Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo

"Electrifying...Neugebauer unlocks something essential in this production. Freeing the text from notions of how Albee should be staged, she does away with the chilly, cerebral distance that can feel so stilted...Neugebauer lets the menace of the play arise from its animal wildness, the pleasure of it from its human comedy. Neugebauer is in her element, and we are in Albee's...This is what Neugebauer so vibrantly excavates: The feral geography of human impulse and desire." Full Review

"Leonard's soft, measured line deliveries betray Peter's effortless privilege...Finneran introduces a nagging dissatisfaction to this picture of bourgeois bliss...She interprets Albee's language with aching sincerity...Sparks makes a thrillingly unpredictable Jerry, accenting his performance with birdlike eyes and pointed modulations in his voice...Even if your mind drifts away during this short story masquerading as drama, you'll be jolted back to attention by the explosive final moments." Full Review

"Though both plays are intimate by nature, director Neugebauer takes full advantage of the large stage...Leonard's beautifully subtle Peter is all the more fascinating for the emotions he hides than the emotions he expresses...The plays do tend to come off more like acting exercises than the social commentary they hint at. Still, the opportunity to see the first major work by one of America's most iconic playwrights paired with one of his last, makes for an intriguing experience." Full Review

"A superbly acted revival...A first-rate cast...The prequel provides further riffs on 'Zoo Story's' societal and personal themes, but in far less visceral fashion...Albee's decision to update 'Zoo Story' feels unfortunate; jarring anachronisms have the ironic effect of making the play feel more dated than it actually is...Nonetheless, it's a fascinating double bill...This staging benefits greatly from the terrific performances...Sparks is an acting tour-de-force that provides reason enough fo... Full Review

"Neugebauer's terrific production proves 'Homelife' to be an indispensably excellent work in its own right, and a suitable tribute to the playwright...The Signature staging has only a ghost to appease; it is much freer and funnier and thus more powerful...The same is true of the actors: They do not approach the play as an awesome classic but as a living organism. Mr. Leonard is very good...Finneran is spectacular." Full Review

"A single drama Frankenstein-ed together out of two one-acts...Signature Theater follows Albee’s wish that the two be played as a single piece...It makes for an evening that's fully half bad. Yet there's good news: Thanks to the diamond like brilliance of Paul Sparks in 'Zoo', the show is unmissable...'Zoo Story' is a duet, beautifully orchestrated by director Lila Neugebauer. Leonard finds a world of grace notes to play, but the melody line belongs to Sparks, who prowls like a Muppet tiger." Full Review

"Superbly revived...The jazzily unpredictable conception of Jerry makes 'The Zoo Story' the more compelling half of the program...Sparks makes a full meal of Jerry...Finneran has comic chops galore...Leonard responds with expertly nuanced work...All three give master classes...Neugebauer directs with exacting precision and a fine ear for Albee's music...Richly satisfying: stage poetry, fine actors, and a fresh look at a writer who inventoried the forms of our civilized savagery." Full Review

"Neugebauer's production is not ideal, but Albee's observations are still capable of chilling one to the bone...Neugebauer has found a nearly ideal pair of psychological fencers in Leonard and Finneran...'Homelife' doesn't land with as much force as it might...Sparks' Jerry improves greatly as he goes along...but it takes some time for his performance to gel...One has a sense of actors lost in a too-large space...Sometimes-problematic production of a slightly problematic work." Full Review

"'The Zoo Story,' Albee’s shattering one-act of alienation and violence which put him on the map back in 1959...This body-blow of a play asks disturbing questions on what it means to be a human being and how our materialistic society was changing our values...'Homelife' is definitely the lesser work. It follows the same template of many of his later pieces...Fortunately, director Lila Neugebauer injects the same vitality into these uneven halves." Full Review

"'Homelife' is decidedly second-tier Albee, a dry, oddly paced if witty look at a privileged, over-educated couple who are disconnected from one another and from themselves...Yet Neugebauer makes as good a case as seems possible for this play, thanks to the casting of Leonard and Finneran...Sparks, is spectacular...'The Zoo Story' still stands out; its vigor and humor and rage and sadness have not been destroyed by time, nor by its creator." Full Review

"I'm not sure…that 'Homelife' greatly illuminates what happens in the older play, where Peter's enigmatic character can be viewed as one of its strengths…Some of the dialogue has been updated but this makes other things, like the references to pornographic playing cards, seem almost anachronistic…Finneran offers passionate curiosity and grace…Sparks captures Jerry's angst and anger with scary friendliness...Leonard, offering an acting lesson in how to listen, is equally compelling." Full Review

"Masterly in its visual clarity and psychological acuity—though it cannot cover up the fact that Albee made a bad mistake when he wrote 'Homelife' and an even worse one when he yoked it to 'The Zoo Story'...Finneran’s performance is instantaneously involving, while Mr. Leonard brings off the wire-walking feat of being dull in an interesting way...Mr. Sparks’s performance is deliberately spectacular, and Ms. Neugebauer has framed it with the loving care of a curator." Full Review

"Superbly acted and has so much to say...Leonard is perfect as Peter...Finneran makes us search inside ourselves for breaking the status quo. Every emotion shows in her face and body. But it is Sparks who is thrilling...He is unpredictable, and he is humanity on the verge of rebellion...Neugebauer directs this show with a conviction, making Albee's statements about class straightforward. We see what it takes to set off a time bomb in humanity." Full Review

"'Homelife' still sounds like characters spouting an author’s ideas about cruelty and isolation — and not real talk. 'The Zoo Story' still manages to unsettle....Three winning performances show off each work to its best advantage...Finneran brings so much smarts, humor, vulnerability and a subtle jagged edge to Ann that you can't take eyes or ears off of her...Neugebauer's direction cannily underscores the unnerving closeness - and more often distance - between people." Full Review

"Under the smart and solid direction of Lila Neugebauer, these ideas of isolation, loneliness, social disparity and the dehumanization of our population get an added layer of dissatisfaction and animalistic urges that are lying just underneath us all...Albee’s first one-act creation is an incredible construction, perfectly orchestrated like a mad symphony leading us toward a smashing ending that will bring down the house." Full Review

"A superbly cast, smartly directed production...I think if Mr. Albee were still with us, he'd be pleased...While 'Homecoming' does flesh out the picture of Peter as a man symbolizing the complacent, upper middle class, seeing it doesn't really diminish 'The Zoo Story' strength...Amusing as 'Homecoming' is, the sizzle still belongs to 'The Zoo Story'... And with the amazing Paul Sparks as Jerry, is quite a sizzler." Full Review

"Sparks delivers a scintillating performance as Jerry...Leonard’s Peter provides a perfect foil to Jerry... Leonard skillfully navigate the playwright’s cat-and-mouse game bringing it to a horrific and somewhat unexpected ending. The audience hangs on Sparks’ every word...Under Neugebauer’s capable direction, the three actors distill Albee’s characters with authenticity and believability. No captives are taken here in this brilliant battle for survival, personhood, and forgiveness." Full Review

"It is hard to imagine a production that makes a stronger case for the conjoined plays. All three actors are superb in their roles...Leonard turns reacting into an art form. Finneran’s Ann is a sympathetic presence. Sparks’s Jerry is mesmerizing, deftly building the sense of menace. Even if you know what’s coming, you will be shocked. My only reservations are about 'Homelife'...However, as a warmup to the main event, it serves its purpose and the main event is not to be missed." Full Review

"Ms. Neugebauer has a flair for finding a clear path through abstract works...A razor-sharp revival...In the hands of Ms. Neugebauer and a stellar cast, the two one-acts that Albee himself fused into a single work remain as relevant and psychologically true as they were more than a decade ago...The violence with which 'The Zoo Story' ends sadly no longer has the power to shock. Now it is more of a coda to a play that the director, her fine cast, and the design team have shown us to be timeless." Full Review

"As proved by its current, splendid incarnation at the Signature Theater, the work can still rouse us from our metaphorical slumbers and force us to reexamine how we interact with each other (and ourselves) on a daily basis. Much of the credit for this production’s success belongs to the sensitive direction of Lila Neugebauer, who obviously trusts both Albee’s words and her cast...Wallop of an ending, one which you will think about for days afterward." Full Review

"It’s realistic, warm, amusing, and to the outside observer, worrisome. Both actors are utterly natural... Paul Sparks is terrific. His quicksilver performance is like watching a fine jazz musician...Director Lila Neugebauer has encouraged performances like a capella vocals. Nothing interferes with or distracts from the inhabited reality of three people before us.Every move is dictated by the moment. Focus is absolute. Fastidious and discriminating work." Full Review

"Evidence of why the late Albee was such an effective playwright is dynamically on display in the juxtaposition of his 'The Zoo Story' and 'Homelife', which he decreed must be performed together...Albee's dialogue demonstrates emotional gaps, emphasized with well-timed silences...The production affords the perfect opportunity to enjoy and scrutinize his work anew, thanks to the insightful staging by Neugebauer and the sublime acting of her cast." Full Review

"Albee’s writing is so lean and nuanced that there are no lurches between madness and civilisation. Monstrousness here blends seamlessly into the fabric of normality...The expanded version broadens that psychodrama into a universal parable of man’s struggle to restrain his animal nature. Lila Neugebauer’s stripped-down staging suggests how fragile such bonds can be. And her 'Zoo' injects an electrifying dose of terror into the ersatz wilderness at the heart of New York." Full Review

"The cast, under Lila Neugebauer's pitch-perfect direction, is superb. Paul Sparks brings a finely-calibrated mix of peevishness and unpredictability to the role of Jerry. And Katie Finneran, most familiar to me as a master comedienne, shows that she is equally deft at the drama stuff with her poignant portrayal of Ann. But the MVP is Robert Sean Leonard, whose role is the least flashy but the most essential and, in Leonard's fearless performance, the most devastating." Full Review

"Magnificent writing...Lieberman smartly pushes all of the first act's confining action downstage, but opens up the entire space for the second act, adding several benches to the traditional set. It’s a choice that Neugebauer makes knowing that she’ll upset the purists. It leads to a rather expansive, oddly asymmetric 'Zoo Story,' where the stakes aren’t high enough...Albee’s script wants Peter and Jerry more trapped than Neugebauer’s staging suggests, and the end feels unearned." Full Review