←Recommendations of The Gentleman Caller

I recently saw a beautiful production of this play featuring MFA acting students at Michigan State University! A wonderful, imaginative slice of LGBTQ theatre history featuring dramatically and sexually charged conversations between a buttoned-up (Apollonian?) William Inge and a larger-than-life (Dionysian?) Tennessee Williams. References to the characters' work abound, with Williams narrating in the style of Tom from "The Glass Menagerie" throughout and playing a version of Brick from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in Act II.

A brilliantly researched piece of fiction between two giants of the stage. The conversations being had about identity, art and hero worship are just as vital today as they were in 1944. A play that feels so classic and in the voices of these two writers while being so current. This is a play that needs to be studied. The tension and what is said when no dialogue occurs is electric. A gift for actors and audiences.

Brilliant historical fiction with a theatricality that owes much to Williams' voice and work. Dawkins' dialogue is full of acerbic wit/hilarity, hidden (and sometimes not so hidden) pain, and profound truths. His interpretation of Inge and Williams feels both mythical and intensely human. Dawkins examines several aspects of the gay male experience--shame, loneliness, fellowship, alienation, and constant searching--and seamlessly connects those historical realities and truths to queer culture today. I was particularly taken in by Bill's description of "feeling seen" after finally watching "The Glass Menagerie," and the profound conversations about the purpose and role of queer art.

An honest and wickedly witty play that honors the brilliance of Tennessee Williams’s words, style, and punch-drunk social life. Mr. Dawkins’s stage directions add a modern theatricality to create unspoken moments of intense and irrepressible passion between the two men. The narrative builds into an aggressive desire that neither characters are capable of controlling and where the role of student and teacher is cleverly juxtaposed and questioned. Mr. Dawkin’s dialogue encapsulates Tennessee Williams’s flippant facade of fearlessness as well as moments of his vulnerability and hopelessness. A refreshing and beautifully constructed fantasy.

This is such a beautiful play! I love Philip Dawkins' writing. And here he has turned his attention to two of America's finest playwrights -- Tennessee Williams and William Inge. This early meeting -- before either of them has made their mark -- is fraught with sexual tension and artistic insecurity. It's a hot little two-hander, and having seen and loved it in Chicago, I'm hoping to see another production again soon.

This play burns so bright with vulnerability, magic, and sensuality. Every word is fragile and fiery and the theatricality of it, makes this a wonder of a play. This gorgeous work is on another level.