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Light at the End of the Tunnel is the gospel-style finale number from the musical Starlight Express . The company (all railway locomotives and cars) perform the number as a glorification to Steam. The solo lines are taken by Poppa, an old Steam Locomotive, (and Belle the Sleeping Car before she was cut).
The music, by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has a gospel feel and starts off in G major.
The lyrics, by Richard Stilgoe, involve many clever plays on words related to the subject of Railway Travel.
The title is an old saying, one of many inspired by the railway. Other's include 'On the Right Track' and 'Full Steam Ahead'.
The lyrics include a verse and a chorus which pay respect the father of steam, James Watt.
and later;
The German version. The title translates as 'A Light at the very end of the Tunnel'.
The Megamix was added into the London re-write in 1992, and was added to the German production in 2003. It is an assortment of verses from 'Light at the End of the Tunnel' with lines/verses from other popular songs added in between.
As the original material was written for two characters as a company to sing, it had to be altered dramatically when one of those characters was deleted. When Belle was cut, several different productions dealt with the loss differently. The London show had Poppa sing the lines she sang in addition to his, and the company took the lines she sang in conversation. In early Bochum, the coaches took all of Belle's lines, and the revised version likened to the London re-write.
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Starlight Express is a 1984 musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and electric engines in the hope of impressing a first-class observation car, Pearl. Famously, the actors perform on roller skates.
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"Starlight Express" is the 'showstopper' number from the musical Starlight Express. In the show, it is performed by Rusty, the show's protagonist. Before the song, he has been told by the old steam engine Poppa of a magical locomotive, named the Starlight Express, who will aid him in need.
"Only You" is the love duet from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express. It is performed by the protagonist, Rusty, a young steam locomotive and his true love, the observation car, Pearl.
The Starlight Sequence is a showstopper from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express. It is performed by Rusty, a young, naive Steam Locomotive and the Starlight Express, a magical Steam Locomotive that comes at midnight to help Steam Locomotives in need. Rusty, who wants to compete in the world championship railway races, has lost self belief because Greaseball and Electra have been taunting him, and his coach, Pearl has dumped him for faster locomotives. In this number, the Starlight Express, sent by Rusty's father, Poppa, has come to tell Rusty that true power comes from within.
Ray Shell is an American film, TV and stage actor, as well as an author, singer, director and producer. He is known for creating the roles of Nomax in Five Guys Named Moe (1990) and Rusty in Starlight Express (1984). He is a Creative Director of the Giant Olive Theatre Company, resident company at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town, London. Shell is the author of the 1993 novel Iced.
Lon Satton was an American singer and actor based in the United Kingdom. He is widely known for originating the role of Poppa in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express, for which Satton received a 1984 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. He is sometimes credited as Lonnie Sattin.
