←Recommendations of That Goddam Tree

This is a stunning companion piece to Williams’ A TREE GROWS IN LONGMONT, in which he shines an incisive light on the idiocy and thinly veiled hatred we still need to combat. Sharp, uncompromising, intelligent, and devastating. Bravo, Philip. Bravo.

This short monologue is Williams's imagining of a straight homophobe's hateful response to the same-sex relationship so beautifully described in his "A Tree Grows in Longmont." I would like to see it performed as a prologue to a performance of "Longmont," which would then give the lie to everything "Larry" says. Good honest work.

Full disclosure: I was there when Philip wrote this monologue and I got to hear him read it as well. I thought it was extraordinary at the time and was eager to read the piece again. It does what art should do, which is to invite the reader into a character, even a hateful one - if not to condone, at least to understand. And like all good art, it leaves the reader with questions: who is this person, why does he act or speak as he does, and what does that mean for me?

This piece presents us with something resembling a still image of a large explosion. Standing back you see the full scope of the carnage, the destruction, the fury. But if you can move a little closer and see the decaying wood that makes up the rubble, the kerosene and spent match, the beating heart of the inferno. Hurt people hurt people; Larry is no different.

I hate that people like this exist, and I applaud Philip for turning a hateful comment into a piece of found art.
Edit: that was my first reaction.
Knowing now that this was written as an exercise I’m speechless. I heard the speaker’s voice so clearly it had to be real. I appreciate how other folks responding talk about the humanity and heartache behind the words. What hit for me was how this speaker jumped in as if he had a place in the story and there was no one to stop him. Uncomfortable and well done.

Rarely in theater do we put on stage and express the views of hateful people without another voice in objection. It's so easy to not humanize them or find something we can empathize with. Here we discover beneath the hatred an aching heart. How can we can to people like this and bridge the divide? Highly recommend.

Holy wow. So much "yes" for so much "no!" The speaker of this monologue is hurting so much and as the saying goes "hurt people, hurt people." It's infuriating to see a character that is just so closed minded and can't see beyond the tiny world they live in. But that is what makes this monologue so impressive. We see a person spouting unnecessary hate and commentary, but we can also see the weight of pain on this person. And when someone is still vulnerable, maybe there is still hope for improvement? But...maybe not...

People who live their lives with hate need to be understood — that is not to say they require our empathy, however. Philip Middleton Williams delivers a fantastic and enraging monologue that gives us the former without asking the latter. We have a long way to go before the hateful views of the Larrys are extinguished. His happiness is tied to other people not having what he does, and that's just pathetic. Middleton Williams' monologue accomplishes a lot in a few words, giving us a portrait that is insightful and unsympathetic.

Absolutely infuriating. The willful ignorance of homophobia is on full display in this succinct monologue. Never seeing through his own bigotry to find the common ground between his own life experiences and a gay man’s, Larry is a lost cause. I shudder to think that he’s instilling his values to a younger generation. His hatred is something we all need to be aware of as long as it exists. The man himself, and others like him, deserve to be forgotten.

PHILIP MIDDLETON WILLIAMS is a superb writer, and his latest monologue, “That Goddam Tree”, is another marvelous piece. Larry is a white heterosexual homophobe, and his words made me cringe. His hateful words, his mean spirited thoughts, and his stupidity are evident. This monologue is a winner! Bravo!