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乇丐蹖丕蹖 丌賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 賵 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘丕睾鈥屬堌�
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘丕睾鈥屬堌� 丕賵賱蹖賳 亘丕乇 爻丕賱 郾酃鄣鄹 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮丿 賵 丿乇 丕賵賱蹖賳 丕噩乇丕 丿乇 亘乇賱蹖賳 乇賵蹖 氐丨賳賴 乇賮鬲. 賲賳鬲賯丿丕賳 賲毓鬲賯丿賳丿 賲丨鬲賵丕蹖 鬲賳丿 賵 鬲蹖夭 丕蹖賳 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 賵 丕賳鬲賯丕丿丕鬲蹖 讴賴 亘賴 噩丕賲毓賴 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 賵丕乇丿 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲 亘丕毓孬 卮丿 丿乇 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 讴爻蹖 鬲丨賲賱 丕噩乇丕蹖 丌賳 乇丕 賳丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮丿 乇賵蹖丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 丕賲丕 丕賵賱蹖賳 亘丕乇 丿乇 賳蹖賵蹖賵乇讴 乇賵蹖 氐丨賳賴 乇賮鬲. 丕蹖賳 賳賲丕蹖卮鈥屬嗀з呝� 讴賴 爻丕賱 郾酃鄱郾 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮丿. 丿乇 賳賲丕蹖卮鈥屬嗀з呝団€屰� 乇賵蹖丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 丕賱亘蹖 亘賴 亘爻蹖丕乇蹖 亘賴 丕乇夭卮鈥屬囏й� 夭賳丿诏蹖 丿乇 噩丕賲毓賴 丌賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 丨賲賱賴 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲 丕賵 丿乇 蹖讴 賲氐丕丨亘賴 賲卮賴賵乇 賲蹖鈥屭堐屫� 芦賲诏乇 賲囟賲賵賳 乇賵蹖丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 趩蹖爻鬲 讴賴 丕蹖賳 賳诏賴亘丕賳丕賳 丕禺賱丕賯 噩丕賲毓賴 乇丕 賲囟胤乇亘 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 賳賲丕蹖卮鈥屬嗀з呝� 賲丨讴蹖 丕爻鬲 亘乇丕蹖 趩卮賲鈥屫з嗀ж槽� 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖貙 丨賲賱賴鈥屫й� 亘賴 噩丕賳卮蹖賳蹖 丕乇夭卮鈥屬囏й� 賲氐賳賵毓蹖 亘賴鈥屫й� 丕乇夭卮鈥屬囏й� 賵丕賯毓蹖 丿乇 噩丕賲毓賴鈥屰� 賲丕貙 賲丨讴賵賲蹖鬲 乇囟丕蹖鬲 丕夭 禺賵丿貙 馗賱賲貙 丕禺鬲诏蹖 賵 倬賵趩蹖貨 丕蹖賳 賳賲丕蹖卮鈥屬嗀з呝� 賲賵囟毓鈥屭屫臂� 丿乇 亘乇丕亘乇 丕蹖賳 丕賮爻丕賳賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴 賴賲賴鈥屭嗃屫� 丿乇 爻乇夭賲蹖賳 賲丕 夭蹖亘丕爻鬲.禄
98 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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About the author
Edward Albee
223听books562听followersNoted American playwright Edward Franklin Albee explored the darker aspects of human relationships in plays like
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
(1962) and
Three Tall Women
(1991), which won his third Pulitzer Prize.
People know Edward Franklin Albee III for works, including The Zoo Story , The Sandbox and The American Dream .
He well crafted his works, considered often unsympathetic examinations of the modern condition. His early works reflected a mastery and Americanization of the theater of the absurd, which found its peak in European playwrights, such as Jean Genet, Samuel Barclay Beckett, and Eug猫ne Ionesco. Younger Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel credits daring mix of theatricalism and biting dialogue of Albee with helping to reinvent the postwar theater in the early 1960s. Dedication of Albee to continuing to evolve his voice 鈥� as evidenced in later productions such as The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? (2000) 鈥� also routinely marks him as distinct of his era.
Albee described his work as "an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty, and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen."
People know Edward Franklin Albee III for works, including The Zoo Story , The Sandbox and The American Dream .
He well crafted his works, considered often unsympathetic examinations of the modern condition. His early works reflected a mastery and Americanization of the theater of the absurd, which found its peak in European playwrights, such as Jean Genet, Samuel Barclay Beckett, and Eug猫ne Ionesco. Younger Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel credits daring mix of theatricalism and biting dialogue of Albee with helping to reinvent the postwar theater in the early 1960s. Dedication of Albee to continuing to evolve his voice 鈥� as evidenced in later productions such as The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? (2000) 鈥� also routinely marks him as distinct of his era.
Albee described his work as "an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty, and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
April 5, 2019
卮丕賴讴丕乇賴丕蹖 鬲乇噩賲賴:
Oh my
丌賴 賲賳!
Aren't you something
鬲賵 趩蹖夭蹖 賳蹖爻鬲蹖責
There there now
丕蹖賳噩丕 丕蹖賳噩丕 丨丕賱丕!
Oh my
丌賴 賲賳!
Aren't you something
鬲賵 趩蹖夭蹖 賳蹖爻鬲蹖責
There there now
丕蹖賳噩丕 丕蹖賳噩丕 丨丕賱丕!
September 29, 2019
Oh wow Albee. The Zoo Story has to be one of theatre鈥檚 greatest one act plays. It features only two characters. It is like a final act that emerged out of a Beckett play. I was blown away. The growing tension between the characters was so well architected.
The American Dream is also a solid play, the subject within the dysfunctional home is Grandma going to the retirement home. Instantly relatable although a bit disturbing.
5 stars for the Zoo Story.
The American Dream is also a solid play, the subject within the dysfunctional home is Grandma going to the retirement home. Instantly relatable although a bit disturbing.
5 stars for the Zoo Story.
November 30, 2020
ZOO STORY
4 stars
Middle class follies
A mild mannered editor sits on a park bench, winds up in a mad confrontation with a lower class man at the end of his tether. You鈥檒l have to pick your way through this short but powerful play and think what it means to you. Perhaps it鈥檚 about alienation and loneliness of two different kinds; lower class and upper middle class. Maybe it鈥檚 about the misery of the lumpen proletariat contrasted with bourgeois complacency and self-satisfaction. The lower class shouts and demands attention, but inevitably makes no headway, and winds up sacrificing itself for upper class causes anyway. You know鈥攖he working class boys getting shot in upper class wars for power and resources. Then there are just meaningless fights because we haven鈥檛 gone far past the ape. It鈥檚 a grim view of humanity expressed in the strongest terms, but in dramatic form, not in lectures.
THE AMERICAN DREAM
2 stars
Huh?
Two characters in search of a review. One is a young man about 30-32 years old, dressed in a dark blue Toyota t-shirt and blue jeans. He鈥檚 wearing sneakers. We鈥檒l call him Ganesh. The second is an older dude named Bob, wearing a lavender shirt with a green tie, black trousers with a small pinstripe. Wearing black shoes and no jacket.
Ganesh: So, Bob, what did you think of 鈥淭he American Dream鈥�?
Bob: The team that beat the Russians at Lake Placid in 1980?
Ganesh: No, not 鈥渢eam鈥�, The American DREAM, the play by Albee.
Bob: (straightens up, tries to look intelligent) Oh, well, I thought it was lacking in prelapsarian, semiotic praxis as well as being full of conjunctural, ontological narrative. He could have dabbled in ethnographic agency a bit more, but then he would have been accused of gendered, hermeneutic subjectivities. This dyadic project is only commodified discourse writ large.
Ganesh: Uh, I don鈥檛 quite follow. What are you talking about?
Bob: I have no idea. I鈥檓 a man of limited sensibility or else this play is an drastically dated dud. [winks] You like that? That鈥檚 alliteration!
Ganesh: [confused] Yeah, but, I mean鈥︹€︹€�
Bob: And to tell the truth, I couldn鈥檛 get what the play was about. They called it a 鈥渃omedy鈥� but I barely managed a single smile. My level of interdiscursive desire sank to a problematical level. I missed the point entirely.
Ganesh: Huh?
Bob: Yeah, right on, brother, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 talkin鈥� about! The Emperor鈥檚 suit didn鈥檛 come back from the dry cleaners鈥� on time.
Exit, stage right.
4 stars
Middle class follies
A mild mannered editor sits on a park bench, winds up in a mad confrontation with a lower class man at the end of his tether. You鈥檒l have to pick your way through this short but powerful play and think what it means to you. Perhaps it鈥檚 about alienation and loneliness of two different kinds; lower class and upper middle class. Maybe it鈥檚 about the misery of the lumpen proletariat contrasted with bourgeois complacency and self-satisfaction. The lower class shouts and demands attention, but inevitably makes no headway, and winds up sacrificing itself for upper class causes anyway. You know鈥攖he working class boys getting shot in upper class wars for power and resources. Then there are just meaningless fights because we haven鈥檛 gone far past the ape. It鈥檚 a grim view of humanity expressed in the strongest terms, but in dramatic form, not in lectures.
THE AMERICAN DREAM
2 stars
Huh?
Two characters in search of a review. One is a young man about 30-32 years old, dressed in a dark blue Toyota t-shirt and blue jeans. He鈥檚 wearing sneakers. We鈥檒l call him Ganesh. The second is an older dude named Bob, wearing a lavender shirt with a green tie, black trousers with a small pinstripe. Wearing black shoes and no jacket.
Ganesh: So, Bob, what did you think of 鈥淭he American Dream鈥�?
Bob: The team that beat the Russians at Lake Placid in 1980?
Ganesh: No, not 鈥渢eam鈥�, The American DREAM, the play by Albee.
Bob: (straightens up, tries to look intelligent) Oh, well, I thought it was lacking in prelapsarian, semiotic praxis as well as being full of conjunctural, ontological narrative. He could have dabbled in ethnographic agency a bit more, but then he would have been accused of gendered, hermeneutic subjectivities. This dyadic project is only commodified discourse writ large.
Ganesh: Uh, I don鈥檛 quite follow. What are you talking about?
Bob: I have no idea. I鈥檓 a man of limited sensibility or else this play is an drastically dated dud. [winks] You like that? That鈥檚 alliteration!
Ganesh: [confused] Yeah, but, I mean鈥︹€︹€�
Bob: And to tell the truth, I couldn鈥檛 get what the play was about. They called it a 鈥渃omedy鈥� but I barely managed a single smile. My level of interdiscursive desire sank to a problematical level. I missed the point entirely.
Ganesh: Huh?
Bob: Yeah, right on, brother, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 talkin鈥� about! The Emperor鈥檚 suit didn鈥檛 come back from the dry cleaners鈥� on time.
Exit, stage right.
January 23, 2009
For modernism that seems to have been written last week, Albee delivers a passionate account of two different views of Americana. Just under the surface, I always believed, Albee was barely in control of himself, pushing the envelope of absurdity because it was more than absurd to him: he makes it seem all to real, the characters not directly representative but rather being an analogy of whom they seem
An American Dream is about, largely enough of the disintegration of society through lack of concern for it. It is the substitution of one thing for the real, the easy and thing at hand for the substantial, the replaceable for the repairable. One can鈥檛 help understand now that in 1960, he must have come up against a tremendous amount of naysayers, those who believed that in order to progress, all we had to so was have a happy ending. Albee never provided that.
The Zoo Story is more stark and hence, necessarily less absurd because it acts as a kind of schematic for his later work. It is essentially a long one act in which not much happens until the end. Instead it is about a conversation between two men, from two distinct walks of life, one of which initiates the conversation asking personal questions. The first man finally spurs the second to kill him, forcing him into the chaos or, 鈥渢o go to the zoo,鈥� something from which his social position isolates him.
The zoo remains the figurative place where the chaos of one鈥檚 life occurs. The first man is familiar with the chaos of life, the second one not at all. This is a story about how class and position insulates one from feeling things, especially the insecurities of the life for so many. Without knowing about this chaos, we become complacent and defensive when others seek to show us.
The Zoo Story is a hard play, one which is evidently far more popular on college campuses than anything else. The rest of us have forgotten and become too comfortable to want to attend any longer.
An American Dream is about, largely enough of the disintegration of society through lack of concern for it. It is the substitution of one thing for the real, the easy and thing at hand for the substantial, the replaceable for the repairable. One can鈥檛 help understand now that in 1960, he must have come up against a tremendous amount of naysayers, those who believed that in order to progress, all we had to so was have a happy ending. Albee never provided that.
The Zoo Story is more stark and hence, necessarily less absurd because it acts as a kind of schematic for his later work. It is essentially a long one act in which not much happens until the end. Instead it is about a conversation between two men, from two distinct walks of life, one of which initiates the conversation asking personal questions. The first man finally spurs the second to kill him, forcing him into the chaos or, 鈥渢o go to the zoo,鈥� something from which his social position isolates him.
The zoo remains the figurative place where the chaos of one鈥檚 life occurs. The first man is familiar with the chaos of life, the second one not at all. This is a story about how class and position insulates one from feeling things, especially the insecurities of the life for so many. Without knowing about this chaos, we become complacent and defensive when others seek to show us.
The Zoo Story is a hard play, one which is evidently far more popular on college campuses than anything else. The rest of us have forgotten and become too comfortable to want to attend any longer.
October 26, 2014
Mix Lewis Carroll with Jacques Tati, as one critic
suggested when reviewing "The American Dream," and
you have a lethal, hilarious and very satiric cocktail. This may be his Best Play. The cast includes : Mommy, Daddy and Young Man (who explains his price, for those who can afford it, to the childless duo). Albee's comedy puts you in stitches - then he yanks 'em out.
suggested when reviewing "The American Dream," and
you have a lethal, hilarious and very satiric cocktail. This may be his Best Play. The cast includes : Mommy, Daddy and Young Man (who explains his price, for those who can afford it, to the childless duo). Albee's comedy puts you in stitches - then he yanks 'em out.
August 27, 2018
While The Zoo Story is one of my all time favorite plays, The American Dream is an altogether different artistic endeavor. It explores how fulfilling empty societal roles (such as Mommy and Daddy) can lead to a broken shell of an American Dream, bereft of emotion and focused only on making money.
November 7, 2016
Holy Crackers! Zoo Story is fantastic! Youthful rage and the kind of shock I've sought for months. RIP E. Albee. You'll be missed.
December 31, 2024
likeee 3.5 i liked the zoo story better? but the american dream was also good i liked the grandma character
November 1, 2022
As a study in masculinity, only Rocky comes close to beating this.
Two men from very different walks in life meet in a park and go round after round with one another verbally until . . . one goes down. And you cheer. At least, I did.
He fought for his bench!
Short and sweet as a knockout. Read this play for the first time or again.
Two men from very different walks in life meet in a park and go round after round with one another verbally until . . . one goes down. And you cheer. At least, I did.
He fought for his bench!
Short and sweet as a knockout. Read this play for the first time or again.
November 13, 2017
丿賵鬲丕 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 丕夭 丕丿賵丕乇丿 丌賱亘蹖 亘丕 鬲乇噩賲賴 賳丕賴蹖丿 胤亘丕胤亘丕蹖蹖(賳卮乇 趩卮賲賴) 亘丕鬲賲 丕賲乇蹖讴賳 丿乇蹖賲
賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 丿賵賲 (乇賵蹖丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖)禺蹖賱蹖 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 賵 禺賵亘 亘賵丿.
亘賴 丿賵 爻鬲 丿丕乇丕賳 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 賵賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 鬲賵氐蹖賴 賲蹖卮賴.
賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 丿賵賲 (乇賵蹖丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖)禺蹖賱蹖 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 賵 禺賵亘 亘賵丿.
亘賴 丿賵 爻鬲 丿丕乇丕賳 丕丿亘蹖丕鬲 丌賲乇蹖讴丕 賵賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 鬲賵氐蹖賴 賲蹖卮賴.
November 6, 2022
we are all caged 馃槓 also sad that there are barriers around people
November 18, 2021
鈥淭he Zoo Story鈥� is a play that has two characters, one setting (a bench in Central Park), and performed, is 15 minutes. Jerry and Peter have brief exchanges that take on an importance such that the dialogue plays out as an interrogation of communication itself for the audience. Jerry challenges Peter鈥檚 use of formalities or his niceties or even phrases:
PETER: My dear fellow, I...
JERRY: Don鈥檛 my dear fellow me.
PETER: Was I patronizing? I believe I was; I鈥檓 sorry. But you see, your question about the classes bewildered me.
JERRY: And when you bewildered you become patronizing? (20).
The effect is a meta-dialogue, with the men bickering about bickering. This caused me to feel conflicted. Peter is at once petty and yet also innocent--these are speaking conventions--and yet, why has it become convention to dismiss others with the cover of a phrase? What is our social condition that creates the need for these conventions? Obviously, for Peter, situations like this one; the encounter with a stranger in public. That this takes place in a public space--a park--is significant because it highlights tension between the promise and the threat; the ideala and the fears of public space; at the end of the day, the place where different classes meet. Albee uses Jerry鈥檚 absurd ranting to reveal the destitution of his social class (鈥淲ITH GOD WHO IS A COLORED QUEEN WHO WEARS A KIMONO AND PLUCKS HIS EYEBROWS, WHO IS A WOMAN WHO CRIES WITH DETERMINATION BEHIND HER CLOSED DOOR鈥� (35)). In contrast, Peter鈥檚 bewilderment serves to show his that he is a sensible, middle-class professional.
But of course, that contrast fades until the climax of Peter鈥檚 laughing fit, by which he symbolically moves alongside Jerry, who literally sits besides him. We hear Jerry鈥檚 story of his struggle to communicate with a dog鈥攁n absurdity, until we realize that he struggles just as much to communicate with Peter. There is the neat little irony of the play鈥檚 title, which is the story that Peter promises to tell. In double irony, Jerry essentially enlists Peter to act out in a play in which he performs a role to an inevitable and devastating end. We are confronted with a somewhat hokey comparison of the animal zoo and the so-called human zoo outside. The captivity, isolation, alienation, exploitation, the one-sided gaze and objectifying communication mediated by metal bars and a safe distance of the former is referenced in order to expose the supposed mirror qualities of the latter.
Irony strikes once again when we witness Peter acting out a morally depraved role that is 鈥渦nexpected鈥� for his class and generally reserved for people of Jerry鈥檚 鈥渢ype鈥濃€攊rrational, impoverished, queer, familyless鈥�
The play is dated, but the long psychological distance covered in such a short amount of time packs a punch to the reader. It is also more threatening than the second play paired in this collection, 鈥淭he American Dream.鈥� Obviously, at the time of debut (1960), it was threatening enough, as Albee reveals in the preface that one critic was so offended by it that he refused to review Albee鈥檚 subsequent play. But I thought there was so much more comedy in the 鈥淎merican Dream,鈥� that it muted some of the menace.
The overarching and heavy-handed theme is that we approach relationships as transactions. The explicit passages are like songs by Gang of Four:
MOMMY: Well, she鈥檚 right. You can鈥檛 live off people. I can live off you, because I married you. And aren鈥檛 you lucky all I brought with me was Grandma. A lot of women I know would have brought their whole families to live off you. All I brought was Grandma. Grandma is all the family I have.
DADDY: I feel very fortunate.
MOMMY: You should. I have a right to live off of you because I married you, and because I used to let you get on top of me and bump your uglies; and I have a right to all your money when you die (67).
The shifting alliances of characters is reminiscent of 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Afraid of Virginia Woolf?鈥� but the conversation is just so damn hilarious, with Grandma鈥檚 disparaging remarks about old people and everyone鈥檚 emotionally-vapid and daft way of speaking: MRS. BARKER: 鈥淢y brother鈥檚 a dear man, and he has a dear little wife, whom he loves, dearly鈥� (84). I would love to see this performed live!
PETER: My dear fellow, I...
JERRY: Don鈥檛 my dear fellow me.
PETER: Was I patronizing? I believe I was; I鈥檓 sorry. But you see, your question about the classes bewildered me.
JERRY: And when you bewildered you become patronizing? (20).
The effect is a meta-dialogue, with the men bickering about bickering. This caused me to feel conflicted. Peter is at once petty and yet also innocent--these are speaking conventions--and yet, why has it become convention to dismiss others with the cover of a phrase? What is our social condition that creates the need for these conventions? Obviously, for Peter, situations like this one; the encounter with a stranger in public. That this takes place in a public space--a park--is significant because it highlights tension between the promise and the threat; the ideala and the fears of public space; at the end of the day, the place where different classes meet. Albee uses Jerry鈥檚 absurd ranting to reveal the destitution of his social class (鈥淲ITH GOD WHO IS A COLORED QUEEN WHO WEARS A KIMONO AND PLUCKS HIS EYEBROWS, WHO IS A WOMAN WHO CRIES WITH DETERMINATION BEHIND HER CLOSED DOOR鈥� (35)). In contrast, Peter鈥檚 bewilderment serves to show his that he is a sensible, middle-class professional.
But of course, that contrast fades until the climax of Peter鈥檚 laughing fit, by which he symbolically moves alongside Jerry, who literally sits besides him. We hear Jerry鈥檚 story of his struggle to communicate with a dog鈥攁n absurdity, until we realize that he struggles just as much to communicate with Peter. There is the neat little irony of the play鈥檚 title, which is the story that Peter promises to tell. In double irony, Jerry essentially enlists Peter to act out in a play in which he performs a role to an inevitable and devastating end. We are confronted with a somewhat hokey comparison of the animal zoo and the so-called human zoo outside. The captivity, isolation, alienation, exploitation, the one-sided gaze and objectifying communication mediated by metal bars and a safe distance of the former is referenced in order to expose the supposed mirror qualities of the latter.
Irony strikes once again when we witness Peter acting out a morally depraved role that is 鈥渦nexpected鈥� for his class and generally reserved for people of Jerry鈥檚 鈥渢ype鈥濃€攊rrational, impoverished, queer, familyless鈥�
The play is dated, but the long psychological distance covered in such a short amount of time packs a punch to the reader. It is also more threatening than the second play paired in this collection, 鈥淭he American Dream.鈥� Obviously, at the time of debut (1960), it was threatening enough, as Albee reveals in the preface that one critic was so offended by it that he refused to review Albee鈥檚 subsequent play. But I thought there was so much more comedy in the 鈥淎merican Dream,鈥� that it muted some of the menace.
The overarching and heavy-handed theme is that we approach relationships as transactions. The explicit passages are like songs by Gang of Four:
MOMMY: Well, she鈥檚 right. You can鈥檛 live off people. I can live off you, because I married you. And aren鈥檛 you lucky all I brought with me was Grandma. A lot of women I know would have brought their whole families to live off you. All I brought was Grandma. Grandma is all the family I have.
DADDY: I feel very fortunate.
MOMMY: You should. I have a right to live off of you because I married you, and because I used to let you get on top of me and bump your uglies; and I have a right to all your money when you die (67).
The shifting alliances of characters is reminiscent of 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Afraid of Virginia Woolf?鈥� but the conversation is just so damn hilarious, with Grandma鈥檚 disparaging remarks about old people and everyone鈥檚 emotionally-vapid and daft way of speaking: MRS. BARKER: 鈥淢y brother鈥檚 a dear man, and he has a dear little wife, whom he loves, dearly鈥� (84). I would love to see this performed live!
September 30, 2024
Read this for AP Lit! SO tired of the people in my class not understanding things... a freshman said "I just don't understand how parents could do this to their child," Like hello that is the point!
April 27, 2014
I really like both plays, but this review is about "The Zoo Story." In order to appreciate it fully you have to understand the driving impulse behind Theatre of the Absurd and the dilemma of the existential condition. The play grapples with horror of living an existence of complete dislocation - nothing seems connected to anything else. Jerry's discovery - that he cannot forge a connection with anyone, not even a dog - is the foundation of his despair. It reminds me very much of Roquentin's experiences in Sartre's "Nausea." So, if you like that kind of thing, "The Zoo Story" will be a thought provoking read. Unlike Sartre though, Albee's play is very funny in parts. Establishing a relationship with a dog who hates you, trying to kill it with kindness and then just trying to kill it, seems like a twisted version of what happens in so many romantic relationships - no, they don't even have to be romantic - just a relationship with someone you're desperately trying to establish contact with. Agonizing loudly over a DOG in the same speech as GOD, who "turned his back on the whole thing some time ago," is both comedic and philosophically interesting. Now that I'm through Kierkegaard's "The Sickness Unto Death," I think I understand Jerry better, although I still believe that his suicide is caused by an error in his perceptions about the human condition.
Albee's play is not as lovely as Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," but there are moments of genius.
Albee's play is not as lovely as Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," but there are moments of genius.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2015
I only read The American Dream. It is Albee's look at how the American Dream has changed over time. He seems to believe that today the American Dream is only about good looks, shallowness, and materialism. I don't disagree with the analysis since many Americans glorify movie actors, sports figures and wealthy corporate owners. However, the play was boring and repetitious. Even though it is a one-act play, it was way too long! This was supposed to be a comedy, but I found only one line to be humorous. None of the characters were interesting. I certainly am being kind to give this play 2 stars.
February 12, 2017
Fantastic!
Peter and Jerry are two men with very different stories and lives, one is living the American Dream while the other is struggling to find acceptance and a place in the world. But differences sometimes lead to coincidences and that's what happens in Central Park, they coincide in that bench; and they have quite a chaotic conversation...
鈥淧eople can't have everything they want. You should know that; it's a rule; people can have some of the things they want, but they can't have everything.鈥�
Peter and Jerry are two men with very different stories and lives, one is living the American Dream while the other is struggling to find acceptance and a place in the world. But differences sometimes lead to coincidences and that's what happens in Central Park, they coincide in that bench; and they have quite a chaotic conversation...
鈥淧eople can't have everything they want. You should know that; it's a rule; people can have some of the things they want, but they can't have everything.鈥�
February 20, 2014
I can't remember the last time I read "The Zoo Story" but its power hasn't lessened over the years. Here in his first play, Edward Albee is already peerless in his command of vitriolic dialogue unleashing a fury against the status quo, an incisive rage that he sustained throughout his career. He may stylize the anger with the satirical "The American Dream" but even in this latter one-act, Albee's poisoned pen drips blood. Albee quote: "That's what happens in plays, yes? The shit hits the fan."
September 8, 2012
I was in a production of Zoo Story in maybe 1974...at Calvin College... loved it. Played Peter.
November 28, 2015
5 Stars for a play for the first time.
One of the GREATEST plays I've ever read in my life.
Highly recommended fellows :).
One of the GREATEST plays I've ever read in my life.
Highly recommended fellows :).
June 4, 2019
We read The Zoo Story in class as a way to help understand the Marxist theory and analytic lens, and it was a very insightful tale to read.
May 1, 2018
賲爻乇丨賷丞 賴夭賱賷丞 satirical 睾賷乇 賲亘丕卮乇丞 丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 爻丕禺乇丞.. 丕賱賱睾丞 賲賵丿乇賳 賵亘爻賷胤丞
亘賷爻禺乇 賲賳 兀賲乇賷賰丕 毓賳 胤乇賷賯 毓賷賱丞 賲賳 丕賱胤亘賯丞 丕賱賵爻胤賶貙 毓賳 胤乇賷賯 丕賱丨丕囟乇 賵丕賱賲丕囟賶 丕賱噩賷賱 丕賱丕賵賱(丕賱噩丿丞) 賵丕賱鬲丕賳賶(丕賱丌亘丕亍) 賵丕賱鬲丕賱鬲(丕賱卮丕亘)..
亘賷爻禺乇 賲賳 鬲賮丕賴丞 賵爻胤丨賷丞 丕賱賯賷賲 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 賵丕賱丕禺賱丕賯賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賳賮丕賯 賲賳 丕賱丕賳鬲賴丕夭賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賲丕丿賷丞 丕賱爻丕卅丿丞 賮賶 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓丕鬲 丕賱兀賲乇賷賰賷丞.. 亘賷毓乇囟 賱賷賳丕 賯爻丕賵丞 丕賱亘賳鬲 毓賱賶 兀賲賴丕 賵丕賴賲丕賱賴丕 賱丕亘賳賴丕 賵卮禺氐賴丕 丕賱兀賳丕賳賶 賲毓 噩賵夭賴丕 賵丨亘賴丕 賱賮乇囟 丕賱爻賷胤乇丞 毓賱賷賴 賵囟毓賮 乇兀賷賴丕 賯丿丕賲 丕賱爻賱胤丕鬲 丕賱賱賶 兀毓賱賶 賲賳賴丕 丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丕賸 賵賲丕丿賷丕賸..
賲賳 賳丕丨賷丞 鬲丕賳賷賴 丕賱賯氐丞 爻賷乇丞 匕丕鬲賷賴 賱丨賷丕丞 Albee 賳賮爻賴 賵兀賴賱賴貙 賲丕賲鬲賴 亘亘丕賴 賵噩丿鬲賴 丕賱賱賶 賰丕賳鬲 丕賱賲賮囟賱丞 毓賳丿賴.
賮賶 丕爻賯丕胤丕鬲 睾賷乇 賲亘丕卮乇丞 賲卮 賴鬲鬲賮賴賲 賲賳 兀賵賱 賲乇賴 賱賲丕 賯乇賷鬲 兀乇丕亍 丕賱賳賯丕丿 亘丿兀鬲 丕賮賴賲賴丕.
賷毓丕亘 毓 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 丕賳 兀丨賷丕賳丕 賰丕賳 亘賷賰乇乇 丕賱賰賱丕賲 賰鬲賷乇貙 賵丿賴 毓賰爻 賲丕 賯丕賱 丕賱賳賯丕丿貙 亘毓鬲亘乇賴 丕賳毓賰丕爻 賱鬲賮丕賴鬲賴賲 賵丕賱賱丕噩丿賵賶 賲賳 丨賵丕乇丕鬲賴賲.
亘賷爻禺乇 賲賳 兀賲乇賷賰丕 毓賳 胤乇賷賯 毓賷賱丞 賲賳 丕賱胤亘賯丞 丕賱賵爻胤賶貙 毓賳 胤乇賷賯 丕賱丨丕囟乇 賵丕賱賲丕囟賶 丕賱噩賷賱 丕賱丕賵賱(丕賱噩丿丞) 賵丕賱鬲丕賳賶(丕賱丌亘丕亍) 賵丕賱鬲丕賱鬲(丕賱卮丕亘)..
亘賷爻禺乇 賲賳 鬲賮丕賴丞 賵爻胤丨賷丞 丕賱賯賷賲 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 賵丕賱丕禺賱丕賯賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賳賮丕賯 賲賳 丕賱丕賳鬲賴丕夭賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賲丕丿賷丞 丕賱爻丕卅丿丞 賮賶 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓丕鬲 丕賱兀賲乇賷賰賷丞.. 亘賷毓乇囟 賱賷賳丕 賯爻丕賵丞 丕賱亘賳鬲 毓賱賶 兀賲賴丕 賵丕賴賲丕賱賴丕 賱丕亘賳賴丕 賵卮禺氐賴丕 丕賱兀賳丕賳賶 賲毓 噩賵夭賴丕 賵丨亘賴丕 賱賮乇囟 丕賱爻賷胤乇丞 毓賱賷賴 賵囟毓賮 乇兀賷賴丕 賯丿丕賲 丕賱爻賱胤丕鬲 丕賱賱賶 兀毓賱賶 賲賳賴丕 丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丕賸 賵賲丕丿賷丕賸..
賲賳 賳丕丨賷丞 鬲丕賳賷賴 丕賱賯氐丞 爻賷乇丞 匕丕鬲賷賴 賱丨賷丕丞 Albee 賳賮爻賴 賵兀賴賱賴貙 賲丕賲鬲賴 亘亘丕賴 賵噩丿鬲賴 丕賱賱賶 賰丕賳鬲 丕賱賲賮囟賱丞 毓賳丿賴.
賮賶 丕爻賯丕胤丕鬲 睾賷乇 賲亘丕卮乇丞 賲卮 賴鬲鬲賮賴賲 賲賳 兀賵賱 賲乇賴 賱賲丕 賯乇賷鬲 兀乇丕亍 丕賱賳賯丕丿 亘丿兀鬲 丕賮賴賲賴丕.
賷毓丕亘 毓 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 丕賳 兀丨賷丕賳丕 賰丕賳 亘賷賰乇乇 丕賱賰賱丕賲 賰鬲賷乇貙 賵丿賴 毓賰爻 賲丕 賯丕賱 丕賱賳賯丕丿貙 亘毓鬲亘乇賴 丕賳毓賰丕爻 賱鬲賮丕賴鬲賴賲 賵丕賱賱丕噩丿賵賶 賲賳 丨賵丕乇丕鬲賴賲.
November 3, 2020
BRAVO! For me, the best books are those that make you go online. These are the books that nobody would be able to catch all the ideas from after one read. These are the books which you don鈥檛 only want to reread but also need to reread and each time you find more things and idea buried deeply between the lines.
A clash of humanism and materialism, one American dream gets replaced by another鈥�
Two plays that are so different and similar at the same time. Both of them make us think about the values we possess as a society. Have we failed or is there still any chance to make amends?
A clash of humanism and materialism, one American dream gets replaced by another鈥�
Two plays that are so different and similar at the same time. Both of them make us think about the values we possess as a society. Have we failed or is there still any chance to make amends?
February 19, 2022
丿賵 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 丿乇禺卮丕賳 賵 丕亘夭賵乇丿 丕夭 丌賱亘蹖.
乇賵蹖丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖貙 亘賴 賲爻禺乇賴 诏乇賮鬲賳 乇賵蹖丕蹖 丌賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 賵 賳賴丕丿 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 丿乇 賮乇賴賳诏 丕賲乇蹖讴丕爻鬲.
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘丕睾 賵丨卮 賴賲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 诏賮鬲诏賵 賲丨賵乇 丿賵 卮禺氐蹖鬲 丿乇 丿賵賯胤亘 賲禺丕賱賮 胤亘賯賴 賲鬲賵爻胤 丕爻鬲. 賲鬲賵爻胤 乇賵 亘賴 亘丕賱丕 賵 賲鬲賵爻胤 乇賵 亘賴 倬丕蹖蹖賳. 蹖讴蹖 賴賲蹖賳 丨丕賱丕 丕夭 亘丕睾 賵丨卮 丿蹖丿賳 讴乇丿賴 賵 丿蹖诏乇蹖 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 丕卮 趩賳丿蹖賳 丨蹖賵丕賳 禺丕賳诏蹖 丿丕乇丿.
乇賵蹖丕蹖 丕賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖貙 亘賴 賲爻禺乇賴 诏乇賮鬲賳 乇賵蹖丕蹖 丌賲乇蹖讴丕蹖蹖 賵 賳賴丕丿 禺丕賳賵丕丿賴 丿乇 賮乇賴賳诏 丕賲乇蹖讴丕爻鬲.
丿丕爻鬲丕賳 亘丕睾 賵丨卮 賴賲 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 诏賮鬲诏賵 賲丨賵乇 丿賵 卮禺氐蹖鬲 丿乇 丿賵賯胤亘 賲禺丕賱賮 胤亘賯賴 賲鬲賵爻胤 丕爻鬲. 賲鬲賵爻胤 乇賵 亘賴 亘丕賱丕 賵 賲鬲賵爻胤 乇賵 亘賴 倬丕蹖蹖賳. 蹖讴蹖 賴賲蹖賳 丨丕賱丕 丕夭 亘丕睾 賵丨卮 丿蹖丿賳 讴乇丿賴 賵 丿蹖诏乇蹖 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 丕卮 趩賳丿蹖賳 丨蹖賵丕賳 禺丕賳诏蹖 丿丕乇丿.
November 4, 2024
Surprise surprise ik speel er fucking in MEE 馃槑 allen welkom in Hamburg, van 20-30 januari 馃
August 1, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this short drama tinged with pitch-black comedy that provokes wry smiles.
The play consists of one scene: A man decides to break his loneliness by meeting instantly a random person on his way out of the zoo. This strange meeting culminates in a tragic and absurd situation that reflects Albee鈥檚 perspective on the absurdity of life.
The conversations alternate with long monologues. Their awkwardness remind Ionesco鈥檚 emphasis on the breakdown of the communication.
The story told by a character about his successive interactive experiences (that shifts from violence to pity) with a dog lends to the play a surreal atmosphere. It is interpreted as an allegory through which Albee examines the human complex behavioral choices.
Like Beckett and Ionesco, Albee stroves to convey, in a humorous approach, his view of the intensity of human isolation and the loss of significant human communication in our modern age. Instead of recapitulating directly his concerns, Albee subtly evokes throughout the conversations between the two characters of the play many existential questions related to the anxiousness of twentieth-century man.
The beast was there.. looking at me.. I looked at him; he looked at me.. I think.. I think. We stay a long time that way.. still, stone-statue.. just looking at one another.. but during that twenty seconds or two hours that we looked at each other鈥檚 face, we made a contact. Now, here is what I had wanted to happen: I love the dog now and I wanted him to love me.
***
I have tried to love, and I had tried to kill and both had been unsuccessful by themselves.
***
Written and performed after WWII in a period that has witnessed the rising of the Beat Generation, Albee's theater play, according to R. Ahouansou, 鈥渨ould echo the malaise of post WWII America with its spiritual vacuum and stultifying materialism. (..) Everything was sacrificed to Money; spiritual values lost their ground to materialistic considerations that deadened man's heart and soul spiritual decay set in with londiness and misery for those who were hungry for human relationships, human contact and companionship, the Beat Quest "par excellence".
I recommend the reading of his interesting interpretation of the text. Ahouansou examines the ideas and the aspects that should be heeded by the reader/viewer
The play consists of one scene: A man decides to break his loneliness by meeting instantly a random person on his way out of the zoo. This strange meeting culminates in a tragic and absurd situation that reflects Albee鈥檚 perspective on the absurdity of life.
The conversations alternate with long monologues. Their awkwardness remind Ionesco鈥檚 emphasis on the breakdown of the communication.
The story told by a character about his successive interactive experiences (that shifts from violence to pity) with a dog lends to the play a surreal atmosphere. It is interpreted as an allegory through which Albee examines the human complex behavioral choices.
Like Beckett and Ionesco, Albee stroves to convey, in a humorous approach, his view of the intensity of human isolation and the loss of significant human communication in our modern age. Instead of recapitulating directly his concerns, Albee subtly evokes throughout the conversations between the two characters of the play many existential questions related to the anxiousness of twentieth-century man.
The beast was there.. looking at me.. I looked at him; he looked at me.. I think.. I think. We stay a long time that way.. still, stone-statue.. just looking at one another.. but during that twenty seconds or two hours that we looked at each other鈥檚 face, we made a contact. Now, here is what I had wanted to happen: I love the dog now and I wanted him to love me.
***
I have tried to love, and I had tried to kill and both had been unsuccessful by themselves.
***
Written and performed after WWII in a period that has witnessed the rising of the Beat Generation, Albee's theater play, according to R. Ahouansou, 鈥渨ould echo the malaise of post WWII America with its spiritual vacuum and stultifying materialism. (..) Everything was sacrificed to Money; spiritual values lost their ground to materialistic considerations that deadened man's heart and soul spiritual decay set in with londiness and misery for those who were hungry for human relationships, human contact and companionship, the Beat Quest "par excellence".
I recommend the reading of his interesting interpretation of the text. Ahouansou examines the ideas and the aspects that should be heeded by the reader/viewer
October 12, 2020
The Zoo Story鈥�4.5/5
The American Dream鈥�5/5
October 3, 2022
felt like a fever dream. would be better if it was a gay romance tbh
December 10, 2015
This is an excellent book containing two of Albee's earliest masterworks. This is a crash course in the Absurd way of life and understanding. I'm an Aburdist and not even Camus or Kafka could do for the Absurd what Albee did with it in these two one act plays. Of course, Albee would elevate the philosophy and expand upon it even more with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but The Zoo Story as well as The American Dream serve as a quick one-two-punch to the existential gut, The Zoo Story having the potential to eclipse even Virignia Woolf? for some, and certainly more powerful than The American Dream. Yes, The Zoo Story is the better of the two pieces, but having mentioned that I consider them both to be masterpieces, that's quite like saying the cure for cancer is preferable to the cure for world hunger, it's ridiculous that I even felt the need to compare.
Both The Zoo Story and The American Dream are must reads for anyone who wants to know the answers to questions they don't know how to ask themselves. For a uniquely American take on a uniquely European philosophical perspective, look no further than Albee. You might even become an American Absurdist yourself. After all, as Albee makes emphatically clear, being an Absurdist is the same thing as being an American, on par with calling something Blue-ish Blue or someone a Liberal Left-Winger. American Absurdism is the same thing as saying Absurdly Absurd, patriotically and existentially certain, infinitely so.
The American Dream
An excellent satire, crafted in quick strokes of courageously harebrained self-reference, deft sociological insight, and the kind of deeply black and profoundly articulate humor, the kind of comedy that eloquently belittles philosophical posturing and derails wrongly effete audience-confidence, all while saying something incredible about the American condition, The American Dream is the kind of fast comic opera one could only expect from Edward Albee. It's a play about America--the wish, the reality, the farce--and how absurd it all is.
The Zoo Story
Ladies and gentlemen, I have found the king of my absurd...
A violent philosophical statement about the impotent alienation of young men and the raging bulls of the absurd. The Zoo Story is Camus on speed, Beckett on shock therapy, and Kafka binge-eating American cheeseburgers with some sort of curious, fixed grin on his lucid, logical face. The Zoo Story is Edward Albee wearing some sort of smash-mouth tiara, draped in a Japanese kimono, and plucking his eyebrows fiercely in a shattered glittering mirror. The Zoo Story is about Sisyphus as the postmodern idiot-savant. The Zoo Story is beyond masterful. Albee's early play is beyond even words. The Zoo Story simply is ...
Well, there you have it. Now, go read these plays, read more Albee, hoist that boulder, and mind your supper, then maybe, maybe Mommy and Daddy won't chop off your you-know-what and gouge out those beady, quizzical little whatsits and instead leave you in peace to chat it up with Grandma before the van man arrives.
Both The Zoo Story and The American Dream are must reads for anyone who wants to know the answers to questions they don't know how to ask themselves. For a uniquely American take on a uniquely European philosophical perspective, look no further than Albee. You might even become an American Absurdist yourself. After all, as Albee makes emphatically clear, being an Absurdist is the same thing as being an American, on par with calling something Blue-ish Blue or someone a Liberal Left-Winger. American Absurdism is the same thing as saying Absurdly Absurd, patriotically and existentially certain, infinitely so.
The American Dream
An excellent satire, crafted in quick strokes of courageously harebrained self-reference, deft sociological insight, and the kind of deeply black and profoundly articulate humor, the kind of comedy that eloquently belittles philosophical posturing and derails wrongly effete audience-confidence, all while saying something incredible about the American condition, The American Dream is the kind of fast comic opera one could only expect from Edward Albee. It's a play about America--the wish, the reality, the farce--and how absurd it all is.
The Zoo Story
Ladies and gentlemen, I have found the king of my absurd...
A violent philosophical statement about the impotent alienation of young men and the raging bulls of the absurd. The Zoo Story is Camus on speed, Beckett on shock therapy, and Kafka binge-eating American cheeseburgers with some sort of curious, fixed grin on his lucid, logical face. The Zoo Story is Edward Albee wearing some sort of smash-mouth tiara, draped in a Japanese kimono, and plucking his eyebrows fiercely in a shattered glittering mirror. The Zoo Story is about Sisyphus as the postmodern idiot-savant. The Zoo Story is beyond masterful. Albee's early play is beyond even words. The Zoo Story simply is ...
Well, there you have it. Now, go read these plays, read more Albee, hoist that boulder, and mind your supper, then maybe, maybe Mommy and Daddy won't chop off your you-know-what and gouge out those beady, quizzical little whatsits and instead leave you in peace to chat it up with Grandma before the van man arrives.
January 23, 2015
Okay, this collection is my first exposure to Edward Albee, and I have to say that his writings are bizarre in a way that catch me off-guard constantly. I also have Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which I will start soon. I think I can only take doses of this playwright at a time, however.
As for this collection, I will share my thoughts for each play respectively.
The Zoo Story:
This play is my favorite of the two, and it is bizarre in a way that leaves me just kind of sitting there confounded for a minute. I had no idea where it was going, so I was pretty shocked by the ending (which I will not spoil because I'm nice like that). The whole time, I actually was wondering what Jerry was even talking about; however, he did not seem completely insane like I expected him to be. Peter for me kind of represents the readers confusion for me, because I could totally relate to him sometimes throughout the course of the play. I enjoyed The Zoo Story thoroughly.
The American Dream:
Meh. I wasn't too impressed with this one. From other reviews I have read, I am apparently supposed to get a lot of poignant feelings out of this play, but I just got a whole lot of confusion and mixed feelings at the conclusion. I don't know if I missed something, but it was not too emotionally moving for me; however, it was funny to some degree (ex. Daddy getting "sticky wet"). It wasn't my cup of tea, but do inform me if any of you think there is a point I am missing to this play.
All in all, I don't think that Albee is really the right playwright for me, but I will extend my patience through one more play.
As for this collection, I will share my thoughts for each play respectively.
The Zoo Story:
This play is my favorite of the two, and it is bizarre in a way that leaves me just kind of sitting there confounded for a minute. I had no idea where it was going, so I was pretty shocked by the ending (which I will not spoil because I'm nice like that). The whole time, I actually was wondering what Jerry was even talking about; however, he did not seem completely insane like I expected him to be. Peter for me kind of represents the readers confusion for me, because I could totally relate to him sometimes throughout the course of the play. I enjoyed The Zoo Story thoroughly.
The American Dream:
Meh. I wasn't too impressed with this one. From other reviews I have read, I am apparently supposed to get a lot of poignant feelings out of this play, but I just got a whole lot of confusion and mixed feelings at the conclusion. I don't know if I missed something, but it was not too emotionally moving for me; however, it was funny to some degree (ex. Daddy getting "sticky wet"). It wasn't my cup of tea, but do inform me if any of you think there is a point I am missing to this play.
All in all, I don't think that Albee is really the right playwright for me, but I will extend my patience through one more play.
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