Teacher Guide

The Zoo Story Lesson Plan

Introduction to The Zoo Story

The Zoo Story Study Guide Download PDF

Edward Albee wrote The Zoo Story in less than three weeks in 1958, and originally titled it Peter and Jerry. Although Albee is now widely considered to be among America's greatest living playwrights, this was his first foray into drama writing. It was rejected by producers in New York and was first staged at the Schiller Theater in West Berlin in 1959.

The one-act play revolves around a conversation between Peter, a middle-class publishing executive, and Jerry, an eccentric transient. They chat cordially in Central Park, but their discussion gradually descends into violence. In a 2011 interview, Albee admitted that he was more interested in Jerry's...

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