←

Philip Middleton Williams

Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

  • Take the K Train by William Triplett
    10 Oct. 2023
    “ It's always easy to spot the influence of other writers in some plays, and sometimes that spoils the fun, as if you know what's coming and you're waiting to see how it gets there. Not so in his inventive and twisted -- in a good way -- tale of the travels of Winston on the subway. If the name of the train is a giveaway, just wait to see where it takes you. Bill Triplett's skill at leading us one way and landing us somewhere else is on full display, and the ride is so very much worth it. ”
  • Leave It by William J. Goodwin
    10 Oct. 2023
    “ At first I chuckled as I put together who we were meeting yet again all these years later. But then as the reality of the contrast between an iconic 1950's sitcom and the all-too-real echos of the war that divided America in the 1960's, William J. Goodwin's crafting of the aftermath brought me back to reality. It may be jarring to put the antics of little boys and their suburban paradise in contrast to the trauma and loss as represented by the Vietnam War Memorial's names, but it's something we need to see and remember. ”
  • The Record Don't Stop Spinnin' for Robby Ray Robinson by John Adams
    9 Oct. 2023
    “ The way country music singers tell it, their lives are all heartache with nothing but drugs to ease the pain and help them get over bad marriages and lost loves. John Adams cranks this set-up to eleven and then hits the warp drive to bring in elements that take us way beyond the honky-tonks... like to the outer reaches of the solar system and gas giants. It's clever, fast-paced, shocking, hilarious, cringey, and above all, a tale that Johnny Cash or Hank Williams never sang about. Or could hope to. ”
  • The Last Fantasy Package by Greg Romero
    9 Oct. 2023
    “ Greg Romero brings his magic and humane touch to all his works, and this piece does not disappoint. In fact, it lifts us up to a moment where the fantasy becomes real for Beverly and us as we are transported with her. And it wouldn't be a Greg Romero play without a visit from a gray wolf or some connection with the world beyond our grasp. ”
  • Unghosting the Chromosome by Dan Born
    9 Oct. 2023
    “ If the rest of this play is as compelling and human as the first scene that Dan Born shared with us at the Midwest Dramatists Conference, it is truly going to be a work worthy of seeing and sharing. The connection between the living and the dead in this scene is not a ghost story; it is anything but. I was reminded of how we the living hold on to the memories and feelings of the dead as a celebration of love and affection. That our lives have been improved by what came after in the lab is a bonus. ”
  • Not Like Us (a ten minute play) by Mark Harvey Levine
    9 Oct. 2023
    “ In an age of AI and ChatGPT, what comes next? Genetically-engineered servants who are expected to obey every word and withstand the abuse that comes with being treated as not-quite-human? Even if we take it as face value and forget the allegorical possibilities, it's still a harrowing tale of how we treat those we expect to wait on us and suffer in silence. Mark Harvey Levine's staging abilities are legendary, but this piece, even as seen in a reading at Midwest Dramatists 2023, leaps out at you and makes you shudder and think. ”
  • Beauty & the Grit by Kevin Rabas
    9 Oct. 2023
    “ Wow, talk about the road trip from Hell... or to it. Kevin Rabas's clever and cringe-inducing -- in a good way -- short play has all the elements that make this pairing of Liz and James something any audience will find both hilarious and harrowing. What do they see in each other? Why are they even friends, much less a couple? But it's clear that there's something to this odd couple that is endearing and enduring, and I enjoyed every minute of it at the Midwest Dramatists Conference 2023. ”
  • The Last Week by Jessie Salsbury
    9 Oct. 2023
    “ Jessie Salsbury's look at the last act of a life is tender, but with just the right amount of practicality that it makes the audience appreciate the moment as an honest assessment of his life. There may be regrets, but he is facing them and the end with his eyes wide open to the end. There's none of the five-stages trope unless you take into account that John is the one making the bargaining worth it. ”
  • Lovers and Survivors by Aaron Leventman
    2 Oct. 2023
    “ Years may pass, age takes its toll, as does gravity, but love and the people in love with each other can be timeless; frozen in amber with the soft glow of life still about them. Aaron Leventman's short play gives us a lifetime to think about what really matters and is meaningful: the little things we never forget. And in those moments, we see that surviving is more than just staying alive. A beautiful bouquet to these lovers. ”
  • Did you do the thing yet, Joe? by Christopher Plumridge
    2 Oct. 2023
    “ It's as if Samuel Beckett took his absurdist track -- focusing on menial tasks -- and gave it a suburban nightmare once-over. Clever, cute, maddening, and yet refreshing: kind of like drinking the Theory of Relativity for breakfast. Or pie. Well, Joe? ”

Pages