Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
| Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo | |
|---|---|
Broadway poster
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| Written by | Rajiv Joseph |
| Date premiered | 2009 |
| Place premiered |
Kirk Douglas Theatre Los Angeles, California |
| Setting | 2003 Baghdad, during the Iraq War |
| Official site | |
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo is a play by Rajiv Joseph. The show is about "a tiger that haunts the streets of present day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life. As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans and Iraqis who are searching for friendship, redemption, and a toilet seat made of gold."
A tiger lives in the Baghdad Zoo. He tells the audience that most of the animals have fled to "freedom" because of the Iraq Invasion, only to be shot dead by soldiers. That night, United States soldiers come to guard the zoo. The tiger, driven by fear and hunger, bites off the hand of Tom, a soldier. Kev, another soldier, shoots the tiger, mortally wounding him. He dies slowly.
Kev finds himself haunted by the ghost of the tiger, who wanders about Baghdad. Due to an outburst while searching an Iraqi's home, Kev is sent to the hospital. 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 gun Kev used to shoot the tiger was taken from the palace of the late Uday Hussein. Tom wants the gun back so he can start a new life in the United States by selling not only the gold-plated gun, but a solid gold toilet seat. During the exchange, however, the gun falls into the hands of Uday's former gardener, Musa, who is also working as a translator for the soldiers. He is visited repeatedly by Uday's ghost.
The rest of the show involves the living characters interacting with the dead ones as the war happens around them.
The play debuted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, California, directed by Moisés Kaufman. It ran from May 10, 2009, to June 7, 2009. The creative team included sets by Derek McLane, costumes by David Zinn, and lighting by David Lander. Another production ran at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles from April 14, 2010, to May 30, 2010.Kevin Tighe starred as the Tiger.
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Wikipedia