At Home At The Zoo

Full of anticipation, I attended Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Philadelphia premiere of At Home At The Zoo by Edward Albee on Wednesday, March 25th. 

The show began with the newly added prequl to Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story, Homelife. It takes us to the world of Peter before he goes to Central Park to read. In this one act, we learn about Peter’s relationship to his wife and how unsatisfied she is in their relationship, as well as why he can’t fix it. They discuss her fear of breast cancer and a startling event, and unexpected to the audience, that changed his life forever. 

The story feels like a stretch, almost like Albee was trying too hard to connect Homelife with The Zoo Story. The Peter we see in Homelife is not the same Peter we’re shown in The Zoo Story. Although similar, Albee is working hard to show us Peter’s back story, which happens to not really add much to the overall story. The charming part of The Zoo Story is ambiguity of the characters. We don’t need to know what happened before, and we don’t need to know what happens after. Not everything needs to be explained to the audience, but that seems to be what Albee is attempting to do. 

The Zoo Story was excellent, as it has been since it’s beginning in 1958. Small changes had been made to the original script, but it seemed like the changes were mainly to update the time period of the piece. Jerry, played by Andrew Polk, was fantastic. His performance, which can make or break the the success of the piece, worked perfectly. The character was well rounded and made the audience feel sorry for him, while still wanting to stay far away. 

Although Homelife was disappointing, The Zoo Story saved the second half of the night. Overall, the performance was enjoyable, even if not completely amazing. 

At Home at the Zoo

Presented by Philadelphia Theatre Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad and Lombard Streets, through April 19. Tickets: $46-$59. Information: 215-985-0420 or www.philadelphiatheatrecompany.org.