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'The Zoo Story': An Albee masterpiece, expertly acted

By Candace Chaney Contributing Theatre Critic

What if everyday chance encounters turned into more? What if, instead of saying ”fine“ when someone asked how you are, you said, ”Actually, I'm horrible and here's why ... .“

The little white lies of politeness are what society depends on for everyday order. Manners, we call it. But in Edward Albee's The Zoo Story, manners are forsaken for blatant and often uncomfortable truths in a play that highlights the tense and dangerous repercussions of absolute honesty.

Natasha's Bistro and its Balagula Theatre are playing host to Shoestring Productions, a Louisville theater company, in several performances of Albee's groundbreaking work.

Directed by Kathi E.B. Ellis, this visiting production of The Zoo Story provides a compelling, funny, thought-provoking, and ultimately shocking examination of an afternoon encounter between two strangers in New York's Central Park. Peter, a well-dressed, well-mannered publishing executive, is enjoying a book on his favorite park bench when a stranger abruptly starts talking to him. Jerry, the stranger, is less put-together. His clothes are sloppy and he has the air of someone who might, just might, be a vagrant. Peter is uncomfortable with Jerry's odd behavior and frank, invasive questions, but his sense of decorum outweighs his personal discomfort.

It clearly crosses Peter's mind, and the audience's, that Jerry might be crazy. But the more Jerry talks about his own life, the more he shares deep and gritty emotional observations, we sense that Jerry might be smarter than us, that he may be a kind of park bench preacher, some kind of wiseman caught in a broken life. That is probably why Peter consents to talking to him for as long as he does. When Jerry says thinks like, ”Kindness with cruelty is the teaching emotion, and what we gain is loss,“ he seems almost prophetic.

Louisville actors Doug Sumey and Lee Look give powerful performances as Peter and Jerry, respectively. Sumey skillfully portrays a man whose ability for emotional containment weakens and weakens as Jerry learns how to push Peter's buttons. Look's Jerry is charming, likeable, but fierce and edgy. The two share palpable chemistry as the park-bench exchange escalates to increasingly personal terrain.

In the end, we learn that this chance encounter is not so chance. It's not so much fate as intention. Jerry chose to talk to Peter, to addle and even enrage him, for a very specific reason, one we do not see coming until the play's dark twist in its final seconds. When the purpose of their encounter is revealed, suddenly Jerry's previous dialogue takes on a much fuller, much darker meaning. The impact is shocking, sad and beautiful at the same time.

Clocking in at under an hour, this swift-moving play packs a mighty punch.