Matt de Rogatis (“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”) spoke about starring in “The Zoo Story,” and reuniting with three-time Emmy winner Christian Jules LeBlanc (“The Young and The Restless).
“The Zoo Story” is a one-act play by the late American playwright Edward Albee. This was Albee’s first play and it was written back in 1958.
The show, directed by Theo Devaney, will be performed at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Asbury Park, New Jersey, from September 4th to 6th (for three nights only). This marks LeBlanc and de Rogatis’ reunion from “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Matt de Rogatis of Ruth Stage, who serves as creative director and producer, will star as Jerry opposite LeBlanc as Peter.
LeBlanc praised de Rogatis for “being a master of creating characters.”
Idea to perform this play
On the idea to perform this play, de Rogatis stated, “My mentor and late friend, Bob Lamb, died in 2019, and then, I took over the company shortly after. As soon as I took over the company (Ruth Stage), COVID happened.”
“This was a play that Bob and I wanted to do together. It was something that we had always talked about doing,” he said.
“I had read it 10 years ago, and I had gotten so close with Christian over the years, and we’ve always talked about doing something together again, and we plan to do more beyond ‘The Zoo Story.’ It’s a two-character play so we decided to do it,” he elaborated.
“When I picked it up and read it for the first time in 10 years, and I realized my character has so many lines, so I am scared,” he admitted.
Matt de Rogatis on producing the play
On producing the show, de Rogatis remarked, “I am producing the play, and I haven’t done a play in New Jersey in 15 years so I am taking it into a new state, where my family and friends are but I won’t have the audience that I have in New York. There is a lot going on, and I trying to figure out when I am going to memorize all these lines.”
“I am excited to do it because I think it’s going to be really good; it’s scary because of how much still needs to go into it. We are just getting started,” he said.
“My hope is that we can grow it and continue to do it in other places and ultimately culminating in New York City. This will be our out of town tryout and we will see how it is received,” de Rogatis said.
“This is the genesis of Ruth Stage’s partnership with Asbury Park and the Jersey Shore Arts Center. I think we will continue to do shows there and hopefully, bring them to New York,” he foreshadowed.
“You want to play a character as many times as you possibly can,” de Rogatis noted. “If you can start doing a bunch of shows in New Jersey and then moving to New York, by then, it is already owned, and it is looking good.”
“If you can hit the ground running in New York but trying it out elsewhere (another state), that’s the great part of this. I love that process,” de Rogatis exclaimed.
Tennessee Williams Festival
Last year, de Rogatis and LeBlanc performed Act II of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at the Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans.
“It was the best second act that had been done in all of 76 performances,” de Rogatis exclaimed. “It was probably the best production for either of us, and it was probably 200 people there in the grand ballroom.”
“The experience was amazing, and we had people there who saw the productions of ‘Cat of a Hot Tin Roof.’ Everyone that saw it in New York concurred that our performance at the Tennessee Williams Festival was better than the one they saw in New York,” de Rogatis explained.
Closing thoughts on ‘The Zoo Story’
For fans and viewers, de Rogatis expressed about “The Zoo Story,” “I don’t ever really try to make any kind of statements with these productions.”
“I’m not trying to do anything political, or social commentary, or anything that makes people wonder why they did this or that,” he noted.
“Sometimes, I really like the play, and I want to do it,” he said. “In general, I never really have a desire to do a play for any other reason other than I am drawn to the psychology of the character, and I feel like it speaks to me on an emotional level that I want to dive into.”
“The play ‘The Zoo Story’ is something that I want to do with Christian, and I hope the audience enjoys it. I want them to take whatever they want out of this play. I just want them to believe it and let our performances speak for it,” he concluded.
To learn more about “The Zoo Story,” check out the official Ruth Stage website.
For more information on Matt de Rogatis, follow him on Instagram.
