THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE A REVIEW

When Tennessee Williams play "THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANY MORE" was first presented on Broadway exactly 48 years ago I was in college and was reviewing plays for the school paper, and found this to be an overwritten ,relentlessly shrill, and heavy-handed bore. It was a failure closing after only nine weeks, and has not had much of an afterlife since,so I approached this production of it with strong missgivings, and was expecting another dull, endless theatre evening, and were my worse fears well-founded? Of course not.
This is mainly because director Michael Wilson has taken this dull vapid play and turned it into a powerful and sometimes stunning show that is beautifully staged and and is chock`full of wonderful acting.
It concerns a wealthy American widow who has detached herself from society and has retreated to her Italian mountaintop villa in order to write her memoirs when a handsome and mysterious visitor arrives to keep her company during her final days. It is a long and demanding role for any actress to play and in it Olympia Dukakis is positivly electrifying giving this tragic , unplesant woman a human touch that is ultimatly heartbreaking.
She is backed up by a beautifully chosen cast and [as already mentioned] Michael Wilson has staged it masterfully and Jeff Cowie's stage settings catch the mood of this elusive story perfectly.
So summing it all up, as a play " THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE" is no better than it was in 1963, but thanks mainly to Ms. Dukakis and Mr. Wilson it is a stunning and sometimes memorable theatre evening.
AT THE LAURA PELLS THEATRE 111 WEST 46th STREET N.Y.C.