Pearl the Observation Car

Pearl is the "new girl" character and female lead in the West End musical "Starlight Express". She is a railway observation carriage, although in Germany she is referred to as the "first class car". Rusty is madly in love with her but when he asks her to race with him, she rejects him, explaining her reason that she has "a train I dream about, an engine moved by steam" who is the engine for her. She first races with Electra and then, with Greaseball after he dumps Dinah. During the final race, she is too interested in watching Rusty and isn't paying attention to the race itself. Greaseball uncouples her mid race, causing her to nearly crash. At the last moment, she is saved by Rusty. While the race continues, she slips away to think, and finally realizes that Rusty has been the one for her all along.

Perla is the name that was given to Pearl in the 1997 Mexican production, Expreso Astral, that played at the Teatro Polanco in Mexico City. Many of the characters were given new, more Spanish names in this production. Perla's biggest songs were Me Chiflará (He'll Whistle at Me), No Resiste Mi Corazón (Make Up My Heart, literally translates as: "My Heart Does not resist " ) and Si Buscas Otro Amor (Next Time You Fall in Love, literally translates as "If You look for Another Love").

Pearl's character

Pearl is young and innocent, often played by teenagers (notably 16 year old Maria Jane Hyde, and 17 year old Kim Leeson), but has a dramatic change in character during the show. She lets down two of her closest friends—Rusty, when she breaks her promise to race with him, and later Dinah, when she steals Greaseball. In the mocking "Laughing stock", she stands by and does nothing as Greaseball and Electra (and their respective entourages) taunt Rusty.She starts to see the error of her ways when Greaseball uncouples her during the final, leaving her to be rescued by Rusty. She then realises who her real friends are.

Inspiration

The character of Pearl is possibly based on Olivia Newton-John. This is most obvious in the earlier productions, but the UK tour portrayed her as a 21st century girl-group singer . Her name, Pearl, is possibly due to the fact she is a Pullman Car. The Pullman company named each of their coaches; after precious stones, as well as mythological characters, flowers and popular names of the time.

Name and Classification

Over the 24 years that Pearl has existed, many different clues to her classification have appeared in the show and on her costume.

From Broadway onwards the word 'observation' has appeared on her costume across the bust, clearly marking her as an observation coach along with the fact that Control refers to her as such when introducing the competitors in the races.

Although Pullman never used the monogramme 'PM' to mark their coaches, and 'Pullman' is one word, the monogramme that appears on Pearl's skirt in the Broadway design could be intended to stand for the company, marking her as a Pullman car. Perhaps the use of the was deemed too obscure a reference for the audience to understand, and a 'P' would only appear to stand for 'Pearl', resulting in this unusual detail.

From 2003 onwards in the Bochum production in Germany, Pearl's verse in Ne Lok Mit Lokomotion(A Lotta Locomotion) has concluded 'als erste klasse weltbekannt!', meaning 'Everyone know's I'm First Class!'. Previously it had been a direct translation of 'ain't gonna smoke, ain't gonna drink -' 'What are you gonna do?' '- whaddya think?', as in all English language productions. Control introduces her pre-race as 'Pearl, die Erste Klasse Wagen'.

In the same year in the US, Pearl's new costume had the 'PRR' symbol of the Pennsylvania Railroad on her belt, as the front panel of her skirt was no longer there. This symbol also appears on Caboose's shoulder box, possibly one of his hunting trophies.

Choreography

Pearl, like Electra , is one of the show's leading dance roles. Half her character is carried in her individual style of moving. Her numbers, such as 'Make Up My Heart' and 'He'll Whistle At Me' are accompanied by very balletic, yet contemporary routines. She has lots of 'signature moves' that are personal to her. One of the most common moves is the imitation of Rusty's arm movement, (although she does not have her hands in fists as he does). This is most likely some representation of her facination with steam locomotives. Others, include a sweeping hand movement in 'He'll Whistle At Me', some kind of imitation of an Electra move in verse two of 'Make Up My Heart', and sweeping movement into her well known 'pose' (see picture of Gemma Atkins further down this page). She even has her own way of pirouetting - cluthing her hands to her heart and stopping with a balance on the stopper of her skate.

Major Songs

Original London
*"Call me Rusty" - Quintet with Rusty, Ashley, Dinah and Buffy
*"A Lotta Locomotion" - Quartet with Dinah, Buffy, and Ashley
*"He Whistled at me" - Solo
*"Only He" - Solo.
*"Only You" - Duet with Rusty

Revised London
*"A Lotta Locomotion" - Quartet with Dinah, Buffy, and Ashley
*"He'll Whistle at me" - Solo
*"Crazy" - Quintet with Rusty, Ashley, Dinah and Buffy
*"Make Up My Heart" - Solo
*"Next time you fall in love" - Duet with Rusty

Bochum
*"Liebesexpress" - Quintet with Rusty, Ashley, Dinah and Buffy(Translates as: Love train. English equivalent: Engine of Love) (Later shortened)
*"Ne Lok mit Locomotion" - Quartet with Dinah, Buffy, and Ashley (Translates as: "A Locomotive with locomotion", English Equivalent: A Lotta Locomotion)
*"Crazy" - Quintet with Rusty, Ashley, Dinah and Buffy(added to the show in 2003)
*"Hilf Mir Versteh'n" - Solo (Translates as: "Help me to understand", English Equivalent: Make up my heart)
*"Allein im Licht der Sterne" or "Du Allein" - Duet with Rusty (Translate as: Alone in the Starlight, and You alone, English Equivalents: Next time you fall in love, and Only You )

Revised Bochum
*"Ne Lok mit Locomotion" - Quartet with Dinah, Buffy, and Ashley (Translates as: "A Locomotive with locomotion", English Equivalent: A Lotta Locomotion)
* "Dann pfeift er mir zu"(English equivalent: "He'll whistle at me")
*"Crazy" - Quintet with Rusty, Ashley, Dinah and Buffy(added to the show in 2003)
*"Hilf mir verstehen" - Solo (Translates as: "Help me to understand", English Equivalent: Make up my heart)
* "Nur mit ihm"(English equivalent: "Only He". This is akin to the UK Tour version though, with Rusty joining in halfway through. This song was originally cut from London on technical grounds - Pearl, having just raced half of the Downhill Final, did not have enough time to get her breath back for a tough power ballad.) with Rusty, replacing "Allein im Licht der Sterne".

Japan/Australia tour
*"Engine of Love" - Quintet with Rusty, Ashley, Dinah and Buffy
*"A Lotta Locomotion" - Quartet with Dinah, Buffy, and Ashley
*"Make up My Heart" - Solo
*"Only You" - Duet with Rusty

US and UK tours
*"A Whole Lotta Locomotion" - Quartet with Dinah, Buffy, and Ashley
*"He'll Whistle at me" - Solo
*"Crazy" - Quintet with Rusty, Ashley, Dinah and Buffy
*"Make up My Heart" - Solo
*"Next time you fall in love"(US and early UK) or "Only He/You"(UK) - Duet with Rusty

Expreso Astral
*"No Resiste Mi Corazón" - Solo
*"Si Buscas Otro Amor" - Duet with Rusty
*"Me Chiflará" - Solo

Costume

Over previews in the 1984 London production, Pearl went through at least four separate costumes. Two outfits were a combination of hot pink with black, while the others were pink and white, as they tried to establish what best suited her character. They settled on a mostly white design, with black piping and a puffball skirt.From 1992 onwards she had "Observation" written across the front of her costume and "PM" (Short for Pullman) on her skirt in London, as this was the costume Reva Rice had worn on Broadway and the US Tour. The base was a salmon pink.

The Bochum, Japan/Australia, first US tour and "New" London productions all used the Broadway design, with the all-over pink lycra, paneled skirt with the 'PM' monogram and 'Observation' on a panel across the chest. In London the design was soon adapted and altered, since the designs were flexible there, and lost the 'Observation' panel in favour of a visible cleavage, influenced by Las Vegas redesign.

Although the Las Vegas production initially used the Coaches' costumes from the first US tour, they were soon changed to suit their environment. The leggings came off, the necklines plunged and the skirts shrunk. This was the costume used on the second US tour, and the design came over for the UK tour. Pearl's skirt lost its front panel revealing the crotch of her leotard, and the 'PM' monogram with it. It was replaced by an 'PRR' monogram on her belt, which is the symbol of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company (also represented on Caboose).

For the obscure Starlight on Ice production, Pearl's colours changed as well as her whole outfit design. There is no pink but only silver and blue. She wore a skirt fashioned as a wheel around her waist, but it's much shorter than in the original productions. She wore gloves that looked like metal framed windows and wore a small hat.

Wigs and Make-Up

Pearl usually has a pink wig, but there have been instances (Reva Rice on Broadway, Lovette George in Bochum) where she either hasn't had a wig at all, or it has been black.

Lovette George's wig was the standard style of topknot with braids and a huge fringe, and great long curls, with lots of sparkly bits pinned in, just made up of black hair rather than pink. Reva Rice originally had no wig at all, which had the unfortunate effect of making the back of her black hair disappear into the background, making her head appear to be about half the size of everyone else's. She also had her hair styled into a bun, presumably to give the look of a ballet dancer, rather than a top-knot. After Broadway, though, she wore a pink wig like everyone else.

In the London production, Pearl's pink wig had a topknot style with a clip behind it. In America, she had a "chimney" styled accessory which made her topknot stand up. In Bochum, she has a topknot with a tiara round it.Now it is a pink/ purple with black streaks.In Starlight on Ice, she had a simple ponytail style. She had, rather than pink hair, blonde hair in that production.

Until recently, with the above exceptions, Pearl has always had a variety of pink hair styles. For the recent US and current UK tours however, the delicate pink wig has been removed in favour of a dark beige blonde colour, which ends just at her shoulders. Presumably the decision to give her a more 'realistic' colour and style was made in a momentary lapse of memory of the fact that Pearl is the anthropomorphic embodiment of a toy railway carriage in a child's dream.

Pearl's Make-Up follows a colour scheme of pink and white, and occasionally purple or blue in her eye shadow. She wears pink lipstick that is (in some productions) slightly glittery.

Actresses

Although initially played by the mature Stephanie Lawrence, Pearl's part is written for a young, musical-theatre soprano. Some of her songs have at times been transposed down for mezzo sopranos to sing.

In Bochum, Pearl is almost always understudied by the actress playing Dinah. Most actresses play Pearl after a year of playing Dinah due to knowing the part so well. These include;

* Nina Pressing
* Clarissa Grace Quinlan
* Rachael Wooding
* Amanda Coutts
* Katie Stewart

Danni Kearsley-Wooller(now Wing) understudied all of the coaches in London(first as Ashley, then as a swing), frequently going on as Pearl, and went on to play Pearl in the German production.

London

*Stephanie Lawrence
* Kim Leeson
* Maria Jane Hyde
* Beverley Brabon
* Reva Rice
* Sam Lane
* Shelley Meredith
* Claudia Bradley
* Amanda Salmon
* Cheryl McAvoy
* Marissa Dunlop
*Jo Gibb

Broadway

* Reva Rice

Japan/Australia

* Nikki BelsherFirst US Tour

* Reva Rice

Bochum

* Maria Jane Hyde
* Lovette George
* Claudia Bradley
* Rachelle Rak
* Deborah Odell
* Cheryl McAvoy
* Jennifer Vaden
* Nina Pressing
* Clarissa Grace Quinlan
* Danni Kearsley-Wooller(now Wing)
* Rachel Wooding
* Amanda Coutts
* Katie Stewart
* Carla Langridge(nee Pullen)

Japan Tour

* Nikki Belsher

Las Vegas

* Reva Rice
* Dawn Marie Church

Mexico

* Maru Dueñas

On Ice

* Jennifer Schmitz

Second US tour

* Clarissa Grace Quinlan

UK Tour

* Jane Horn
* Miria Parvin
* Gemma Atkinsn.b. this list does not contain understudies, and several of the actresses mentioned played the part more than once in a production.

Musical Showstar

In Germany, a televised search for a musical theatre star ran March - April 2008. This was won by Anna-Maria Schmidt, resulting in the first ever native German Pearl. However, in august 2008 she turned the role down, wanting to go to university instead.cite web
url=http://www.starlightexpress.de/index.php?id=597
title=Wer Wird der Musical Showstar 2008?]

References