Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo

See it if you like Albee. If you find his writing insightful and funny, you'll have a grand time.

Don't see it if if you don't like Albee (I don't) His privileged, whiny characters annoy me. Jerry was scary (not charming) throughout. This was not for me.

See it if you like good acting, directing was decent. A good story combining two of Albee's plays into one.

Don't see it if The set was not right for the first act, looked like a park wall rather then an apartment. If you don't like Albee.

See it if you want to be immersed in the lives of three people through well-written dialogue and strong performances. Albee captures people perfectly.

Don't see it if you cannot imagine the settings as the stage is almost bare. Your attention needs to be on the dialogue, character motion & body language.

See it if Two of Albee's disparate 1-act plays joined cleverly for 2-act evening. Passive character continues to 2nd play equally passive.

Don't see it if All-talk of regret with minimalist staging and lighting changes make for monotony. Quirky character doesn't deliver required menace.

See it if you enjoy intelligent theatre. Great performances by Finneran, Leonard Sparks. Terrific staging by Lila Neugebauer.

Don't see it if musical comedies are your passion. This is a great combination of a classic play with a contemporary one shedding light on one character.

See it if You want to watch what could have a very easily been to staged readings

Don't see it if You are looking for anything more than a basic black box no frills show

Also I have heard a lot about the writer of this play. I love dark depressing well written dramas and I was told this was the guy for me. I was really looking forward to seeing the show and very very disappointed. I do not understand what all the hype is about. I am sad and jealous because it seems like everyone else likes this while I didn’t get it at all. I did think the three actors all did a fine job but I didn’t understand what the author was trying to get across... Read more Read less

See it if Love Albee & would be fascinated to see a new "prologue" to a well-known work. The 1st act enriches the 2nd in great measure. Don't miss.

Don't see it if Don't like minimalism/absurdism, can't sit thru silences or want light fare. This is intense, precisely calibrated & mesmerizing.

Also Saw this in the Diamond Theatre at Signature Center, mid-March, 2018.

See it if you want to see a superb production of a play that is a modern classic ... and a "prequel" that isn't.

Don't see it if you don't like talky plays, sexual references or violence

Also The actors are superb.

See it if Tour de force performances by Robert Sean Leonard and Paul Sparks in an excellent Albee play.

Don't see it if You are going for Katie Finneran who has a smaller role. You don’t like Albee stitching together two one acts written years apart.

See it if "Mister, I've been to the zoo" Albee's New Yorkers as animals. The first play was written 50 years after the second and they haven't matured

Don't see it if Robert Sean Leonard is the cypher of a husband who baffles his perky wife, the excellent Katie Finneran. Paul Sparks is the dangerous Jerry.

Also Peter's salary has gone up from $18,000 in the original 1960 script, to $200,000 now -- though he still tells Jerry that he carries only $40. The original Peter was William Daniels. Jerry was George Maharis who was replaced after a week by Peter Mark Richman. The play ran for 9 months and won 1960 Obies for Daniels and the play. Maharis went on to become a TV dreamboat on "Route 66," though he quit in the middle of the third season claiming ill health. (He is still alive approaching 90). The word was that the network found out he was gay. He was subsequently arrested in two LA mens rooms. I saw the 2007 Second Stage production with Bill Pullman and Dallas Roberts. This one equals it in impact.... Read more Read less

See it if you love Albee; this is him at his dark, disturbing, oblique, hilarious best. Minimal set and terrific performances.

Don't see it if you need elaborate sets and you dislike having to focus on dialogue that leads you one direction but is really taking you somewhere else.

See it if enjoy classic Albee with all of it's symbolism

Don't see it if thinking about a play is not what you enjoy

See it if you want to experience an Edward Albee play at it's best. This production holds up to the best of the golden age of theater.

Don't see it if you don't like Albee and prefer more lighthearted unambiguous entertainment.

See it if Albee fan; humor and darkness; themes of loneliness, connections, communicating (and not); amazing performances

Don't see it if 2 seemingly unrelated acts would bother you or if you want more action; don't want a set that looks like a bunch of scribbles (I liked it)

Also The performances by Katie Finneran and Paul Sparks were wonderful. Robert Sean Leonard was a less colorful character but his subtle manner was equally wonderful.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see why Albee was one of our greatest playwrights dating back to his 1958 first play. Incredible cast and direction. WOW!!!

Don't see it if you are looking for fluff with more scenery than substance.

See it if a fan of Edward Albee's works; you don't mind slightly unhinged works where realism borders on the absurd, thus highlighting the realism.

Don't see it if you dislike thinking or the format of two interlocked one-act plays; grow uncomfortable with sexuality and violence; need clear resolutions.

Also How do we handle what we have and want? A Day at the Zoo combines Edward Albee’s one-act Homelife and The Zoo Story, offering a larger story of breaking monotony, cruelty, pain, chaos, and animalism. The trio of actors (with only Robert Sean Leonard’s Peter in both halves) is talented, electric, and just the right amount of tense. Katie Finneran’s Ann is stereotypical housewife one moment, mercurial the next. Her sparring with husband Peter is magnetizing, even uncomfortable at times. (If you’re not keen on talks about sexuality, combined with brutishness, this is not a work for you.) But it’s Paul Sparks’ unbalanced Jerry in the expanded The Zoo Story who takes the cake (or bunless burger, if you’ve seen the play) for best performance. He made me feel uncomfortable—for myself and Jerry—and although I knew how it would all end, the mindless violence and shocking reflection upon just how much chaos we can handle and even provoke, and what do we do when we go too far, still resonates.... Read more Read less

See it if Beautifully written and acted , a classic Albee play . See it before it closes.It is what great theater is about.

Don't see it if Do not see it if you prefer light dramas or musicals

See it if you like "intellectual" plays - lots of dialogue with a small cast and not much plot. Great message about connecting with others.

Don't see it if don't like long speeches or little action.

See it if you need to catch up on Albee, or want to see what all the fuss is about.

Don't see it if You have no patience for tedious plays. I found this piece very dated in that things that were shocking a half-century ago are routine now.

See it if you're an Albee fan and love his use of word-play and his incisive characterizations.

Don't see it if you're not willing to listen to his talky, often repetitive dialogue and would rather not focus on our darker sides.

Also Even though they were not originally intended to be performed together, the two plays really meshed for me. And all three actors were marvelous.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy a thought provoking, well acted duet of plays. As others have written, At The Zoo outshines the first act. Paul Sparks shines.

Don't see it if You are not a fan of Albee’s literary talents. His writing is not to be missed.

See it if You want to see a stellar revival of a vintage Albee piece that only gets better with time

Don't see it if You aren't an Albee fan and like your plays light and frothy

See it if you're a fellow Albee fan. Every word has purpose, peeling away & revealing doubts, insecurities, and host of other facets of our humanity.

Don't see it if you need diverting set, costume, or sound design—it's an austere, intimate staging; you're uncomfie with graphic content or long silences.

See it if You like well done affordable theater, with great casts, off broadway, for $30. Stay for the first act, and leave at intermission.

Don't see it if You are expecting 2 cohesive acts. They’re two one acts, loosely put together. The second act is excruciating, and badly over-acted.

See it if You want to see a pitch perfect production and spot-on direction and acting brought to these Albee plays.

Don't see it if You don’t like “wordy” plays regardless of how inciteful and well written.

Also I cannot imagine a better production of these plays, or a better set of actors to bring them to life.... Read more Read less