The Hairy Ape is a play that explores the existential crisis of Bob “Yank” Smith, who spirals into a complete mental breakdown when he rebels against high society, who he feels undervalues his labor, and his rebellion goes completely unnoticed. After his many efforts to fight back against the social order fail, Yank finally accepts that he is nothing more than a “hairy ape,” the very slur that intitally set him on his crusade against the rich. He ultimately climbs into a gorilla cage at the zoo and is killed. The University’s of Idaho’s production in 1932 followed a successful Broadway run of the play in the 1920s and preceeded a movie version in 1944.