←Recommendations of Cooler Near the Lake

"That’s what we do here. Bury it deep inside and have another drink." I've read a few of Philip Middleton Williams' plays at this point and I would dare to say COOLER NEAR THE LAKE is Philip Middleton Williams at the height of his power as a storyteller. COOLER NEAR THE LAKE serves up a snapshot into the complex relationships of both a close-knit lake community in the American Midwest and the strange relational dynamics of living and navigating life, love, and family as a gay man. CNTL is both a personal and theatrical triumph in every dimension!

Philip Middleton Williams writes a sweet, charming, and funny romantic comedy with COOLER NEAR THE LAKE. I particularly enjoyed the use of time within the play and how that affected these characters and the culmination of their past. There are some truly heartwarming moments that hold so much emotional weight with them that make for some wonderful moments as these family and friends deal with loss, love, and friendship. This would make a tremendous night of heart and laughter at the theater.

Phillip Middleton Williams tells stories that are personal and poignant and honest. In Cooler Near the Lake, he’s chosen the perfect setting and context, a lakeside summer home in Michigan and a memorial service, as the vehicle to allow the compelling cast of characters to disrobe and bare their secrets, expose their pain, and face the truth. The mastery of his craft is fully on display in this excellent piece. Bravo.

Ruth plans her own memorial service as a way to stage manage her loved ones' lives from beyond the grave, but those lives are more complex than she had reckoned. The characters who gather are vividly drawn and their revelations and longings, their pleasures and disappointments are compellingly rendered.

Another outstanding work from Philip Middleton Williams. Covering a 24-hour period following a memorial service for the family matriarch, the play is perfectly paced to allow us to truly know these characters, their secrets, and their fears. As family, friends, former lovers, and childhood crushes gather in this lakeside resort community, the past and present come together in true dramatic fashion. I highly recommend this for reading and producing.

This play takes place at a family summer getaway. And that is exactly what the characters in this play use the setting as, a place to get away...from everything. But after a memorial service, and perhaps a couple of drinks for some of them, their pasts and troubles catch up to them. Slowly, like a lazy summer day by the lake, the issues creep in and demand attention. It's hard to avoid the rocks in the road when you're wearing flip flops. This was a beautiful and personal play about love and the search for happiness.

Keeping up appearances is important to the wealthy summer people in a Michigan resort town, but that means keeping secrets. It may be cooler by the lake, but things heat up when a provocateur prompts six men to reveal their secrets past and present. Williams is a master of depicting inter-personal relationships, and the relationships here were and are very personal indeed. Resort to a copy of this play and prepare to be drawn into the world of a fascinating group of characters.

Nothing like a memorial service to bring people together for some good ol' fashioned reminiscing. In the capable hands of Philip Middleton Williams, this tale of reconnection and recollection is a delightfully engaging read -- and not just for gay readers' projecting onto Sam Weaver and his many potential suitors. There is nuance to every character in this play, and a richness to each relationship, romantic, familial and otherwise, that is refreshing. The world of Cooler Near The Lake is definitely worth a visit!

Returning to the place where you grew up—particularly for a funeral—can awaken all kinds of guilts, regrets, and other long-buried emotions. Williams explores this insightfully and with compassion. The play is full of authentic detail and atmosphere, the northern Michigan lakeside setting skillfully evoked. Themes of class prejudice and internalized homophobia are conveyed through nuanced character relationships.

A delightful read that centers around the topics of loss, memory, and love. The action is incredibly tight while never giving his reader too much or too little. "Cooler Near The Lake" is one of those rare reads that can be enjoyed on a beach as it simultaneously questions, challenges, and provokes its reader. Impossible to put down but definitely bitter sweet when the words "END OF PLAY" is reached.