Lucy Komisar
"Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo"
is a fierce political statement against war
"Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo."
Written by Rajiv Joseph; directed by Moisés Kaufman.
Richard Rogers Theatre, 226 West 46th Street, New York, NY.
Opened March 31, 2011.
212-307-4100; http://www.bengaltigeronbroadway.com/.
Reviewed by Lucy Komisar March 25, 2011.
Surreal, sometimes funny, often cruel, Rajiv Joseph's play in
a stunning production by Moisés Kaufman looks at killing,
in war, and among beasts, and wonders if it is a primordial
instinct, something that somehow infects people who think they
"don’t do that." It is a powerful production,
not your typical war story, as the murder victims come back
as ghosts.
 |
| Robin
Williams as the Tiger. Photo by Carol Rosegg. |
The place is Baghdad in 2003. Two U.S. marines
are guarding the zoo. Behind them is a tiger (Robin Williams)
who was caught 12 years before and is trapped inside the metal
bars of a cage. The tiger – Williams – is barrel-chested,
perhaps like our best vision of macho soldiers. He has plans
of killing, like the soldiers. Williams is acerbically funny
as a carnivore.
One of his counterparts is Kev (the excellent Brad Fleicher),
a crude, hostile, violent, obnoxious soldier, so dumb he has
trouble putting his gear on. The other is Kev's partner Tom
(Glenn Davis), who is compassionate and tries to feed the tiger,
who promptly bites his hand off. Kev shoots the beast. A metaphor
for the interaction between Americans and Iraqis?
 |
| Robin
Williams as the Tiger, Brad Freischer as Kev, Glenn Davis
as Tom. Photo by Carol Rosegg. |
The tiger comes back as ghost. Kev sees him,
though nobody else does. People see the ghosts of the people
they killed. Another metaphor.
So how do the killers rationalize? The tiger declares that,
"Basic primordial instinct isn’t cruel; it’s
lunch. I’m guilty. That’s why I’m stuck here."
(He needs to attack) "And I caused untold misery to the
parents of those children. But what could I do? I’m a
tiger."
Then he reconsiders: "A basic primordial impulse isn’t
cruel! But, Holy fuck! What if it is? What if my every meal
has been an act of cruelty? What if my very nature is in direct
conflict with the moral code of the universe? That would make
me a fairly damned individual. After all, lunch usually consists
of the weak, the small, the stupid, the crippled. Because they’re
easier to kill."
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| Arian
Moayed as Musa, Hrach Titizian as Uday. Photo by Carol Rosegg. |
So, the tiger is our moral conscience, and
the play is about war and repression exercised by the strong
against the weak.
Saddam Hussein's sons Udey (a malevolent Hrach Iitizian) and
Cosey are examples of the predators. Udey is a ghost; Cosey
is just a head in a bag. Joseph shows us their egregious violence.
Musa (the very good Arian Moayed) is a frightened gardener,
who makes topiary – a giant elephant, giraffe, horse,
and eagle — in Udey's palace garden. (The set is by Derek
McLane.)
 |
| Arian
Moayed as Musa, Sheila Vand as Hadia. Photo by Carol Rosegg. |
His sister Hadia (Sheila Vand) persuades him
to show her the garden. Unfortunately for Hadia, the nasty Udey
happens on the scene. "I am Iraq," he declares.
He means that the terror is everywhere. Williams lumbers on,
growling, telling everyone, “This place is lousy with
ghosts." The ghosts of the murdered. "They’re
walking around, wide eyed… What happened to me? Where
am I? You’re dead and you’re in Baghdad. Shut up."
Expressing the cross-over horror, Kev prays in Arabic.
Joseph wonders how much the killer instinct has infected everyone.
Musa gets into a fight over Udey’s gold pistol. Someone
dies. Musa says, "It wasn’t supposed to happen. I
didn’t want to kill him." Uday replies, "I know
what you mean. Accidents like that are happening to Uday all
the time." And Musa: "I’m not like you are…I
am not the kind of person who does this. It is not who I am."
But war is turning ordinary people into killers.
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| The
Topiary in Uday's garden. Photo by Carol Rosegg. |
Is this a revelation of the human character?
The tiger proclaims that "All the great mysteries of creation
could be revealed at the zoo. Come see the God exhibit! Come
watch the beast play! And we, the lousy dead, would finally
have our Holy Land…God in a cage in a burning city. Ohhh….
What a glorious sight!"
Director Kaufman makes the bizarre happenings
seem real, as fantasy becomes figurative truth. In an oblique
way, it's a straightforward and important commentary on the
war in Iraq and an aesthetically elegant and moving play.
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