[The Duchess of Mint]

Dear A.L.W. Fans,

In my personal opinion, two of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals are super Freudian, because they deal with "mother"/ son relationships.

Let's take a moment to look at the musicals Joseph and Starlight. I've always believed that Joseph's Narrator is looking out for Joseph, as though she's a sort of maternal lover. Then, there's Starlight, wherein Control's mother has a sort of power struggle with him before the train action begins. Is it possible that Control's subconsious is playing out some kind of fantasy, in which he must win races for his mother?

I'm only wondering about this issue because mother/ son relationships show up quite prominantly in these shows. Feel free to correct me if I'm totally wrong.

Would A.L.W.'s background give any of us a clue as to why mother/ son relationships seem to exist so prominantly in at least two of his works? Should we assume that Evita is a sort of cruel mother figure to Che, or that Norma Desmond acts as a mother to her younger boyfriend? I'm quite curious to read some opinions about this issue.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[RainbowJude]

I don't know about the validity of this as a theory.

The Narrator in Joseph... was originially a male role, so that either blows the theory out of the water or complicates it immensely. I think that if you have any kind of personal relationship developed between the Narrator and Joseph, that's going to be a directorial choice anyway and therefore has very little to do with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Starlight Express is immensely underdeveloped as a piece of theatre especially in terms of reconciling the framework with the narrative. There's certainly not enough depth in establishing and developing the boy and his mother in the framework to warrant that kind of deep reading into the narrative

I don't think Eva can be read as a mother figure to Ché, while the older woman/younger male romantic relationship always brings up Freudian questions whenever it appears (whether it's Sunset Boulevard, The Graduate or even Desperate Housewives). And that's something inherent to the original film, Lloyd Webber didn't add that it or steer things more strongly in that direction.

And where do all of Lloyd Webber's collaborators fit into this theory?

It's an interesing idea, Duchess, but one I think that is highly problematic, in my opinion.

Later days
David

[Descartes]

[Chi]

I wrote this on another forum awhile back, as a joke.

A New Understanding of Starlight Express, Though Freudian Dream Interpretation

Lets start with Rusty. Rusty is repeatedly held down by those around him. This could represent Control's feelings towards his domineering mother who won't even allow him to stay up and play with his toy trains. Contol's mother believes it is her right to tell Control when to get in an out of bed, just as the other trains think it is their place to boss around poor Rusty.

The coaches represent Control's femininity. Like many young boys, he prefers to let his masculine side reign supreme, which is why the coaches are constantly dominated by their male counterparts. This results in his feminine aspect being misplaced, as is shown by Pearl's inability to find her one true engine of love. Like Control's feminine aspect, Pearl flits from place to place, unable to settle down into a state of stability in which she can learn to truly know herself.

Electra is naturally Control's repressed homosexual desires, and Greaseball is control's macho side, the part of him that just wants to be like other boys. Actually, all of the different engines represent different aspects of Control's personality, fighting for dominance.

The starlight Express is enlightenment. But what is enlightenment really? Is the Starlight Express truly a mystical train, the spirit within Rusty, a hallucination, ore Poppa in disguise? Control is empowered by some inner force, but what is this inner force? Will he ever describe what it truly is? Perhaps not until he resolves his mommy issues...

Okay, so according to Freud trains represent male genetalia. Tunnels represent female genetalia. And then there's the Light At The End of The Tunnel. Well... perhaps I shouldn't go into what that is. This board does have some younger members... However, I think it is safe to say that at it's core Starlight Express is clearly just one big metephor for sex.

So, as you can all see, Starlight Express is the most meaningfull musical ever written. Bravo Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bravo.