The Zoo Story and The Sandbox - Acting Edition
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Performing Arts
The Zoo Story and The Sandbox - Acting Edition Details
Yellow Pamphlet Booklet with Two Plays. This Edition of 'The Zoo Story' contains revisions to the original text. These revisions were made by the author in 1999 during rehearsals for his production of the play at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. Diagram of stage arrangements and Property Lists for each play are included. 42 pages. 7.75 x 5.2 inches. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., USA, 1961. Read more
Reviews
Although he's had considerable competition over the years, Edward Albee is presently regarded as America's greatest living playwright, the author of WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, TINY ALICE, THREE TALL WOMEN, and other notable dramas. In addition to these full length titles, he is also the author of several one-act plays. The most famous of these are likely THE ZOO STORY and THE SANDBOX, both written in the late 1950s.THE ZOO STORY has been very, very widely performed, particularly in academic and competition settings. The play runs approximately thirty minutes. The set is simple, requiring only a park bench; the cast is small, requiring only two men, one younger, one older. The younger man is Jerry, who encounters older man Peter in Central Park. Jerry has just been to the zoo; Peter is reading a book on a park bench. They are not previously acquainted, but Jerry gradually draws Peter into a conversation that Peter finds both fascinating and disquieting at the same time. Much of the play consists of a long monologue in which Jerry tells Peter a disturbing story concerning his decision to poison his landlady's dog. It gradually transpires, however, that Jerry has an ulterior motive in striking up a conversation with Peter, an ulterior motive that has left audiences horrified since the play was first performed in 1960.THE ZOO STORY was widely praised when it debuted. THE SANDBOX was savaged. Nonetheless, it too has been very widely performed, again especially in academic and competition settings. THE SANDBOX is deeply influenced by the French absurdists of the 1950s. The play runs approximately fifteen minutes. The set is simple, requiring only a few chairs and a children's sandbox. The cast includes two women and one man as well as a muscian, who plays music at various moments in the play. (The play does not specify, but the musician frequently plays a violin or flute or similar instrument.) As the play begins, a handsome young man is seen performing exercises on the stage. A couple in late middle age enter the scene. Mommie is a domineering woman; Daddy is a milquetoast. After some dispute, they bring forth Grandma, who they place in the sandbox; they then sit down to one side. It gradually transpires that Mommie and Daddy have brought Grandma to the sandbox to die, and they expect her to get on with it as quickly as possible.Of the two, THE ZOO STORY is the most compelling, perhaps because the situation is one plausible to most people. THE SANDBOX, however, has received increasing critical approval over time, and its odd mixture of humor and symbolism and gravity make for an interesting short play. Both are recommended.GFT, Amazon Reviewer