At Home at the Zoo at City Lit Theater

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...Nearly 50 years later, Albee reimagined his early success by updating it and pairing it with a new first act, "Homelife," that shows Peter with his wife, Ann, right before he leaves their comfortable West Side apartment for that fateful encounter on the park bench. Now called "At Home at the Zoo," it's receiving a thoughtful, if occasionally too cautious, revival with City Lit Theater under Steve Scott's direction."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Some 50 years later, Albee expanded the play into Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo, adding a first act depicting a conversation between Peter and his wife before he heads off to the park. Both acts examine themes of loneliness, isolation, the inability to connect, and the animal savagery that lurks behind our fragile facade of civilized rationality. But the new first act—with its focus on marital games of confrontation and accommodation—comes off more as a parody of Albee's famous domestic plays (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance) than authentic Albee. Steve Scott's staging features capable performances by Ted Hoerl as Peter, Elaine Carlson as his wife, and Mike Cherry as the drifter, though the long beard Cherry sports, which makes him look like the stereotype of a radical jihadist, raises the question why Peter would allow himself to be coerced into conversation with this menacing character."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Director Steve Scott avoids the potential unease inherent in his text through Peter and Jerry's contrasting facial hair, and by prefacing the show with lectures on behavior among the lesser species. This leaves Ann with little to do except to dither with the dogged persistence of spouses accustomed to their remarks going unheeded. Ted Hoerl, Mike Cherry and Elaine Carlson deliver uniformly impeccable line readings for this City Lit production, but can't render Albee's perverse footnote anything but a point of contention to ponder for another half-century."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Jerry senses that Peter is everything that he is not – socio-economic difference; relaxed and contented verses Jerry’s anxiety and loneliness. Jerry’s long speeches are funny, stinging and cynical. They clearly demonstrate the talent for dialogue that Albee possesses. The story about the dog at his apartment was marvelously presented by Cherry. His performance is amazingly complex, scarey and intense. The Zoo Story is a landmark work of the American theatre that doesn’t need a tepid first act to justify its existence. Steve Scott has made act one watchable and act two powerfully mysterious. This is the first time, I believe that the extend ‘Zoo’ stories work as a complete night of theatre. Ted Hoerl is quite effective as the gentlemanly Peter. Albee’s dialogue is delicious."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...Although Albee’s text is problematic, City Lit Theater’s production expertly examines Albee’s questions with a deep sympathy for its characters as well as a palpable urgency. The text of the play may have its problems, but I was riveted in my seat by the performance."