Albee Memory - Review of Peter & Jerry

Today I'm reprinting the first review I wrote of an Edward Albee play, which sounds kind of presumptuous, now that I think about it, but there you have it.  Clearly, my reviews will never do the man, or his plays, any justice.  But it has been interesting to go back and read these.  I wish I had written reviews of the Kathleen Turner/Bill Irwin Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, or The Goat, or who is Sylvia?, which I saw with the replacement cast, Sally Field and Bill Irwin.  Bill Irwin and Albee - not the first pairing you think of, but boy, was it potent.  I loved both of those productions, but I can't find any of my writings, which makes me sad.  The below review is the oldest I could find...


10/22/07:  Last Friday was the first preview at Second Stage of Edward Albee’s Peter & Jerry.  The first act is the new play, Homelife, which deals with Peter and his wife and was written (I guess) to shed some light on Peter before he gets to the park bench in The Zoo Story. The second act is then a slightly updated version of The Zoo Story.

Bill Pullman is extremely good as Peter, as is Johanna Day as his wife, Ann.  They have a fascinating conversation about their lives as a married couple, changed expectations and the world around them.  It’s a very well-acted and interesting piece, though I had some problems with the staging.  But I wonder if the problems I had with the staging were purposely done to mirror some of the staging in Zoo Story.  I don’t know.  

Intellectually, I understand why Albee wanted to elaborate on Peter and why the first act of this evening exists, but to me, it really dilutes the ferocity of Zoo Story.  It was much more interesting and theatrical, I thought, to wonder why this guy just sits there and listens to the other guy’s monologue.  You wonder what kind of person just sits there. Now that I know, it’s maybe not as interesting as what I could imagine.  If that makes any sense.  

Zoo Story is again very well acted and well done, though I do think it’s not as exciting as it could be.  Again, there are staging issues, but I think they’re meant to cover up the fact that Peter just sits there for almost the entire act.  But the actor has to bear some responsibility there, too.  The actor has to make us understand why Peter doesn’t leave. And I think Pullman just hasn’t found it yet.  He has an odd focus thing—he rarely looks at anyone when talking to them.  I’m not sure if it’s a passive character trait, or an actor habit, but it can make him seem disconnected to the play, not the scene.  Maybe this will become sharper as the run progresses.  As a first preview goes, this was remarkably smooth and polished, so I’m sure it will only get better as the run progresses.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

Dallas Roberts is a very interesting Jerry. He is charismatic yet off-kilter, though I think he tips the ‘crazy’ hand a little too early in the piece.  If he just held off a little more, he would’ve become more dangerous.  As it is now, he comes off as crazy/annoying a little too soon instead of crazy/dangerous.  And the “this is MY bench” exchange stays funny too long—you don’t feel the laughing trail off as it gets scary. Again, this could be a timing issue that will be taken care of as the run goes on.  The ‘updates’ didn’t really work for me, because everything isn’t updated. There’s dialogue and attitude that’s still set in the ‘50s, yet with other bits of dialogue that have been updated. Odd.  At least to me.

I highly recommend the evening, even with my reservations.  I think Albee just knows how to tell a ripping good story, whatever my opinion of the execution of it.  I mean, hello, it's Albee.  And the actors are top-notch.  I'd be willing to bet, after they get more performances under their belts, they'll be even better.