''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' is a play by

Rajiv Joseph Rajiv Joseph (born June 16, 1974) is an American playwright. He was named a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'', and he won an Obie Award for Best New American Play for his play ''Descri ...

. The show is about "a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

that haunts the streets of present-day

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

is who are searching for friendship, redemption, and a toilet seat made of gold." The back of the book gives a synopsis: "The lives of two American Marines and an Iraqi translator are forever changed by an encounter with a quick-witted tiger who haunts the streets of war-torn Baghdad attempting to find meaning, forgiveness and redemption amidst the city's ruins. Rajiv Joseph's groundbreaking play exposes both the power and peril of human nature."

Synopsis

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

lives in

Baghdad Zoo The Baghdad Zoo is a zoo originally opened in 1971 and located in Baghdad, Iraq, in the Al Zawra’a Gardens area along with the Al Zawra’a Dream Park (amusement park) and Zawra'a Tower. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the zoo housed 650 anim ...

. He tells the audience that most of the animals have fled to "freedom" because of the

Iraq invasion The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, only to be shot dead by soldiers. That night, United States soldiers come to guard the zoo. Two soldiers are stationed outside of the tiger's den. One soldier teases the tiger with food. The tiger, driven by fear and hunger, bites off the hand of Tom, one of the soldiers. Kev, another soldier, shoots the tiger, mortally wounding him. The tiger slowly dies. Kev finds himself haunted by the ghost of the tiger, who wanders about

. Due to an outburst while searching an Iraqi's home, Kev is sent to the hospital. Kev has seen the tiger's ghost and in turn people think he is going crazy. Back in Baghdad with a prosthetic hand, Tom pays a visit to Kev, less out of compassion for a broken-minded buddy than for a more practical purpose. It is revealed that the gold-plated gun Tom was showing Kev when the tiger bit Tom's hand off was taken from the palace of the late

Uday Hussein Uday Saddam Hussein ( ar, عدي صدام حسين; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and the eldest son of Saddam Hussein. He held numerous positions as a sports chairman, military officer and businessman, and was the head ...

, the son of overthrown Iraqi dictator

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

. Tom contacted Kev after he got his hand fixed because he wants the gold gun back. He can start a new life in the United States by selling not only the gold-plated gun, but also a solid gold

toilet seat A toilet seat is a hinged unit consisting of a round or oval open seat, and usually a lid, which is bolted onto the bowl of a toilet used in a sitting position (as opposed to a squat toilet). The seat can be either for a flush toilet or a dry to ...

that was also Uday Hussein's. However, during Kev's episode in the home in Iraq when he saw the tiger's ghost, Kev dropped the gun and it fell into the hands of Uday's former gardener, Musa. Musa is also working as a translator for the United States soldiers. Musa is visited repeatedly by Uday's ghost. This is why Kev can't give Tom the gold gun back even if he wanted to. Kev continues to see the tiger's ghost and he believes that the tiger is haunting him because of his previous actions. Kev tries to cut off his own hand to give to the tiger, believing this action will make the tiger's ghost go away. Instead, Kev ends up killing himself while trying to cut his hand off. He then ends up haunting Tom throughout the rest of the story. The rest of the play goes on with the ghosts of the dead characters haunting and talking to the characters who are still live.

Productions

The play debuted at the

Kirk Douglas Theatre The Kirk Douglas Theatre is a 317-seat theater located in Culver City, California. Since 2004, it has been operated by the Center Theatre Group. History Built in 1946, as a Streamline Moderne movie palace with a seating capacity of 1,160 (on a ...

in Culver City, California, directed by Moisés Kaufman."Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo"
May 10 - June 7, 2009, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Los Angeles, Center Theatre Group. It ran from May 10, 2009, to June 7, 2009. The creative team included sets by

Derek McLane Derek McLane (born June 14, 1958, in London, England) is an American set designer for theatre, opera, and television. He graduated with a BA from Harvard College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Career McLane has designed more than 350 pr ...

, costumes by

David Zinn David Zinn is a costume and scenic designer based in New York, New York. He has been nominated seven times for the Tony Award for both his costume designs and scenic designs, winning one Best Scenic Design for a Play award for ''The Humans'' an ...

, and lighting by

David Lander David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 – December 4, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom ''Laverne & Shirl ...

. Another production ran at the Mark Taper Forum in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

from April 14, 2010, to May 30, 2010.

Kevin Tighe Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

starred as the Tiger. A

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production opened at the

Richard Rodgers Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Her ...

on March 31, 2011, following previews from March 11. The show played a "strictly limited" engagement until July 3, 2011. Again directed by Kaufman, the Broadway cast featured

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

in the title role, with Glenn Davis as Tom, Brad Fleischer as Kev,

Hrach Titizian Hrach Titizian ( hy, Հրաչ Թիթիզեան; born May 26, 1979) is an American television, film and stage actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of CIA analyst Danny Galvez on the first two seasons of Showtime's ''Homeland' ...

as Uday,

Sheila Vand Sheila Vand is an American actress and performance artist. She is known for her role in Ben Affleck's 2012 Oscar-winning film '' Argo''. Vand made her Broadway debut alongside Robin Williams in 2011 in the Pulitzer-nominated ''Bengal Tiger at th ...

as Hadia, Necar Zadegan as Leper, and

Arian Moayed Arian Moayed ( fa, آرین مؤید, born April 15, 1980) is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and director. Moayed received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in ''Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo'' a ...

as Musa. Robyn Goodman,

Kevin McCollum Kevin McCollum (born March 1, 1962) is an American theatrical booking executive and producer of musical theater and plays, many on Broadway. During a producing career spanning over twenty-five years, McCollum has received three Tony Awards for ...

, and

Jeffrey Seller Jeffrey Seller (born 1964) is an American theatrical producer best known for his work on ''Rent'' (1996), ''Avenue Q'' (2003), ''In the Heights'' (2008), and ''Hamilton'' (2015), as well as inventing Broadway's first rush ticket and lottery ti ...

produced this production along with the

Center Theatre Group Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the ...

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' estimated that ''Bengal Tiger'' was expected to cost at least $3 million. The production marked Williams' final Broadway appearance and his only performance in a play on Broadway before his death in 2014. He had previously appeared on Broadway in a stand-up comedy engagement. ''Bengal Tiger'' had its southeast regional premiere at

Carolina Actors Studio Theatre Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (CAST) was an independent non-profit theatre company located at 2424 North Davidson Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was founded in 1992 by Charlotte acting instructor Ed Gilweit as an actor's teaching schoo ...

in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 11, 2012. In San Francisco the play premiered at

San Francisco Playhouse San Francisco Playhouse (formerly SF Playhouse) is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world ...

in October 2013 where it received rave reviews.

Awards and nominations

Critical reception

In reviewing the Los Angeles production, Charles Isherwood in ''

'' wrote that the Tiger "isn't given any silly costuming, thank heavens, but simply wears tattered clothes" and saying that the show is "boldly imagined" and a "worthy finalist for the recent Pulitzer Prize".Isherwood, Charles
"In the Iraq War, People Acting Like Animals, and Vice Versa"
''The New York Times''. May 15, 2010. The Broadway production received mixed to positive reviews. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called ''Bengal Tiger'' "the most original drama written about the Iraq War", but said, "Without an actor of Williams' marquee draw, 'Bengal Tiger' would likely not have made it to Broadway. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that it has . . . But I'm glad that it has found a home in the commercial theater district not only because the work will challenge mainstream theatergoers but because I think it will leave the more sensitive among them profoundly moved." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' praised the piece itself, but mentioned that Williams' performance "seems to miss much of the amoral ferocity of the beast (a tiger can be depressed or antic, but he is still a tiger). And a bigger problem yet is that Williams' Tiger is, as things go, not so much the protagonist as a sardonic observer of Baghdad ironies.""Broadway Review Roundup"
broadwayworld.com, March 31, 2011. "''Set in the chaotic first days of the American invasion of Iraq, this boldly imagined, harrowing and surprisingly funny drama considers the long afterlife of violent acts, as well as the impenetrable mysteries of the afterlife itself."'' - The New York Times ''"Joseph's metaphoric inventiveness is magnificently displayed throughout,'' ''and the kaleidoscope of figures and images bespeaks a purely theatrical imagination."'' - Los Angeles Times ''"Tragic yet darkly comic and highly. imaginative . . . Joseph has created a theatrical landscape that is totally different from the harrowing war reports to which the nightly news has accustomed us."'' - CurtainUp ''"The bottom line: Dark and disturbing but also corrosively funny, Rajiv Joseph's play set during the early days of the Iraq War is an exotic original."'' -The Hollywood Reporter

References

External links