Threaded Order Chronological Order
| AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday | |
| Posted by: schauspieler 01:33 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| Great to see Katie Finneran in this. She is terrific as always. Robert Sean Leonard perfect as Peter. Very disappointed to find that Albee tinkered with THE ZOO STORY as he did with some of his other plays. THE ZOO STORY, imo, is set in a very specific time with specific references to that era, some of which Albee changed or removed, and some of which he left in, making the whole thing partly 1950's and partly contemporary. Apparently Albee instructed the estate to prohibit the production of his original versions, so it will be decades before they reappear. I've seen the play many times, but judging from those around me, the play still has the power to mezmerize and shock those coming to it fresh. Well worth seeing in spite of my reservations about the changes. | |
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| re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question | |
| Posted by: Ann 03:27 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - schauspieler 01:33 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| What about it is still 1950s? I wasn't expecting it to be contemporary, but the things that were time-telling that I noticed definitely seemed modern. I wondered if there was supposed to be some blood after the stabbing - Sparks seemed to be figiting with the knife and I thought maybe something was supposed to happen. |
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| re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question | |
| Posted by: schauspieler 06:32 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - Ann 03:27 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| Maybe it's just because I first saw the play in '65, but so much about the city has changed, a lot of Jerry's dialogue seems off in 2017, e.g. there used to be many many rooming houses on the upper West side, but none now between Columbus and the park. His remark that Peter's assumption that he lived in Greenwich Village meant something about his lifestyle doesn't scan now. His reference to vaudeville is not something a young person would say these days. And I'll bet there aren't many young people these days that grew up ogling a pack of pornographic playing cards, a rarity now, pretty common then. Lots of other things about his language and references just didn't seem right for present day. Even asking Peter if he had a TV didn't seem like something anyone would ask nowadays. | |
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| language | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 09:52 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 09:49 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - schauspieler 06:32 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| I think we should be careful not to assume what "a young person would say these days"... I forget how old Jerry is meant to be in the play, but i don't think he's *that* young, young being 18-25, right? Isn't he more late 20s early 30s? So already describing him as a young person might be pushing it. But also, I've known what vaudeville was since I was a kid, and certainly could have made reference to it, knowing there were vaudeville acts and duos. If we're really buying that Jerry in in his, what, late 20s or early 30s, today then a lot of his dialogue might need to be rewritten, if not the entire play, because it's very unlikely this play would exist in the age of the internet. Anyway I don't think updating it makes much sense, but if so I would be more concerned with references to the city of new york that are no longer accurate. |
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| re: language | |
| Posted by: garyd 09:57 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: language - Chazwaza 09:49 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| Interesting. Where would Jerry live today and where would Peter "assume" he lives (since obviously not the Village of today. ) | |
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| re: language | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 10:19 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: language - garyd 09:57 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| Jerry would live in east harlem probably, and Jerry in the lower Upper West like the 70s-90s. Or reverse, Peter in the west village or in the upper east, and Jerry in Harlem. I forget where Jerry is said to live in the play... I assume Peter would assume he lives in Brooklyn. It's funny, I played Jerry once, memorized ALL of that stuff, and I don't remember any of the details now. | |
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| re: language | |
| Posted by: garyd 11:30 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: language - Chazwaza 10:19 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| Peter lives on 74th between Lex and 3rd. The character could live there today but probably not. Jerry lives on Upper West between Columbus and Central Park West. He would not today. Peter could easily live in the Village today. However, if I were going for specific reality I would put him in Park Slope and Jerry where? I dunno and I don’t think it matters as long as the current geography and demographic does not take the audience significantly out of the story. Zoo Story premiered in Germany and what did that audience know of Manhattan at the time? O’Neill locales no longer exist but the work does so…. I mean, I get it. The script says ”present” . “Follies “ says in in theatre tonight. “A Chorus Line” says in a theatre today…or something like that. It does not bother me but I know it does others. I guess I think there is enough poetry and balance and tension in these works, and others, to overcome the period references. |
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| Help! | |
| Posted by: garyd 09:16 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - schauspieler 06:32 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| Your comment regarding vaudeville sent me rummaging to find and then reading my script. I can't find a reference to vaudeville. I'm sure it is there, but I can not find it. I remember finding the TV thing odd but was informed that this is Jerry. Both the inquiry by Jerry and the response by Peter are important character references. | |
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| oh, wait... | |
| Posted by: garyd 09:26 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: Help! - garyd 09:16 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| I just realized you must be referring to the implied vaudeville structure of the circumstance of the play. If so, then yes, I get it. Many others have talked about that in this and other Albee plays especially "Who's Afraid...." and "A Delicate Balance". Is that what you mean or am I totally missing something? | |
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| re: Help! | |
| Posted by: schauspieler 09:23 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: Help! - garyd 09:16 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| I think in explaining why photos of his parents are not in his empty picture frames he says ... That particular vaudeville act is playing the cloud circuit now, so I don't see how I can look at them, ... | |
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| Yup... | |
| Posted by: garyd 09:32 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Help! - schauspieler 09:23 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| there is is. It has totally gone over my head for nigh on, well, many years. It is so theatrical and so "Albee" biographical, I guess it never registered with me. I dunno, though, would it really be outside the referential vocabulary of 'Jerry' even today? Maybe. | |
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| re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 06:55 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - schauspieler 06:32 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| All great points. I remember being similarly annoyed at the rewrites when I saw this pairing for the first time when "Peter at Home" (is that what they called it?) was new as the first act opener. I also felt very strongly at the time that having an act about Peter at home before the park undermines the proceedings and is completely unnecessary. The Zoo Story stood for decades brilliantly on its own, and not knowing anything about the characters before the start was one of the strengths and reasons it played so surprisingly. But back to your points about the Zoo Story dialogue... it seems like someone as smart as Albee would know that bothering to "update" the dialogue/references (even if he'd done a thoroughly accurate job to making it make sense in today's nyc, which he didn't) is pointless because in 20 years the city will be different, and in 20 years after that different still. Unless he wants to put in instructions to whomever is doing the play that they can update those references as needed, then it seems like it's best just staying in the time it was written, we still get it. |
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| Different title at Second Stage | |
| Last Edit: TheOtherOne 09:19 am EST 02/13/18 | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 09:18 am EST 02/13/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - Chazwaza 06:55 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| The individual plays had the same titles when this double bill was presented at Second Stage, but the collective title was not "At Home at the Zoo." It was "Peter and Jerry." It must have been Albee's idea to change the name. From what I understand, he left ironclad instructions for how his estate was to handle subsequent productions of his plays. I assume calling it "Peter and Jerry" would seem to downplay the importance of Ann in "Homelife." I pointed that out to a friend, who suggested to me that "Peter and Jerry" sounded too much like Ben and Jerry's. I got a laugh out of that. |
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| re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question | |
| Posted by: garyd 07:08 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - Chazwaza 06:55 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| The first act, was originally called "Homelife". I don't know if it has a title now that the two act play is called "At Home at the Zoo". I agree with you about "The Zoo Story". It still stands quite well on its own even with many of the anachronisms mentioned in this thread. I attended an Albee lecture several years ago where he explained his rationale for "Homelife". He said he thought the audience needed to know more about Peter. We learn about Jerry but we know little about Peter. I,then and now, do not agree. We all know Peter. He is us. it's the Jerry's of the world we do not know. |
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| re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question | |
| Posted by: Ann 07:51 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - garyd 07:08 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| It's called Homelife in this production, too. | |
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| re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question | |
| Posted by: garyd 08:50 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - Ann 07:51 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| And, according to your earlier post, you enjoyed the entire package. So, there you go. Perhaps, it works quite well especially for those who have only experienced the original version. In addition, perhaps those of us who have need to take a second look. I will admit that when I first saw the combined version I was predisposed to be dismissive... and, of course, I was. Does the production you saw at the Signature retain the intended humor of the second act? (I would love to see it but there is simply no time.). | |
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| Good points, thanks. nmi | |
| Posted by: Ann 06:38 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - schauspieler 06:32 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler answer | |
| Posted by: theOtherJames 03:34 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - spoiler question - Ann 03:27 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| I don't recall seeing any last weekend either. | |
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| Could you tell me the running time? | |
| Posted by: Budinsky 02:07 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: AT HOME AT THE ZOO Sunday - schauspieler 01:33 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| Thanks. | |
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| re: Could you tell me the running time? | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 03:35 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: Could you tell me the running time? - Budinsky 02:07 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| 2:15. | |
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| Thanks. (nmi) | |
| Posted by: Budinsky 03:39 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Could you tell me the running time? - TheOtherOne 03:35 pm EST 02/12/18 | |
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| xx | |
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