Poppa background and role

Poppa background and role

Personality;

An old, retired steam engine, Poppa was the former champion many years before Greaseball came 

into the picture. He is also the oldest train in the trainyard. He preaches of the Starlight Express, a god-like entity who will help those who call upon him. He is revered and loved by the Freight and Rusty, but disregarded as a doddery, old fool by pretty much everyone else.

Poppa is generally believed to be Rusty's father, although this has never been explicitly stated in any production. In the original London production, Poppa would refer to Rusty as "son", and even in a line in Laughing Stock, "that's my boy". Whether Poppa is literally Rusty's father, or not, he is clearly a father-figure to Rusty and the Freight.

Role;

We first meet Poppa in a scene change after the first race, as we move to the freight yard. Poppa is singing The Blues, while the Hip Hoppers dance along, Dustin plays the Mouth Organ and Flat-top kills time waiting for something more fun to happen. Rusty comes to them, very depressed that he's lost Pearl as a race partner. Poppa reminds Rusty that the Starlight Express will help if he just believes in himself. With moments before the race closes Poppa then decides to show him - "I'm gonna show you that a steamer with the power within him, Can take on oil, and take on Electricity! Who'll come with me? Who'll come with me? Race behind me?" hip hopper 1 has hooked up with the British Train, Flat-top flat-out refuses, but Dustin is really excited at the opportunity. The trouble that the race card is full is conveniently solved as the British train is scrapped, which Poppa interprets as a sign from the Starlight Express.

Poppa and Dustin race against Turnov and wrench . More by chance than design, Poppa and Dustin manage to win the race. But he's over-exerted himself, and collapses, gravely ill. Rusty and the Freight come to congratulate him, but find him unable to carry on. Poppa begs Rusty to take his place in the final, but Rusty still feels he can't - "I couldn't face that losing shame". Greaseball and Gang, Electra, Pearl and Components all catch up and mock the steamers, calling them "Laughing Stock". Seeing Pearl with Electra is the final straw for Rusty, he takes Poppa's helmet from him and steps up.

Later, in "The Rap", a big argument rages, does Poppa have the right to give away his place to his choice of replacement? Poppa and Rusty eventually win the argument, and Rusty keeps his place in the final.

Poppa, old, and worn out, is not seen again until the end of the downhill final, where the winner, Rusty, has disappeared. Well, Rusty went looking for Pearl, but where is Pearl? Poppa picks up the wrecked Greaseball, who had disconnected Pearl at high speed during the race, and makes him lead Poppa and most of the cast to find Rusty and Pearl. Once they find the young lovers, Poppa leads the finale "Light At The End Of The Tunnel"

Rusty Background and role

Rusty Background and role

Personality;

Rusty is a sweet, timid, and innocent steam train. He is also easily provoked, which is shown when Pearl rejects him and he refuses to race without her. The freight trucks and the carriages are fond of him, but don't believe he has the ability to race. He has big ideas of who he is and who he wants to be, but he is left heart-broken when everyone, especially Pearl, ridicules him.

Sometimes, he is portrayed as a hopeless dreamer, far inferior to his more advanced competitors. Other actors portray him as having the potential to become champion, but he lacks the self-confidence. The original London production saw him as a much angrier character, as shown in "Call Me Rusty (If You Dare)". However, subsequent productions portray as a more optimistic, cheerful character, as shown in “Crazy".

Role;

Rusty is the main character of Starlight Express. The young steam engine, he has big dreams of winning the race and the heart of the beautiful Pearl.

Rusty is a steam shunter engine - his job on the railway is to move the rolling stock, assemble trains, but he is not designed for high speeds or long distances.

Electra background and role

Electra background and role

Personality;

The Engine of the Future, Electra represents the excitement and danger of the unknown.  Electra

brings star presence with his entourage of Components.

While generally portrayed by a male actor, there have been numerous occasions where the role has been played by a female understudy, and the subtext to "AC/DC" suggest that Electra is both bisexual and gender fluid, in short, an neutral character who chooses not to follow rules.  This is in direct contrast to his main rival Greaseball, who is as masculine and testosterone-fuelled as possible.

Role;

Entering as a surprise contestant, Electra shows up just as Control is about to close entries. His approach drains the power to the train yard, causing a black-out and loss of movement to the other characters. Out of the gloom, a laser shoots out, and one by one Electra's components emerge. They build the anticipation calling for "Electra, Electra!" Finally he appears, shockingly outrageous yet magnetically attractive ("AC/DC") “I am electric, the future is me”. During his song he glances around and decides Pearl is suitably shiny to be his race partner, and literally draws her to him, despite Rusty’s protests. Indeed Rusty is the only character strong enough to resist Electra's attraction. However Electra doesn't always get his way; during Pumping Iron he temporarily loses half his components to Greaseball's rock'n'roll appeal. Greaseball and Electra are the main rivals for the title of Champion - none of the other characters consider Rusty a viable competitor. When Pearl doesn't immediately respond positively to Electra's message sent through Purse, he finds her in person and easily persuades her to race with him, not Rusty. In the Original production, Electra raced with Pearl in Heat 2 and beat Rusty and Belle. However when the races were re-formatted to a more condensed format, Electra races head to head with Greaseball, and they draw in a dead heat, leaving their feud to be decided in the final race. During The Rap, Electra finally loses control of Pearl. He decides second best would be Dinah, and dispatches Purse to fetch her. However Dinah is never a satisfactory partner, too easily distracted by the sight of her ex, Greaseball, and she complains far too much. So when she disconnects him, he turns to Caboose, despite him revealing his traitorous nature to Electra. Caboose's insane manoeuvrings in the final race end up being Electra's downfall, causing a crash that allows Rusty to take the lead, and the title.