History Theatre / StarlightExpress

** Was itself shouted out to on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' once (an intergalactic delivery train car was called the Starlight Express).
*** And on [[Series/ThirtyRock 30 Rock]], where Jenna (Jane Krakowski) appeared briefly in [[http://i47.tinypic.com/vo7ndi.jpg a costume]] that bore a [[http://i49.tinypic.com/eaimw3.jpg startling resemblance]] to Dinah's. Also counts as an ActorAllusion, because Krakowski [[http://www.bryanbatt.com/images/sejane.jpg played Dinah as a teenager in 1987]].
** Don't forget the infamous (in the fandom anyway) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYH9gZJnj9c Family Guy reference]].

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

After the success of ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' in 1981, Creator/AndrewLloydWebber began looking into writing a musical based on the WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends stories, with his kids in mind, but couldn't get the amount of creative control he wanted from the Rev. W. Awdry. Instead, he pulled up a few older ideas he'd had proposed to him in the 1970s -- among them, a musical version of ''Literature/TheLittleEngineThatCould'' and a new version of "Literature/{{Cinderella}}" -- and initially tried to combine them into the story of a little steam engine who's bullied by her electric and diesel stepsisters, but ends up being chosen as the royal train by the Prince after winning a race and losing a piston in the process, which the Prince uses to track her down. This idea, with many ''many'' changes made, ended up evolving into ''Starlight Express'', whose first version premiered in London in 1984.

* TheAce: Electra. So, so much.

* BadassBiker: Greaseball's character design is based on this trope.

* {{Camp}}
* CampGay: Purse, Electra's money truck, is usually played this way when he's given discernable characterization.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Pearl, depending on how she's played. This might be a rather charitable assessment of the character.

* FanserviceWithASmile: Dinah's [[http://bellesdomain.co.uk/stex/brochures/uk05_dinah.jpg revamped costume]] borders on this.

* GiveMeASign: The ''entirety'' of 'Starlight Express'. Also, most of the 'Starlight Sequence'.
* GoodBadGirl: Buffy.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Belle is implied to be one.

* JerkJock: All the locomotives except for Rusty and Poppa exhibit this trope to some degree, with Greaseball being the most outrageous example.

* LivingToys: All the characters, bar Control, are technically this.
* LoveMartyr: Dinah.

* ManlyGay: Some actors play Krupp this way.

* PunnyName: Most of the characters.

* SlasherSmile: Oh, God, C.B.

* ThisIsASong: "Poppa's Blues."
* {{Those Two G|uys}}irls: Ashley and Buffy.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The Really Useful Group realized this too late.

** The lyrics to the song "I Do" (a new addition to the latest UK tour) seem to invoke this trope.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Pearl's hair is sometimes pink. Volta's is aqua and white. Electra's is red, white, and blue; Joule's is white with red stripes, and fan art of Purse often portrays him with green and yellow hair.
** In the Bochum productions, her hair actually looks like ''purple'' is her natural colour, but she bleaches it out to pink.

After the success of ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' in 1981, Creator/AndrewLloydWebber began looking into writing a musical based on the WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends stories, with his kids in mind, but couldn't get the amount of creative control he wanted from the Rev. W. Awdry. Instead, he pulled up a few older ideas he'd had proposed to him in the 1970s - among them, a musical version of ''Literature/TheLittleEngineThatCould'' and a new version of "Literature/{{Cinderella}}" - and initially tried to combine them into the story of a little steam engine who's bullied by her electric and diesel stepsisters, but ends up being chosen as the royal train by the Prince after winning a race and losing a piston in the process, which the Prince uses to track her down. This idea, with many ''many'' changes made, ended up evolving into ''Starlight Express'', whose first version premiered in London in 1984.

After the success of ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' in 1981, Creator/AndrewLloydWebber began looking into writing a musical based on the WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine stories, with his kids in mind, but couldn't get the amount of creative control he wanted from the Rev. W. Awdry. Instead, he pulled up a few older ideas he'd had proposed to him in the 1970s - among them, a musical version of ''Literature/TheLittleEngineThatCould'' and a new version of "Literature/{{Cinderella}}" - and initially tried to combine them into the story of a little steam engine who's bullied by her electric and diesel stepsisters, but ends up being chosen as the royal train by the Prince after winning a race and losing a piston in the process, which the Prince uses to track her down. This idea, with many ''many'' changes made, ended up evolving into ''Starlight Express'', whose first version premiered in London in 1984.

After the success of ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' in 1981, Creator/AndrewLloydWebber began looking into writing a musical based on the WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine stories, with his kids in mind, but couldn't get the amount of creative control he wanted from the Rev. W. Awdry. Instead, he pulled up a few older ideas he'd had proposed to him in the 1970s- among them, a musical version of ''Literature/TheLittleEngineThatCould'' and a new version of "Literature/{{Cinderella}}" and initially tried to combine them into the story of a little steam engine who's bullied by her electric and diesel stepsisters, but ends up being chosen as the royal train by the Prince after winning a race and losing a piston in the process, which the Prince uses to track her down. This idea, with many ''many'' changes made, ended up evolving into ''Starlight Express'', whose first version premiered in London in 1984.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: So, ''so'' much.

* GossipyHens: The coaches chat about Rusty's [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar lack of racing experience]] immediately before breaking into "A Lotta Locomotion."

* AxCrazy: C.B.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: C.B. again. Holy ''fuck'', C.B. A cute little caboose with a TenorBoy voice, whose costume and makeup seem designed to make him just look like a cheery little tin soldier, turns out to be a giddy SerialKiller who enjoys crashing the trains he's assigned to ''[[ForTheEvulz just for fun]]'' and has the only real, genuine villain song in the whole thing. Greaseball's a {{Jerkass}}, Electra's an arrogant diva, but neither of them is anywhere near as scary as C.B.

* DepravedHomosexual: C.B., in some productions (and often in fan works).

* BreakThemByTalking: CB/Caboose pulls this on Rusty after [[spoiler:screwing him over during the race]].

'''Caboose:''' ''That’s right, the final is for just those two: the two '''real''' engines. Big strong engines. You call yourself an engine? You’re no engine! 10-10 never again, you’re no engine! 10-7 gone to heaven, YOU’RE NO ENGINE! '''[[EvilLaugh HAHAHAHAHA!!!]]'''''

To the general public, this show is mostly famous for being performed entirely on roller skates, giving the anthropomorphic train characters the ability to move as smoothly as a real train would. Within its own fandom, however, it's known for a ''startling'' amount of {{broken|Aesop}} and {{Family Unfriendly Aesop}}s and dark themes in what's supposedly a musical for all the family. It is also by far the longest running musical in Germany, having achieved over 16 million admissions in Bochum since 1988 in a venue purpose built to house this musical.

* BiTheWay: Electra, who has devoted groupies [[EvenTheGuysWantHim of both sexes]] and proclaims himself to be "AC/DC".