The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore relies on whoever plays Flora Goforth to do almost all of the heavy lifting. She is, according to her assistant, “a dying monster”. The terrace of her villa has become her dominion – the only control she can exert in contrast to her failing health.
Mrs Goforth should be like a female King Lear, battling against the dying of the light. Linda Marlowe spends most of the time battling against the script. And who can blame her. Williams’ lands the character with an Everest of speeches, complete with blizzardous thought-transitions. The tyrannical aspect of the role is lost as Marlowe focusses on keeping her verbal footing.
That’s not to say that she doesn’t hit some memorable moments. At the end of Act One, Marlowe evokes some poignancy recalling the death of Harlam, Goforth’s first husband. It is a credit to Marlowe’s skill as an actor that she manages to mine something moving in her character’s end.