Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
by Rajiv Joseph

Name: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Brand: Rajiv Joseph
SKU: 9780822225652
Rating: 4.02 (552 reviews)

Broadway

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo Book Cover — Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

105 minsPresent DayUnit Set/Multiple SettingsContemporary Costumes/Street Clothes

Awards & Recognition

Drama Desk AwardPulitzer Prize

Finalist: 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Winner! 2008 Outstanding New American Play (NEA) Nominee: Six 2011 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Play

What readers are saying

Readers generally find 'Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo' to be a haunting and thought-provoking exploration of war, humor, and the afterlife. Many appreciate its unique blend of dark comedy and deep philosophical themes, highlighting the consequences of the Iraq War. However, some feel that certain aspects, particularly the ghostly concept, can be confusing and that parts of the play may not resonate as strongly in written form compared to a live performance.

Haunting and powerful themesUnique blend of humor and tragedyThought-provoking explorationEngaging charactersConfusing ghost narrative at times

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 Pulitzer Prize finalist play explores both the power and the perils of human nature.

Press Reviews

"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

"Joseph’s metaphoric inventiveness is magnificently displayed throughout, and the kaleidoscope of figures and images bespeaks a purely theatrical imagination."
— Los Angeles Times

"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 original."
— The Hollywood Reporter

"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

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Tom American, early 20s, older and wiser than Kev. Unsmiling, tough.	—	20s	American, early 20s, older and wiser than Kev. Unsmiling, tough.
Kev American, early 20s.	—	20s	American, early 20s.
Musa Iraqi, 30s.	—	30s	Iraqi, 30s.
Uday Iraqi, 30s.	—	30s	Iraqi, 30s.
Iraqi Man	—	—	—
Iraqi Woman	—	—	—
Iraqi Teenager/Hadia Female.	female	—	Female.
Iraqi Woman A leper. A note on the Tiger: The Tiger can be any age, although ideally he is older, scrappy, past his prime, yet still tough. He can be any race except Middle-Eastern. His language is loose, casual; his profanity is	male	—	A leper. A note on the Tiger: The Tiger can be any age, although ideally he is older, scrappy, past his prime, yet still tough. He can be any race except Middle-Eastern. His language is loose, casual; his profanity is
Tiger Big. Tiger wears clothes. Nothing feline about him.	—	—	Big. Tiger wears clothes. Nothing feline about him.