Word: zoo
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What happens when two ordinary people have two extraordinary days? This is the question explored by The Zoo Story and The Actor's Nightmare, two one-act plays performed back-to-back at the Adams Pool Theater last weekend and this weekend. A tragedy and a comedy, these plays explore similar themes in not so similar ways...
...Zoo Story opens with two people from two different worlds encountering each other in a New York City park. Peter (Jason Mills), a publishing executive, is looking forward to spending a relaxing Sunday afternoon reading on his park bench. He does not anticipate meeting Jerry (Paul Siemans), who proceeds to spend the next hour dramatically changing Peter's outlook on life...
...conversation begins with Jerry asking directions and promising an interesting story about an adventure at the zoo. Slowly it becomes a monologue on Jerry's ultimately tragic life, laced with underlying messages about the meaning of life in general...
...Zoo Story is built around the motif of opposites. Peter and Jerry lead very different lifestyles: Peter has the conventional family life with a wife, two daughters, two cats and two parakeets, while Jerry lives alone in a rooming house with two empty picture frames. The theme of opposites supports the decision to perform The Actor's Nightmare, directed by Hilary K. Snow, right after The Zoo Story, pairing the tragedy with a comedy...
...combined efforts of directors Michael Friedman and Hilary Snow have produced a theater experience that is both enjoyable and thought provoking. Placing The Zoo Story and The Actor's Nightmare back to back, Friedman and Snow have allowed the plays to compliment each other. It is a night of comedy and tragedy, but also a night of good theater...