Washington Post - Recommended
"...McMenamin does swell by the centerpiece of "The Zoo Story," Jerry's sad and funny recitation of the story of his battle with his landlady's dog. Delany applies a pleasing veneer of composure to Ann's vexation, and Allin is persuasive as an inwardly turned man inclined to defend against the intrusions of strangers and loved ones alike."
Washington Examiner - Recommended
"...
Fans of Albee will recognize "At Home at the Zoo" as being far more complex than "The Zoo Story." In addition to being a deeper and more poignant tale than that original work, it is a supreme example of how small miscommunications can be transformed into huge misunderstandings and how those misunderstandings can ripple into disastrous consequences."
MetroWeekly - Highly Recommended
"...Also offered in Arena's Albee Festival is At Home at the Zoo, a play in which, interestingly, Albee wrote the second act (which began life as a stand-alone work) 45 years before he penned the first (full details can be found in the program notes). At times existential, at others realistic, the first act is in many ways a cerebral experience. Like pieces in a puzzle, we contemplate the disjointed chatter between upper-middle class New Yorkers Peter and Ann, as it evolves into a series of revelations about their marriage and themselves."
WeLoveDC - Somewhat Recommended
"...The chief joy of seeing At Home at the Zoo, presented at Arena Stage as part of the Edward Albee Festival, is that second act. Featuring a lightning rod performance by James McMenamin as the mysterious Jerry, it’s a speedy and dangerous duel between action and reaction as he plays off the controlled listening of Jeff Allin’s erudite Peter. The entire stage comes alive with this act, a true evocation of why Albee is still revered today as one of our greatest playwrights."
Talkin Broadway - Recommended
"...So Peter escapes his home and goes to read on his favorite park bench, where the disheveled and progressively more threatening Jerry accosts him with the declaration "I've been to the zoo!" Jerry is the "other" who pushes easygoing Peter to the limit, but Albee leaves the audience to consider who or what he might be: a derelict, a man with emotional problems, or a social rebel?"
Washington City Paper - Recommended
"...“We have to know the effects of our actions,” Jerry avers, and the directness of that statement seems a rebuke to everything Peter stands for. The hypotheticals this quiet man and his wife deal with in their apartment won’t cut it in the park. Personal space isn’t a concept here—it’s real and violatable. Menace is physical, and the play works as it always has."
Washingtonian - Somewhat Recommended
"...Albee’s biting wit is ever-present. Even the most mundane domestic dialogue—Peter’s ignorance of the workings of a microwave, Ann’s musings on her insomnia—manage to sound smart. But even a towering talent like Albee can’t make At Home at the Zoo work."
Washington Blade - Highly Recommended
"...A mixture of old and new, Albee’s “At Home at the Zoo” is currently making its D.C.-area premiere at Arena Stage. The second act is the playwright’s 1959 career-making “The Zoo Story,” an intense one act in which Peter tragically accepts a gabby transient’s insistent offer to chat. And in the first act — a more recently written, calmer prequel titled “Home Life” (2004) — Peter reluctantly enters into a tough but revelatory conversation with wife Ann that he’d rather have avoided. Together, the players offer ample reason why typically reserved Peter is better off not talking."
DCTheatreScene - Recommended
James McManamin’s performance as Jerry alone is worth the price of admission, but for no additional charge you get Albee’s gorgeous language, the astonishing tales in The Zoo Story, and (and this is the best part of any theater experience) some hard-won truths. And, if at the end of the show you decide, just for a little while, to be a bad boy, or a bad girl, you’ll have Mr. Albee to thank.
