At Home At The Zoo
by Edward Albee

Name: At Home At The Zoo
Brand: Edward Albee
SKU: 9780822223177
Rating: 3.86 (316 reviews)

Off-Broadway

At Home At The Zoo Book Cover — At Home At The Zoo Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

One Act120 minsPresent DayAll MenStrong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle)Unit Set/Multiple SettingsContemporary Costumes/Street ClothesBritish

Awards & Recognition

Obie Award

Winner! Two 1960 Obie Awards, including Distinguished Play

What readers are saying

Readers appreciate the depth and complexity of Albee's At Home At The Zoo, particularly enjoying the interplay between the two acts and the rich character development. Many find the dialogue engaging and Albee's insights into human relationships compelling, while others feel that the prequel, Homelife, does not quite reach the heights of The Zoo Story. Overall, this exploration of domestic life resonates with many, although a few express less enthusiasm for the pacing and necessity of the prequel.

Engaging and insightful dialogueComplex character developmentPowerful themes of human relationshipsHomelife feels unnecessary to somePacing can be slow at times

Synopsis

When you emerge from this impish comic playwright's glittering tribute to Molière, written entirely in verse, your head will be so dizzy with syncopated rhyme that you'll almost expect to find yourself speaking and thinking in chiming couplets...[Ives] add The truism that families come in all shapes and sizes is illuminated with haunting beauty...in this exquisitely wrought comedy-drama...a piercing portrait of the contemporary social architecture, in which the distance between people can be widened or collaps

Press Reviews

"The Zoo Story earned Albee instant acclaim as an American Beckett, attuned to rage and daily despair."
— New York Times

"The overpowering human need to connect, to make a difference to one another, flows through Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story."
— Variety

"The Zoo Story is an almost-perfect short play."
— Los Angeles Review of Books

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
PETER	—	—	—
JERRY Late thirties; not poorly dressed, but carelessly. What was once a trim and lightly muscled body has begun to go to fat; and while he is no longer handsome, it is evident that he once was. His fall from physical grace should not suggest debauchery; he has, to come closest to it, a great weariness.	male	—	Late thirties; not poorly dressed, but carelessly. What was once a trim and lightly muscled body has begun to go to fat; and while he is no longer handsome, it is evident that he once was. His fall from physical grace should not suggest debauchery; he has, to come closest to it, a great weariness.