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"Peter and Jerry' revisits 'Zoo Story'

By Matt Windman

2:29 PM EST, November 15, 2007

3 Stars Edward Albee's "Peter and Jerry" is a show 50 years in the making. It combines "The Zoo Story," which is not only one of Albee's best plays, but the most compelling one-act in any dramatic literature textbook, and an all-new prequel that takes place about an hour before the start of "Zoo Story."

Though none of Albee's plays will be done on Broadway this year, he will receive four major productions elsewhere. Followed by "Peter and Jerry," his new play about identical twins, "Me, Myself and I," will premiere at McCarter Theater with Tyne Daly. "The Occupant" will be performed at Signature Theatre with Mercedes Ruehl. And his one-acts "The Sandbox" and "The American Dream" will be revived at the Cherry Lane Theatre with F. Murray Abraham.

"The Zoo Story," Albee's first attempt at playwriting, was written in just three weeks in 1958. Its plot first appears simple: two guys fight over a bench. Peter, an upper-middle-class publishing executive with two daughters, two parakeets and two cats, is quietly reading on a bench in Central Park. Suddenly, Jerry, a wacko from Greenwich Village, interrupts Peter's solitude. Eventually, Jerry breaks out into "The Story of Jerry and the Dog," an intense 15-minute monologue, before the meeting ends in tragedy.

Several years ago, Albee decided that he wanted to go further. What happened to Peter before he met Jerry? Why is he so quiet? "Homelife," his new prequel, takes place immediately beforehand on Sunday afternoon in Peter's apartment. His frustrated wife, who also interrupts his reading, brings up such obscure topics as rape, double mastectomy, and reverse circumcision. After their frustrated conversation, Peter decides to seek solace and seclusion at his favorite park bench.

Does "Homelife" offer any insight into "Zoo Story"? Not really. And in spite of Johanna Day's engaging performance as Peter's wife, "Homelife" is nowhere near as theatrically satisfying as "Zoo Story." So, the real triumph of adding "Homelife" is that it brings us a pitch-perfect production of "Zoo Story" starring Bill Pullman as Peter and Dallas Roberts as Jerry. And if not much else, "Homelife" allows us to appreciate "Zoo Story" just a bit more.

Second Stage Theatre, 307 West 43rd St, 212-246-4422, $70. Tues 7pm, Wed 2&8pm, Thurs-Fri 8pm, Sat 2&8pm, Sun 3pm.