It’s hard to imagine a time in which Edward Albee was considered an “emerging” playwright, but his first play, ‘The Zoo Story’ failed to impress New York producers in 1958. Of course, the play has since gone on to become a classic and is currently being revived by new-to-Chicago Gwydion Theatre Company.
Edward Albee always felt like something was missing from his two-character, one-act play about a man whose peaceful afternoon reading in the park is disrupted by a seemingly unstable young man. In the early 2000s, he eventually wrote a prequel called ‘Homelife” and the two plays are usually performed as ‘Edward Albee’s Home at the Zoo.’ Albee would eventually restrict the performing rights for ‘The Zoo Story’ in favor of the complete play.
In the years since Albee’s death, his estate has eased up on some of his more stringent demands when it came to performance rights. As such, Gwydion’s revival is a somewhat rare opportunity to see Albee’s text performed as it was originally conceived. Though, it’s fairly clear why Albee added a first act to this odd little play.
It should come as no surprise that this play, like many of his others, is linguistic gymnastics relying heavily on good casting for cohesion. Thankfully this production is in good hands with Bob Webb as distinguished Peter and Grayson Kennedy as stark, raving Jerry. Under Morgan Wilson’s direction, the play leaps off the page and becomes a story with a rhythm you can follow.
Sparse staging really turns the focus onto the back-and-forth power play between Jerry and Peter and ultimately asks the question: what do either of these characters really want? Albee doesn’t necessarily make that so clear, leaving it up to the audience to come to their own conclusions. Both Kennedy and Webb spar well off one another in what actually feels like fairly modern dialogue, despite some outdated mid-century turns-of-phrase.
It's not often you get to see ‘The Zoo Story’ as it was originally produced, and it’s always exciting when a new theater company opens in Chicago. If this production is any indication, the future looks bright for Gwydion Theatre Company.
Through October 15 at Greenhouse Theater Center. 2257 N Lincoln Ave This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
