←Recommendations of Favorite Son

The 5th installment in a series and Philip address the inevitable from the previous show and more. With Clyde in hospice, Philip's attention turns to the brothers, Steve and Dan. The relationship, hierarchy, and expectations bring the brother's dialogue to points of tension surrounded by grief and their own expectations of each other, while each deals with their own trials and grief in other aspects of their relationship.

Philip even throws in moments of discovery for the two brothers, even in their 60s, as if to say to the audience or those with siblings, relationship growth never stops!

"Funny thing about grief," Dan says and Philip Middleton Williams perfectly encapsulates in this short play between brothers. The loss of a parent can bring up a lot of emotions in families including monumental rifts and chasms. Dan and Steve instead grow closer together as grief gives them the opportunity to listen, learn, empathize, and truly see each other. This turns into a tender tribute to the man who raised them to care for each other. Very beautiful, very human.

Favorite sons and daughters always makes for such interesting Storylines. I read this the day after my moms memorial where my brother joked that I was always her favorite, and he was dads. Being gay made me connect to my mom in a way I didn’t with my dad. As I got older that changed but it was so interesting to read Williams tale that evokes so much familiarity and yet such freshness that makes it timeless.

The brothers in this piece, despite their age, still manage to surprise each other in both positive and negative ways, and Williams keeps the tension and emotion rolling along with crisp, natural dialogue and the kind of familial banter that anyone with siblings will recognize. I love the rich history he gives his characters in his interlocking plays, but they all still stand strongly on their own.

Another sharp slice of domestic truth from Williams, who has mastered the art of getting right to the heart of the matter when exploring the things that simultaneously pull family’s apart and bind them together. A novel’s worth of back story and emotion packed into an honest and resonant episode.

No matter how old we get, children never really let go of the scars they received as kids — whether from the playground, the school or their own family. Philip Middleton Williams shows us just how close to the surface all of this is in this wonderful two-hander that would be a gem for any pair of actors to perform. Excellent job!

Sometimes it takes a family crisis to close old wounds and clear a pathway to healing. Poignant, powerful and positively real! FAVORITE SON is a winner!

The tension between the two brothers in FAVORITE SON runs the gamut of emotions in a very short period of time. It reminded me of the Smothers Brothers’ running gag about who was the favorite, but this scenario is played out with real sadness as they deal with a fractured relationship and a very fragile family situation. It is compelling to see how these brothers attempt to deal with familial responsibilities as their childhood recollections shed light on the causes of their sibling rivalry. This is also a good play for actors in their sixties.

Two middle-aged brothers tread carefully (and not so carefully) as they begin the process of confronting their parents' (and their own) mortality. The dialogue is very real and the audience learns much more about this family than is ever said. A moving moment in a journey we all have to take.

PHILIP MIDDLETON WILLIAMS’ play, ‘FAVORITE SON’, is a play of sibling rivalry and father-sons relationships. When their father is on his deathbed, two brothers talk about what they need to do to settle their father’s affairs. But the undercurrents of who is the favorite and past hurts and anxieties are revealed. In this short play, the genius and fine writing of Philip Middleton Williams is on display. This is a must read.