The Rockies are the boxcars, part of the Freight train in Starlight Express.
Role
We first meet the Rockies in Freight, as Rusty is sent to shunt the Freight train into place. The three near-identical Rockies are boxers, focused on their physical fitness and sparring with each other. The Rockies watch as the National Engines are introduced, and are sucked in to Electra's power in AC/DC. They dance and joke around while Greaseball is showing off in Pumping Iron. As the National Engines hitch up with their partners, Rocky 1 agrees to race with Prince of Wales in the second heat.
The Rockies hang out with Poppa in the freight yard, listening to him singing The Blues as they practice their breakdancing moves and co-ordinate their choreography. While the Prince of Wales being scrapped is very convenient for Poppa to take his place in the race, it does leave Rocky 1 without a race partner which upsets him.
Rusty brings the Rockies to Poppa at the end of the Race, some of them blaming Rusty for Poppa having worked himself into the ground. But they're loyal to their Steamer friends, prepared to defend them physically from their attackers.
After Rusty is wrecked by Caboose in the Uphill final, the Rockies offer him some tough love in "Right Place, Right Time". They have a rather fatalistic outlook on life, sometimes life sucks, you gotta move on. Rocky 1 tells Rusty "Face it, Rusty, you're out of it." The little steam shunter they know so well wouldn't be able to race against the big engines. But when the Starlight Express inspires Rusty to win, the Rockies are as delighted as anyone to have been proven wrong.
Character
The Rockies are a reference to the Rocky Movie Franchise, starring Sylvester Stallone. The connection running that Rocky/boxer/Box cars, multiple identical units. This source material influenced the choreography, with many boxing movements and poses, and the original costume design, consisting of boxer shorts, vest top, protective helmet, and tape stripe across the nose.
In 1983/84 when the original production was workshopped, there were three Rocky movies, and three Rockies onstage. By the opening of the Broadway production in 1987, the 4th Rocky movie (1985) had been produced, so a 4th Rocky was added onstage for Broadway, Japan/Australia, and Bochum. By 1990 however, Rocky 4 was cut from the German cast. London remained with only 3 Rockies.
In 2003, the 2nd US tour decided to modernise the show, and remove the outdated 1980s references. The Rockies were replaced by the Hip Hoppers, a play on "Hip Hop", and Hoppers such as already represented in the show by Dustin. The following UK Tour kept the new characters, however restoring some of their original music (thereby cutting the hip hop music), and the Bochum production followed suit in 2007. Unfortunately the 6th Rocky film, which came out in 2006 and revived interest in the franchise, did not influence the productions.
Appearance
Gallery
Cast
Many of the actors who have portrayed the Rockies did so for many years, and often switched between roles. It was common for Rockies 2 and 3 to understudy Rocky 1.
London
| 1984 - 1985 | Danny John Jules | Attlee Baptiste | Richard Bodkin |
| 1985 - 1986 | Attlee Baptiste | Ruel George Campbell | Sebastian Craig |
| 1986 - 1987 | Sebastian Craig | Ruel George Campbell | Winston Pitt |
| 1987 | Attlee Baptiste | Tristan Rafael | Rory Williams |
| 1987 - 1988 | Rory Williams | Mykal Rand | Trevor Hodge |
| 1988 - 1989 | Antoni Garfield Henry | KFTD | Rory Williams |
| 1989 | Mykal Rand | KFTD | Rory Williams |
| 1989 - 1990 | Antoni Garfield Henry | KFTD | Rory Williams |
| 1990 - 1996 | KFTD | Algernon Williams | Rory Williams |
| 1996 - 1997 | Rory Williams | Algernon Williams | Jason Pennycooke |
| 1997 - 1998 | KFTD | David Obinyan | Rory Williams |
| 1998 - 1999 | David Obinyan | Tim Noble | Segourney Robinson |
| 1999 - 2000 | Michael Skyers | Rob Grose | Algernon Williams |
| 2000 - 2001 | Martin Boothe / Michael Skyers | Rob Grose | Algernon Williams |
| 2001 - 2002 | Scott Murtaugh | Leo Bidwell | Algernon Williams |
Broadway
| 1987 - 1988 | Frank Mastrocola | Sean Grant | Ronald Garza | Angel Vargas |
| 1988 - 1989 | Bryan Batt | Sean Grant | Ronald Garza | Angel Vargas |
Japan / Australia Tours
| 1987 | Keith Tyrone | Marvin Engran | Antoni Garfield Henry | KFTD |
| 1990 | Winston Pitt | Algernon Williams | Jim Harrison | Mitsuko Tokuhisa |
Bochum, Germany
| 1988 - 1989 | Lamott Atkins | Sebastian Craig | Gregory McKinnon | Rodney McGuire |
| 1989 | Lamott Atkins | Martin Boothe | Gregory McKinnon | Rodney McGuire |
(2007 Replaced by Hip Hoppers)
US Tour 1989 - 1991
| 1989 - 1991 | Ronald Garza | Dwight Toppin | Angel Vargas |
Las Vegas 1993 - 1997
| 1993 - 1994 | Michael Carl King | David Enriquez | Jim Harrison |
| 1994 - 1995 | Michael Carl King | Tony Cordell | Leo Alvarez |
| 1995 - 1996 | - | ||
| 1996 - 1997 | Troy V McLaughlin | Allen Lev | Angelo Rivera |
US Tour 2003 - 2004
(Replaced by Hip Hoppers)
UK Tours 2004 - 2008
(Replaced by Hip Hoppers)
NZ Tour 2009
(Replaced by Hip Hoppers)
UK Tour 2012-2013
(Replaced by Hip Hoppers)
Trivia
- There were four boxcars by Broadway, but the fourth boxcar was cut from Bochum, following the 1989 Cast.
- Rumours abound that Rocky 4 was cut from the show after a bad accident.
- The Rockies were replaced by the Hip Hoppers in 2007 in Bochum, but the Hip Hoppers are still described as "Box Cars" in the German script.