When Good Trains Go Sad

Just to let you know that Starlight Express isn't all bombast, here is my favorite song from the show, a very funny piece of whimsy..  It's sung by the character Dinah (who is, needless-to-say, the dining car...), who has just been dumped by her her boyfriend the diesel engine who sees better pastures, and hits on Pearl, the leading female character.  And Dinah is heartbroken.  The song is a hoot, an homage to the country music classic by Tammy Wynette, "D.I.V.O.R.C.E."  But being trains, this is of course titled, "U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D." 

There's a side note to this, which also explains why I've chosen to play the audio from the original British cast recording, rather than a video of a different production -- besides that it's the best performance.  The actress who sang the song when I saw the show was my favorite in the production, though it's a minor role.  But besides that she was really pretty (hey, especially when you're looking at people heavily made up to look like trains, such things count...), she also had just wonderful spirit and a fun way about her, which comes through in the song.  But not until the other week, 30 years after seeing the show, when I was looking for this video, did I realize that my taste was Really Good.  The young, unknown actress turns out to Frances Ruffelle – who a year later came to fame in the West End, creating the role of Eponine in Les Miserables!  And she took the role to Broadway, and won the Tony Award there in 1987.  (She also later played Roxie Hart on the West End in Chicago, and starred in the title role as Edith Piaf in the London musical, Piaf.)

The song below starts with a little interlude that sets up the number, so it doesn't jump in right away.  And despite the graphic below, that's not from the original production, but a recent tour of the show.

But this is the original.  Frances Ruffelle singing, "U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D."