Some of the more interesting introspections into humanity focuses on the relationships people forge with each other. Yet their counterpoint, loneliness, also provides a compelling perspective on the world. Edward Albee's The Zoo Story explores the idea of the endurance of human loneliness and the effects it has on life. The play explores human interaction and provokes the audience into trying to guess at the meaning of life. The Zoo Story is about a man named Jerry (Harry Wolff '10) who is consumed by loneliness and consequently initiates a conversation with another man, Peter (Nathan Hakimi '11). However, this discussion on a bench in Central Park eventually convinces Jerry to participate in an act of violence.

The Free Play Theatre Cooperative's performance struggles, though not from a lack of effort. Both actors commit to the roles and act with power, but sometimes their renditions come off as stale and wooden. Hakimi is particularly awkward, though the awkwardness works for the character, as Peter is a middle-aged man who possesses the demeanor of a younger person. Still, his performance is riddled with moments of forced stammers and laughter that comes off as being a little too artificial.

As for Wolff's performance, I think it's simply a matter of interpretation. Jerry is supposed to evoke sympathy from the audience because of his overwhelming sense of loneliness, his weariness of the world and his detachment from the rest of the people in it, yet Wolff's portrayal doesn't invite sympathy. To the contrary, his Jerry is played as just a typical mental case, and the depth Wolff tries to give the character as the play goes on ultimately seems forced. Sometimes, Wolff speaks long paragraphs of lines quickly, and the words' meanings are lost on account of the rapid communication. All in all, his performance isn't terrible, but it's filled with stumbling points.

The best-acted scenes in the entire play occur during the awkward silences that emerge as a result of the mannerisms used by the actors. Peter's slight twitches and Jerry's distant stare during the discomfited breaks in their conversation seem quite natural, and though they make you feel uncomfortable, you get the feeling that it's supposed to feel uncomfortable. It's a moment when the audience is privy to Jerry's inner turmoil, and such moments of true emotion are rare in this performance.

I think the problem lies in the actors' inability to think of theater as a fluid medium. For instance, during a particularly climactic scene when Peter, who feels suddenly threatened by Jerry's abrupt aggression, begins screaming for the police, an actual Brandeis police car passed by and a policeman became concerned by the screams. Although it added unwitting humor to a climactic scene, the actors could have run with it, improvising to return the scene to its former gravitas. However, the actors seemed amused by the interruption and dawdled for a bit before returning to the script.

Though the storyline deals with loneliness, the detachment of the actors from the plot is ill-fitting. In the end, one feels like an outsider rather than a participant in the exploration of one of the deeper examples of the human experience.

The Zoo Story was directed by Ryan McElhaney '10, produced by Justin Kang '09 and starred Harry Wolff '10 and Nathan Hakimi '11. It ran Sept. 26-28 and Oct. 3-5.