Let’s Talk About Starlight Express London 2024 CHANGES, STORY, AND REVIEW

[@rubym6803]

I really enjoyed female greaseball, partially because of how amazing Al knott is, but mostly because female engines and male coaches (tassita) removes some of the misogynist themes the older versions had about female depependence on men (“a car can’t go far unless she’s coupled to a star”). Overall, I really hope I get to see the London version someday!

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

Yes me too! She’s awesome! Sad I didn’t get to see her but I wouldn’t trade my experience with Lara for anything!

[@OceanbornAngel]

I'm confused about this. I DON'T like Female Greaseball a lot. It changes the lesson learned drastically. In the Bochum, Germany Show I watched from years and years ago Greaseball was a turd, yes, but by the end of it, after the collision with Electra he apologized to Dinah for being an a-hole. He started out misogynistic but changed for the better. I don't understand how this is offensive when the rude character learns a lesson at the end. I am so confused.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@OceanbornAngel I don’t think that’s what made it offensive. It was more about the coaches all being girls and the engines all being guys, and the engines being like you need us to have any use. Like they still do the same thing in the show. But now some of the coaches are played by guys, and some of the engines are girls I think that they were trying to fix the sexism aspect of that. It wasn’t just greaseball. I feel like it works either way but hey that’s just my opinion

[@clembu2275]

I saw this a few Sundays ago. Arabella Stanton as Control was brilliant, so professional, as were all the cast. It was a good show, I never saw the original which helps as I think a lot of controversy comes from people that loved the original. But I loved the song I Do and that’s fairly new so I’m glad it’s in. The Bochum production changed a lot and the new London version pushes it further. I know a fair bit about the original and I think this simplifies it and makes it more accessible to a younger (“new”) audience. The setting is good even if it’s not in the West End and the setting is great. I plan on taking my 6 year old soon. Good review.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@clembu2275 thank you! Yes it was the same for me I have never seen the original and I do think nostalgia has something to do with it, I hope you and your son enjoy the show! Thank you for watching!

[@TessfromKellstorpe]

Omg grea video!! I watched hus with ny aeg push along edward, the eay you described you and Laura interacting made you two seem like old friends, the editing was awsome! I would love more videos like this! ^-^

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@TessfromKellstorpe thank you! I’ll probably make more!

[@TessfromKellstorpe]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 your welcome! Ignore any spelling errors im a fast typer

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@TessfromKellstorpe it’s ok!

[@Thetrainbloke]

I prefer Slick over the current Bochum CB because that version of CB is nothing like the original, whereas Slick being a new character works because she would have different motivations to CB.

[@marissacarter5232]

Love the vid

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@marissacarter5232 thank you! Glad u enjoyed!

[@feiyan6775]

I love this production! The fuel trucks are good fun but I do feel similarly about the removal of CB, especially if it refers to CB’s original sweet to sordid personality, I feel he was a lot more Intresting that way before they revised his character in 2018 to make him sordid from the beginning but nevertheless, I love this production!! The cast is amazing and I’ve seeing the show a few times and the progress is outstanding as the cast becomes more comfortable with their skating and their roles.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@feiyan6775 this is the best way I’ve seen someone put it! Thanks for watching!

[@Dalek194]

I love that Andrew Lloyd Webber was literally inspired by Thomas the Tank Engine when writing the show. And the cast were amazing, especially since for most of them, it's their first professional production! Really glad that you got to see & enjoy it. One of those things you'll always remember.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@Dalek194 yes it will be!

[@MairiArmstrong-k1k]

Thanks for this great review. I agree with everything you’ve said. I can see why people don’t like it if they have seen one of the earlier versions but there is no need for the mean comments and reviews on other sites. Belle was my favourite her expressions had me in fits of laughter. I hope to see you on the stage one day. 💙

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@MairiArmstrong-k1k thank you! Me too!

[@rhosoftherovers]

In honesty, I would still go and see it (of course), but I just can't help feeling that it has lost it's edge from the snippets that I have seen and heard. The old costumes were great, the new ones look like they belong in Sunday morning cartoons (which I guess makes sense). I'd still rather go to Bochum to see it in German rather than this version as things stand given the choice. Great video by the way. *edit* I think you nailed it on the head when you said there is a space theme going on. The trains look more like space ships from early 80's cartoons!

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@rhosoftherovers thanks for watching! I honestly prefer this new one because I feel in the old one there is little to no character development. But I do understand its charm. And that’s why I’m glad there’s still the German version for those who love the OG starlight express. The space theme is mostly from a planet vibe. In the beginning of the show there’s a little solar system above controls bed, and it goes up and a huge one comes down for the transition into the train world!

[@TheRhosoftherovers]

Do you know the spaceship Starbug from Red Dwarf, that's the kind of vibe the costumes give me.....like a technicoloured Michelin man, rather than high performance racing trains 🤔

[@TheRhosoftherovers]

It used to be aggressive kind of like a roller derby musical, now it's been tamed to 'fun for the whole family', which is understandable but disappointing. Having said that, I might go and see it.....and love it.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@TheRhosoftherovers yes! I thought I was gonna hate all the changes, but in the end it’s still starlight express! And I had so much fun just seeing the show!

[@brookewells7208]

Hi! I just wanted to point out on the matter of the desire for Rusty to have an altered outfit post hydrogen conversion, there was actually a similar thing with the Broadway production where post-Starlight Sequence, they had made a special costume for Rusty to wear for the final race, in which the other participants didn't even recognize him and he introduced himself with "I am... the Starlight Express." They stopped doing it early in the run, since it had to be a super quick costume change in between the most vocally intense song and the most physically intense race - I'm guessing the lack of any change for this production post-hydrogen conversion is the same reason why the Starlight conversion didn't work in the Broadway production.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@brookewells7208 I totally get that, but In this new ones they have I am me reprise and some other stuff to fit it in, so they have at least 2 minutes! It would be really cool to see that!

[@brookewells7208]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 They had the same amount of songs, I believe I Am Me reprise was instead Dinah's Disco! Momma actually does have a Starlight Express costume she wears during the Starlight Sequence in this production (she also has Hydrogen to change), I don't think there's that much more time now for Rusty than there was on Broadway unfortunately especially with having to recover energy during that break, that was the main problem.

[@brookewells7208]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 Okay turns out they did make a Rusty Hydra jacket very early on! One of the cast members just posted a TikTok with halloween decorations backstage and it's in the hallway, wish it could've worked out

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@brookewells7208 could you possibly link the TikTok? I’d love to see it! And me too.

[@OceanbornAngel]

Honestly don't know how I feel about this production. I mean Male Greaseball was my bag as a straight female. Well...I guess I still have Electra to crush on, right? Still prefer the Red, White and Blue costume from the early 2000's. :(

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@OceanbornAngel yes I miss the giant Mohawk too!!

[@sheilal6463]

I loved electra,I loved all of the show.

[@SuperAverageJason]

I love the rundown of the show! I saw this show in London in '98, after having listened to the music for YEARS and I absolutely LOVED IT. I was disappointed when the original run ended and was excited to hear that it came back!

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@SuperAverageJason yes me and many other people are so happy too! Thank you for the kind words!!

[@DerekMckean]

Regarding the title song, did they use a mishmash of 1987 Broadway song ? "When the night is darkest, open up your mind Dream begins, it's becoming clearer Listen to the distant, listen and you'll find A midnight train is getting nearer Starlight Express, Starlight Express Are you real? Yes or no? Starlight Express, answer me yes I don't want you to go Take me to the places I have never been Bring me home safely before I wake up 'Cause I believe in you completely, though you may be unseen This is not the kind of thing that anyone can make up

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@DerekMckean no, they used a version of the 1992 song with minor changes

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

My mistake! A recording surfaced but was taken town, it is the 1987 lyrics! My apologies!

[@DerekMckean]

​@@Nate_the_Great-4472 awesome. I am hoping for a 2024 cast recording. However, with the pandemic and ALW not having a major hit since the 1990s, I'm thinking there's a slight possibility of not getting it or having it delayed by decades. Example. Everyone knows about the OLC of Song and dance recorded live featuring Marti Webb. Major cuts were made once Brightman took over. Brightmans performance was videotaped in 1984 and sounds recorded live at the Palace Theater. It was then broadcasted. However, I'm not sure if it was Broadcasted in the United States. I was too young at the time. Anyhow, a CD recording of this performance wasn't planned, think. And in 2007 totally out of the blue, Really Usefull records released a London cast recording on CD of this performance. But once again , 2007? I remember this poping out of the blue on Amazon. I was like "I never knew there was a OLC recording of Sarah Brightman. I shouldn't say OLC because Marti Webb js the OG. Brightman played the lead role near the end of the original London production. But it's kind of odd that ALW didn't release the album in 1984, only a VHS and television broadcast.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@DerekMckean a cast member posted a tik tok of the starlight cast in a recording studio saying it was for the show so who knows! Hopefully we’ll get one

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@DerekMckean I’m actually going to be making a video talking about this on Saturday so be looking out for that!

[@fawzi880]

It's hard not to live in Europe and be interested in such things😭

[@pikachulover2564]

I saw it recently and I adored it yet I’d still like seeing the one in Bochum as I never saw the original live but I’ve seen the recording and loved the older costume designs

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@pikachulover2564 yes they are very different! I like both versions of the costumes and I too would like to see the German version, just gotta learn the language first 😂

[@pikachulover2564]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 same here like it was a nice show saw it with family and it was a wonderful experience I also like both costume designs yet the old one are a bit more favored to me yet the new productions has nice things as well I think Al Knott did wonderful as Greaseball

[@butterbook]

What was stereotypical of the national trains? As someone of Italian descent....I found the accents hilarious! And who was complaining about them to cut them? They were basically flags on skates....but maybe in these times....the wrong flags waving in the air, but flags nonetheless.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@butterbook I also think the accents are really funny! But it’s very hard to do in 2024 as it’s very easy for people to complain on the internet and they just have thought it’s better to just take the safe route with this one

[@butterbook]

@Nate_the_Great-4472 I hear you...but safe is always boring and I guarantee that internet comments do not translate into paying consumers.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@butterbook I know, but it’s not important to the story so as much as I am sad to see them go, it’s not a huge loss

[@richardcoleman1616]

There is a correlation between the nationalities and the songs and character relationships. For example, Greaseball coming with Dinah from the USA. He is the 'elvis' character singing rock and roll while she sings country. Also makes more sense when he ditches her for the final race for her then to sing uncoupled. Also having the UK train arriving late makes the joke more funny as UK trains are notoriously late compared to say a Japanese bullet train. Having coloured trains makes me think of a pre-school Netflix show and instantly downgrades them to not main characters compared to the 3 main ones. With the old show you got the feeling any country could win whereas now right from the start there's only 3 main contenders. As much as I loved this new production the loose story is even more muddled up. Crazy being moved takes away from the audience seeing the relationship building between rusty and pearl. The show has tried to update but gone too woke. It's a great show for the spectacle but the story is more confused and character relationships are lost.

[@butterbook]

@richardcoleman1616 ALW went woke and the box office proves what a horrible choice that was.

[@martindowson2159]

Hydra was the best skater, the eye contact from the cast was definitely a nice change

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@martindowson2159 yes it was fun! The actor who played hydra was actually in the Bochum production so he was more experienced than the rest of the cast skating wise

[@pepsilord3058]

I'm happy for Greaseball being played by a woman, but I draw the line at C.B being written out (Emily martinez knocked it out of the park but I wish she played C.B)

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@pepsilord3058my thoughts exactly! He was such a fun character

[@butterbook]

Question: did you ever see the original or Las Vegas versions? If you did...you would realize that all of hard earned money showed up on the stage and performance in those productions. This production look like a shrinkflation version.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@butterbook so I wasn’t alive when the lad Vegas version was happening! I do think this one is much smaller, and I do miss some of the bigger elements like the bridge, but I like to futuristic design of the new one too! I think they both have their pros and cons

[@butterbook]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 the Apollo version was spectacular and could still be playing today if ALW did not go the woke route with Bombay dreams. Quick ..name a tume from that show! We sacrificed starlight for that piece of $h#t? Tragic

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@butterbook I have seen a bootleg of the Apollo version, and yes it is amazing, but it was also really dangerous. Safety is really important and even on this smaller set there have been some accidents

[@psrpippy]

Having seen the original london production several times in the 80’s and 90’s and being married to a member of the original production staff I couldn’t wait to go and see this revival. I hated it. I’m so very sorry but it isn’t a patch on the old version. I hated the set, the fact they’ve changed the characters and that greaseball is now a woman. What i did love was that Control is now a visible member of the cast. I understand that this is progress but I just hated it. Sorry 😢

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@psrpippy never be sorry for having a different opinion! Thank you for being respectful about it though! Yes there are a lot of differences, and it’s not for everyone! What about a woman greaseball didn’t you like? Just curious because they do the same thing in the story and I thought it did work

[@psrpippy]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 I just didn’t like the fact that greaseball was a woman. The character is very masculine and I don’t think she pulled it off, I also didn’t think she sang particularly well, she seemed to shout more than sing. Changing Poppa to Momma is a lovely change and I really loved her character but I just couldn’t get my head around Greaseball. I also noticed Dinah still keeps the Line “I’m a van without a man” in the song U N C O U P L E D so it made no sense. I guess if I want the real Starlight experience I’ll be heading back to Bochum to see the German show.

[@Dalek194]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 for what it's worth, I love Al Knott's Greaseball. Yes, she's different, but there's already an Elvis-esque character in a famous ALW show (Pharaoh in Joseph) so there's room here to evolve the role a bit.

[@sheilal6463]

Unfortunately they cant please everyone.

[@PBMAug]

Is it any chance u make close captions, please?

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@PBMAug sorry! I can’t really control that!

[@widowsbrutality]

8:30 Do you know what happened? I can’t find any information on it when I look.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

Yes! So basically during one of the races , greaseball and blue lightning had a collision when coming down the ramp and they had to go to the hospital and they both took a few days odd

[@widowsbrutality]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 Would the show be able to go on after that? Because I’m not sure it would be possible (just curious)

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@widowsbrutality yes! I talked to one of the people who work at the theater, they said the those two just didn’t go on for the rest of act 1, and the swings took over mid show for act 2

[@widowsbrutality]

@@Nate_the_Great-4472 thank god for swings

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@widowsbrutality yes! As someone who does theater, and Ive been a swing before too, they’re essential!

[@butterbook]

This production looks like a Jerry Lewis Telethon stage.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@butterbook can’t say I completely agree or disagree with ya 😂

[@ZacBrzuchalski]

David Brown was my favorite Greaseball in the Bochum production! I'm glad he's in this production.... but i don't care for a female Greaseball.

[@Nate_the_Great-4472]

@@ZacBrzuchalski just curious, why not? I mean the characters does the exact same thing

[@sheilal6463]

the female Greaseball is fantastic. I also enjoyed Momma :)