←Recommendations of A Good Year

There is such a tangible sense of tension throughout this play, coming from almost every direction imaginable—romantic, sexual, professional, ethical! Structurally, I loved how the temperature of each act matched the season in which it took place, taking us on a cyclical, satisfying journey from new beginnings to growth and change. Marc holds his own as a strong, specific protagonist in a world of "bad drivers," but I so appreciated the hopeful ending and the promise of a brighter, wiser future!

The plot of this one kept me guessing! The things that I thought were going to happen never happened, and the things that DID happen caught me by surprise. I enjoyed the complexity of the relationships and all the opportunities for second chances.

I enjoyed listening in recently to a reading of this piece. I appreciated Marc's quest for meaning in his life through literature and education, his desire to do the right thing and, like the allusions to The Great Gatsby, his capacity for hope. Williams quickly establishes the tension between his well-drawn characters which builds steadily until it reaches its inevitable conclusion. Williams knows how to craft a play so there are no stitches in sight. Bravo, playwright.

I had the pleasure and privilege of hearing a reading of this recently, and it's an absolutely engrossing work. A fascinating exploration of attraction, ethics, expectations, and responsibility. I felt for all these characters. It's a complex, nuanced study that is so richly rewarding as the narrative unfolds. This would be a fantastic play for any theater to stage. Their audiences, no doubt, should be as enthralled with it as I was.

This play is an intense love triangle that puts these characters to the test. A new teacher starting at a new school, his boss's boss who is also a lawyer, and his jock athletic son all fall into the same spectrum of queerness, complicated relationships, exploration, and self-identity. We have all heard of scandals with teachers having secret relationships with their students, but this turns they're whole world upside down! I will think about this play for a really long time! Bravo Philip!

Sometimes life sucks. People hurt you. You hurt people. You fall in love and love hurts too. This play is like a turbulent relationship. It starts with smiles. You get infatuated with the characters and the drama. Then it hurts and backslides. But Phillip Middleton Williams sneaks in at the end to whisper that life is not simply pain. There's always tomorrow. Love returns. We can try again.

A wonderful meal of a show filled with great physicality and language any actor would love to devour.

[10/30/24] I mean it when I say Philip Middleton Williams never misses. In A GOOD YEAR, Williams explores complex dynamics of parent-teacher and teacher-student relationships with the added intrigue dimension that all three are some stripe of queer men (and I will add, the student is 18). I thoroughly enjoyed the dive into transactional relationships, corrupted innocence, familial expectations, and good old-fashioned ethics explored through very grounded, human dialogue trademark of a PMW play.

This play gives us a fascinating perspective of queerness within education and how power is shifted with these dynamics. Philip Middleton Williams writes with precision, never failing to include a moment for each character to have their power taken away at any given moment. Williams writes queerness in this play as both a weapon and a pure endeavor. The combination of these elements turns this script into a multi-faceted play.

One of Philip Middleton Williams’s best, which is saying something! By the end of the first scene, the potential conflicts are clearly outlined, but by then you’re hooked and anxious to learn the details. The power dynamics at an upscale private school raise serious ethical questions for first-year teacher, Marc. And then there are his lingering feelings for a recent ex. It all plays out in great dramatic fashion. I always feel a little wiser after reading a Philip Middleton Williams play. Read and learn.

Philip Middleton Williams has a remarkable knack for taking what could be a pulpy, melodramatic premise and imbuing it with just the right combination of humanity, humor, and heart. “A Good Year” bounces between every gay teacher’s nightmare and every gay man’s wet dream, but along the way, Williams demonstrates his well honed gifts at writing relationships, both between new acquaintances and former lovers. There’s a lot to admire in Williams’ characters as well, as each of the four roles gives their respective actor great material to work with. Excellent!