CB is a character from the musical Starlight Express

Starlight Express

Starlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...

. He's a crowd favourite but was removed from the New London and On Ice productions. He seems to have a split personality. Since he is the Caboose, he is willing to help the other trains with their work. Later on, he gets tired of helping them and then decides to sabotage Rusty

Rusty the Steam Engine

Rusty is a fictional character from the musical Starlight Express. He is the protagonist of the musical. Rusty is a steam engine, relegated to the sidings, who dreams of winning the Championship Engine of the World races. He is roundly mocked for this ambition, as steam is old fashioned, and...

 in the race. But when he is racing with Electra

Electra the Electric Train

Electra the Electric Engine is a fictional character from the rock musical Starlight Express.Electra is the newest train to enter the yard and, therefore, Control's newest toy. He comes with his own line of components that are loyal to him. He's rich, self-centered and sexy. His eyes are set on...

, he gets fought over by Electra and Greaseball

Greaseball the Diesel

Greaseball is a character in the rock musical Starlight Express. He is the alpha male of the train yard. He's self confident, suave and a heartbreaker. All the ladies loves him but Dinah is his main squeeze. He and his gang put Rusty down, breaking his spirits. He trips Rusty during one of the...

, and ends up crashing both of them.

Many people think that Caboose is in love with Dinah, and that is why he wants to crash Greaseball (who Dinah loves) and Electra (who she briefly races with). This is also often thought to be his motive behind singing "There's Me".
Of course, there is also the theory that he is simply insane with no real logic behind his motives or actions.

In the original production he had a name, C.B., presumably after CB radios (this may also be one of Richard Stilgoe

Richard Stilgoe

Richard Henry Simpson Stilgoe OBE is a British songwriter, lyricist and musician. He is noted for clever wordplay as much as for his music....

's many beloved puns, as it is almost an abbreviation of 'Caboose'). There is a scene in the Original London production, where Greaseball enters and says, 'Hi C.B.' and C.B. answers 'Hi G.B.', supporting the abbreviation train of thought. Several examples of CB radio code

CB slang

CB slang is the distinctive anti-language, argot or cant which developed amongst users of citizens' band radio , especially truck drivers in the USA during the 1970s and early-1980s....

 pepper his lines, including 'ten-seven', which means a dead body (said when he's mocking Rusty after holding him back in the Uphill Final), and 'smokey bear', which refers to a sheriff. From Broadway onwards, however, he dropped all references to CB radios and was known only as 'The Red Caboose'.In Expreso Astral, the 1997 Mexican production, Red Caboose was literally translated to 'Cabus Rojo'. He was not in "Starlight Express on Ice", since he was taken out of the New London production, on which On Ice was based.

Character

C.B was (in London) and is (in Bochum) one of the more prominent characters. He was the overall baddie and lynchpin of the plot, manipulating champion engines Greaseball and Electra. In the UK tour he became a less prominent character (technically ensemble, demoted along with Buffy

Buffy the Buffet Car

Buffy is the smart, sweet and sassy buffet car from Starlight Express. Buffy, being the most mature of the cars in most productions, usually gives the best advice she can when it's needed...

 and Ashley

Ashley the Smoking Car

Ashley is the smoking car from Starlight Express, a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber which follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life. She's sweet and loving but has a bad habit when it comes to smoking...

), so that Electra and Greaseball had to plot things for themselves. He did, however, still manipulate them, but it was not as obvious - and while all of his songs had been removed to keep him cheap ensemble, the introduction to 'Wide Smile, High Style', in which all the plotting is done, remained. Presumably it is close enough to dialogue to not count as a solo.

In June 2008 his role was reduced in Bochum, with 'Dein Freund' cut (apparently to make room for Pearl's newly translated ballad 'Dann pfeift er mir zu '/'He'll Whistle at me'), along with its reprise in 'Bummellok'. Greaseball and Gang now participate in 'Mein Spiel', disappearing just in time for Electra and Components to come on and do their dance.
C.B. is the most evil person on the rails (save Greaseball).

C.B starts off one of his songs with a small anecdote describing heroes going bad;
'All those heroes you love to trust, in the end they all go bust!
Robin hood kept all the money, piglet poisened pooh-bear's honey!
ET has no flying permit, Donald Duck has eaten Kermit!
Bambi set the woods alight! And the Red Caboose has done no right!'

Musical Numbers

London

• Freight - with other trucks
• There's me - to Dinah
• C.B - With Electra and Components
• I was robbed - With Rusty, Electra, Pearl and Greaseball
• One Rock n' Roll Too many - With Greaseball

Bochum

• Fracht - with other trucks
• Dein Freund - with Dinah(cut in 2008)
• Mein Spiel - With Electra and Components
• Ein Rock n' Roll Zuviel - With Electra and Greaseball

US / UK Tour

• Freight - with other trucks
• Wide Smile (US) - With Greaseball, Electra and Components
• I was robbed - With Rusty, Electra, Pearl and Greaseball
• One Rock n' Roll Too many - With Electra and Greaseball

New London

• Cut - for a brief experimental period, There's Me was sung by Dustin, then re-worked to be sung by Dinah as That's Me (with lyrics about her own personality, and why she allows Greaseball to treat her so atrociously), before being completely cut.

Starlight on Ice

• Cut.

Costume

Originally he had grey leggings and a huge hat with a radio aerial, but from Broadway onwards he was in a red unitard with black pinstripes and latex accessories that are designed to look like a caboose. He wears a hat that looks like a train driver's. His costume features several logos of now-defunct railway companies - his hunting trophies, as it were. He is loosely based on a design of Caboose of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. This motif is also recognisable on Pearl's belt in the Las Vegas/Tour productions, as well as being on his chest panel.

Caboose does not usually wear a wig, but uses his own hair, mostly covered by his hat. Actors have been known to dye or bleach their hair to suit. He often styles his fringe up into a large quiff. In the UK tour, his fringe is gelled into spiky style popular among schoolboys.

Actors

London

• Michael Staniforth
  Michael Staniforth
  Michael Staniforth , born in Selly Oak, Birmingham, was a British stage actor who entertained both children and adults alike as ghostly jester Timothy Claypole, a mischievous medieval poltergeist, in the long-running BBC children's television comedy series Rentaghost...
  
  
• Paul Reeves
• Robin Wright
• Peter Rees
• Eddie Kemp
• William Adams

Broadway

• Barry K. Bernal

Japan/Australia

• Peter Rees

Bochum

• Hans Johansson
• Roderick Cloud
• Kapa Kitchen
• Robert Pigott
• Thierry Gondet
• Steven Schultz
• Murray Golding
• Rob Fowler
• Oliver Rhoe Thornton
• Anthony Kirwan
• Craig Perry
• Nivaldo Allves
• Ben Draper
• Marcel Brauneis
• Gordon Gesatzki

First US Tour

• Todd Lester

Las Vegas

• T. Robert Pigott
• Chris Castillo
• Ken Romero

Mexico

• Christian Uribe

Second US Tour

• Jeremy Kocal

UK Tour

• Grant Murphy
• Stuart Armfield
• Cameron Neilson
• Ben Draper

New Zealand Tour

• Duane McGregor