for a given value of "real") trains, and I reckon you're onto something there.

  • @lianaflores
    @lianaflores 4 роки тому +162

    oooo im obsessed with this musical ... v exciting episode : D

  • @matth3w2002
    @matth3w2002 4 роки тому +206

    This was made by the same guy who made Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar.
    Let that sink in.
    Well he also made By Jeeves and Love Never Dies. Soooo.

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому +21

      matthew whitcher Literally what I tell all of my friends

    • @dillonohlemiller9027
      @dillonohlemiller9027 4 роки тому +7

      Wait in the Wings I will never understand the hate for Love Never Dies

    • @maxrohtbart6201
      @maxrohtbart6201 4 роки тому +6

      Can’t make all winners, the road to success is paved with failures.

    • @matth3w2002
      @matth3w2002 4 роки тому +33

      @@dillonohlemiller9027 It's an unnecessary fan fiction that completely throws the original message of Phantom out the window.

    • @whyme9960
      @whyme9960 4 роки тому +11

      We don’t say cursed names in here
      (Cough cough Love Never Dies cough)

  • @Seal0626
    @Seal0626 4 роки тому +28

    Anthropomorphic *toy* trains. It's the same concept as The Nutcracker, or Toy Story.
    Incidentally, watch Captain Eo, and you'll see John Napier recycled the designs for Greaseball's Gang to use as the Whip Warriors.

  • @gracetopherkirk5742
    @gracetopherkirk5742 Рік тому +2

    I moved to the Ruhrgebiet in Germany a year ago and billboards for Starlight are absolutely Everywhere. I’m finally seeing it tomorrow and I’m super hyped!

  • @SchwarzSchatten123
    @SchwarzSchatten123 4 роки тому +17

    Starlight Express was the first show I ever saw that, ignited my love for musical theater. Being from Germany, it was just something a family would do, take their kid to see Starlight Express. And I loved it! I have seen the show five times since, lastly in February with Reva Rice. They have changed a lot over the years with new songs, costumes and the story but it is still an amazing show and it will always hold a place in my heart ✨

  • @instinctbrosgaming9699
    @instinctbrosgaming9699 4 роки тому +17

    Petition to make a Starlight Express animated film adaptation so it can become what it was intended to be at most.

    • @OhNoBohNo
      @OhNoBohNo 2 роки тому

      this should just be the new reboot of the Thomas the Engine/Sodor Universe. Kids'll love (?) it!!

  • @the_glitter_is
    @the_glitter_is 2 роки тому +35

    Jane's character on 30 Rock has a flashback to a show she was in, wearing skates & crazy, metallic costumes. Liz Lemon interrupts her & asks, "What show was that?" I always thought it was funny because the costumes & skates were so random but I get it now lol.

    • @jonathanbowers8964
      @jonathanbowers8964 Рік тому

      Or when she does that skating show when she "got fat" for the season she was pregnant. (Me want food)

  • @otaking3582
    @otaking3582 4 роки тому +92

    Why hasn't there ever been an official recorded version of this like there was for Cats?! And why the hell do they keep drastically changing the show in ways that make it _worse_ than its original Broadway version?!

    • @michaelhollander5411
      @michaelhollander5411 4 роки тому +12

      There is an cast recording"The Oreginal London Cast Recording for Starlight Express"
      Also when you hear Papas wonderful Gospel song you will know what the Starlight Express means..

    • @otaking3582
      @otaking3582 4 роки тому

      @@michaelhollander5411 If that's true, then why can't I find it online?!

    • @FritzMonorail
      @FritzMonorail 4 роки тому +2

      @@otaking3582 I've got a bootleg of the german version if your interested.

    • @queenmedesa
      @queenmedesa 2 роки тому

      @@michaelhollander5411 I have the CD

    • @stockwellsantley6606
      @stockwellsantley6606 2 роки тому +3

      I worked on the original London one and absolutely hated every change they made. Apart from 'my shoes are too tight' to 'my pants are too tight', and the slipped-in disgusted aside, 'Carriages!' The songs got too anodyne and wimpy and some of them seemed to leave the plot of the show totally.

  • @jtehmain8261
    @jtehmain8261 4 роки тому +22

    I'm a simple man. I see new Wait in the wings video, I click!

  • @rey0girl
    @rey0girl 4 роки тому +18

    When I was a kid my sister somehow had the soundtrack of this musical. I listened to it so many times that I just love it. I've seen a few grainy clips of it online, but I would have loved to see it live. When I talk with other theater nerds they never know what Starlight Express is, so I'm happy this is here. It just had so much imagination and 80's flair.

    • @skullslace2426
      @skullslace2426 2 роки тому +1

      I'm the same. My sister brought back the new starlight express record from her school trip to London, and I used to listen to it to fall asleep every night - kinda cute if you think about the premise of the story. (Mind you, my sis is 7 years older than me). She had to translate every song and tell me what the musical was about. Since it's the only version I've ever known, you could say I have my very own starlight express production going on rent-free in my head since 1997. It actually made me kinda fearful to look up how Starlight express was actually supposed to be like :P

  • @kailundennie1622
    @kailundennie1622 Рік тому +7

    Never did I ever think I’d be watching a documentary where I found out Zack and Cody’s dad auditioned for cats and starlight express

  • @daninmills
    @daninmills 4 роки тому +6

    I think your assertion that people would rather experience these thrills than see them is spot on. As soon as you described the set, I didn't think about how cool the show would be to watch. I immediately thought "I wanna play on that."

  • @sooty1410
    @sooty1410 6 місяців тому +2

    Saw it at the Apollo in 85 with the moving bridge set. The "rail tracks" ran around the auditorium at low and upper levels. It was awesome !!!

  • @BeamBalance
    @BeamBalance 2 роки тому +8

    "The perfect gift for the kid who has everything except parents"
    So this was the Musical Bruce Wayne's parents got murdered at.

  • @kcleworth
    @kcleworth 4 роки тому +13

    Yeah... Only the 9th longest running West End musical of all time and still running elsewhere in the world to this day. It was the show that introduced me to musicals and still love it today. Used to go down to London every few months and get standing racetrack tickets! :)

  • @tiffytattoo2450
    @tiffytattoo2450 3 роки тому +9

    At least here in Germany every kid wants rollerskates after seeing Starlight Express!
    The most successful musical here :)

  • @burningisis
    @burningisis 4 роки тому +13

    I was a young preteen when Starlight came out, and I'll admit it. I LOVED the show. Obviously I loved Greaseball. The music was current for the late 80s, roller skating was my entire life, and it was just glorious.

    • @agardener3621
      @agardener3621 Рік тому +1

      Little known fact. WHen Jeff Shankley was leaving and they were auditioning for Greaseball, someone who shall remain nameless, thought the muscles were real and spent weeks in the gym building up fpr the audion. Trevor N was so impressed with his dedication, nameless got a callback.

  • @mermanangel5830
    @mermanangel5830 4 роки тому +10

    Thank you so much for doing this video! Like how Les Miserables and Cats got me into musicals, Starlight Express is the reasons why I want to be in musicals and it was the show that got me into roller skating. I wasn't around for the Broadway production, but I saw the Vegas production and listen to the Pop Album version like no tomorrow since I was a child. I still want to audition for the German production to this day. I know this show doesn't have the same rep that Phantom or Evita has but this musical does hold a special place in my heart and always will be. And the Broadway production does play a important part for Starlight's history thank you for putting this production into light again with this video.

  • @JeddtheJedi
    @JeddtheJedi 4 роки тому +32

    I for one can't wait for maybe Tom Hardy covered in "digital train technology".

  • @danielaortiz9178
    @danielaortiz9178 4 роки тому +5

    Oh boy, oh boy- it's now 12 am and I can't stop watching these. They are seriously engaging- it's so fun watching such a creative spin on the traditional video essay - and with theater and musicals! I'm missing live performance during quarantine so much and this just makes it a little bit better. Thank you!!

  • @junglekiity
    @junglekiity 4 роки тому +59

    You know, I can't help but feel that a more bright, cartoony design style might have worked better. Sell it on the playfulness and childlike fantasy instead of the adrenaline and spectacle.

    • @stockwellsantley6606
      @stockwellsantley6606 2 роки тому

      Disagree. Nope. Nope nope nope. The spectacle was so much the show, it just gelled with the musical instruments and the voices. Trains are not light and airy things. The weightiness was needed. The toughness. And everyone wants to see a crash. Had it been cartoony like Snoopy the Musical (shudder) only kids would have liked it. Musicals don't survive on only kids liking them.

  • @symera7809
    @symera7809 Рік тому +5

    Starlight Express really has a certain cult status in Germany. I remember seeing it when I was a kid and I still remember the show to this day. It was just a fantastic spectacle, though I have certainly seen better musicals since then. The one part I very vividly remember was that during one of the races, after a part where they go down from the bridge, one of the trains, I think it was the electric one, took one of the safety barriers and whacked another in the face with it. He went down and I think it was planned, but holy f**k.

  • @kiergan4102
    @kiergan4102 4 роки тому +33

    I honestly can’t believe I never heard of this musical. As a side note, has anyone heard of Metropolis the Musical? It was a failed musical that was pretty intriguing.

    • @ladyjennyanytime5195
      @ladyjennyanytime5195 4 роки тому +5

      Yep i saw it as a teen and i actually loved it. I had the cast album on tape and wore it out. Not a perfect show, but pretty good score non the less imo. :-)

    • @bookemdano7567
      @bookemdano7567 4 роки тому +4

      I love Metropolis!! I had the double cassette tape back in 89 and played it to death! I was so excited to find it on cd, in NY, a year or so later! Still listen to it to this day! Judy Kuhn is wonderful!!

  • @kimberlycolors7807
    @kimberlycolors7807 2 роки тому +5

    26:23 this strikes me because I had actually found out about this musical because a HIGH SCHOOL at teen theater convention I attended put on a workshop about how they themselves did this musical. They seemed really enthusiastic about it at the time but now hearing about how dangerous the broadway version is I can’t imagine the stress they must have been facing behind the scenes.

  • @QuntessentialND
    @QuntessentialND 2 роки тому +2

    I was in a production of this in the early 90s. I played CB, the Red Caboose. It is one of my favorite roles I have ever played and one of the best times of my life.

  • @rasmusdegn9690
    @rasmusdegn9690 4 роки тому +12

    Starlight Express is Gaudy, it's Hideous, it's Disgusting, it's GORGEOUS! Honestly all i could think of while watching this was A: "Yes, Please, inject this aesthetic into my vein" and B: "I wonder if one could re-purpose this into a Densha De D musical by style-translating the songs to/remake them as Eurobeat and figure out how one does Multi-Track Drifting on roller-skates"

  • @briep638
    @briep638 2 роки тому +8

    As someone who had cats on VHS as a kid and is a train nerd, Im shocked I had no idea ALW was a railfan too

  • @nglick81
    @nglick81 3 роки тому +5

    Saw this on Broadway back in 1988. I was 7, and it blew my mind. I was obsessed and would reenact it in our basement; flailing around a course made of cushions while listening to the LP my parents got for me at the show. 😂

  • @psrpippy
    @psrpippy 4 роки тому +3

    It may not have been that much of a success on Broadway but it was a huge hit in London and the Bochum, Germany production is still running to packed houses every night (with the exception of during the pandemic). My partner used to work on Starlight London in the late 80’s while one of his friends who was appearing in the London production moved to play the same character in the Bochum show. She stayed there for over 31 years and left in 2018. The show is amazing and deserves so much more credit. I love it to this day.

  • @theeducatedranter9337
    @theeducatedranter9337 4 роки тому +5

    Seeing a Wait in the Wings video pop up in my sub box is always a helluva treat- and as always, a fantastic watch!

    • @WaitintheWings
      @WaitintheWings  4 роки тому

      The EducatedRanter Hey! Thank you so much!!

  • @user-wp1il8zo6z
    @user-wp1il8zo6z 2 місяці тому +1

    The rehearsal is a beautiful story about how you should never give up.

  • @greyfox37
    @greyfox37 9 місяців тому +3

    I saw this at the Las Vegas Hilton back in the 90s. I really enjoyed it, plus we sat in the section where we got to root for Rusty. One of Greaseball's lackys was shouting at me, who's gonna win?? I kept shouting Rusty! And he was pointing at me with narrowed eyes lmao. He remembered where I was sitting and came back and pointed at me after the race. Good times.

  • @ceruleanblu3184
    @ceruleanblu3184 4 роки тому +7

    I had the fortune of seeing Starlight Express in London in the 80s, and I thought it was fantastic! The projector screens that appeared showing different parts of the race, and the last line in the song Uncoupled were standout memories.

  • @breebie6912
    @breebie6912 4 роки тому +5

    Starlight will always have a little place in my heart. Congratulations on another fantastic video! Keep it up :D

  • @BKDAYZ
    @BKDAYZ Рік тому +1

    I hold a special place in my heart for this musical. I had just moved to New York city, and it was my first audition. I was 18. A very confident singer and conveniently enough a really good roller skater, so I thought I would go. Auditions were at the nightclub Roxy now known as Webster Hall. We were all numbers, not names.
    Got pretty far in the callbacks, but eventually got the cut. When I saw the show on its feet at the Gershwin, I was blown away by all the performances, but the stand out for me was Greg Mowry, whos vocal, was craaaazy good. especially in the number starlight express. I heard that was his last show and he left the business after that.

  • @dracobengali
    @dracobengali 4 роки тому +5

    So glad I got to see this in Germany, that theatre was amazing.

  • @lilchwis4423
    @lilchwis4423 2 місяці тому +2

    Cool thing is, it was a HUGE success in Japan. I mean huge. Possibly because most shows there revolve around spectacle. The ‘87 tour was so successful they came back in 1990 rebuilding stadiums as race tracks. Unsurprisingly, it worked alright in Vegas in the 90s as well as the 1989-1990 US/Canada tour. Touring may have actually been a good format for this show, since audiences usually are expected to see it once, not to mention smaller stages/budgets.

  • @Zeffer32
    @Zeffer32 2 роки тому +2

    I can't remember how old I was but this was the first musical I ever saw live in London. I was just a kid so it was perfect for me, I bought a cd of the soundtrack and wore it out! Hearing 'This is Control, This is Control' still fills me with that unequivocal joy of musical theatre

  • @bryanscollick8305
    @bryanscollick8305 2 роки тому +2

    Fun fact for me- Starlight Express was the very first musical I saw on Broadway! It will always, despite its flaws, have that special place in my heart. And I saw it with my mom who has since passed.

  • @katecastreviews4639
    @katecastreviews4639 4 роки тому +13

    Starlight Express is one of the, jokes of it's medium just when you say out loud what it is. But it's kind of amazing once again, to see that the absurdity wasn't in concept alone. And how grueling the process was to even stage this thing despite everybody truly giving it their all. Yet another amazing breakdown of the history that I found intriguing and amusing. And another bit of evidence for the argument that maybe some musicals are better suited for animation. Maybe one day.
    Also yes! You found a way to use the Suite Life on Deck footage!

  • @OofusTwillip
    @OofusTwillip 4 роки тому +2

    I saw the original London peoduction, about a year after it opened. The premise was that it's all in the imagination of the unseen little boy ("Control") who owns the train set. It had sweetness and charm, and it was easy to suspend your disbelief, and love it.
    For the New York production, the show was radically changed to appeal to the American taste for toughness and "winners". The premise was changed from toy trains in a boy's imagination to the secret behaviour of real trains, holding ruthlessly competitive races. "Control" was now an omnipotent voice, barking out orders. Songs and characters were cut. For unity, the changes applied to the London production too. They ripped out its heart and replaced it with a fake one.
    Unlike other ALW shows that have remained pretty much the same, "Starlight Express" has been a perpetual work-in-progress. Just when you'd find something you loved, they'd change it. Sometimes purely for political correctness (replacing Ashley the Smoking Car with a Baggage Car) or purely for publicity (changing Poppa to Momma in Germany, so that Broadway's original Pearl, Reva Rice, could play a role more suited to her current age).

  • @JLCosslett
    @JLCosslett 4 роки тому +22

    I saw Starlight in London as my first west end musical and absolutely loved it. Watching them skate around the track was amazing!! Also RUSTY is compelling! I yelled so hard when he won and got together with Pearl.
    So I politely disagree.

    • @kp7032
      @kp7032 4 роки тому

      Jess Cosslett this was my first west end musical too. Saw it in 1987.

  • @auntieayla2310
    @auntieayla2310 Рік тому +2

    Absolutely incredible. I wish I was able to have seen this in person in all of it's excessive 80s glory.

  • @sweeney60
    @sweeney60 4 роки тому +12

    If this musical had to be brought into the world just so we could have Jane Krakowski.... worth it!

    • @kimberlyoldschool
      @kimberlyoldschool 2 роки тому

      Now I want to know if she still has her skating skills, or never went near another pair of skates for the rest of her life (couldn’t blame her if so).

    • @jonathanbowers8964
      @jonathanbowers8964 Рік тому

      ​@@kimberlyoldschool considering some of her 30 rock sketches where she skates, she still has some skills.