Kevin Tighe and Glenn Davis. Photo by Craig Schwartz.
You might have read about it. In 2003, an American soldier shot and killed a Bengal tiger in the Baghdad zoo. Rajiv Joseph took this small snippet of news and wove an intricate tapestry about life, death, ghosts and the curse of a golden gun in his "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" now making its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.
This isn't "Cats" and there isn't an actor running around with whiskers of the feline sort. The tiger does appear in the very human form of Kevin Tighe--a bit paunchy with white hair, beard and mustache. His clothes aren't even orange and certainly not striped. In David Zinn's costume design, he wears worn and slightly tattered clothes of a sedately drab palette. This is fitting. The actual tiger that was killed was 14 years old and the average lifespan in the wild is only 8 to 10.
"The lions were as dumb as rocks," the tiger tells us. "The lions escaped two days ago" and "predictably" two hours later they were dead. "Eight f**king lions."
Outside his cage are two American soldiers. Tom (Glenn Davis) has already seen some action--both official and unofficial. He was one of the soldiers who looted the palaces of the Husseins and he was able to make off with a gold-plated gun and a gold-plated toilet seat. Kev (Brad Fleischer) is a bit of a hick, and itchy for action. If you can't abide vulgar language, you might want to pass on this play. The soldiers pelt each other with curse words and ethnic slurs (mostly toward Arabs) like merit badges of false bravado. A few audience members beat a hasty retreat, never to return. Too bad.
As one can guess, the tiger is soon dead, shot with the gold-plated gun by Kev who has checking out Tom's war trophy when Tom's hand was taken off by the tiger. The dead tiger is then free to roam the streets of Baghdad, remarking, "I get so stupid when I get hungry," remembering that was how he got captured in the first place and wondering if he is being punished for past wrongs. All those murders he committed as a tiger, but ends up musing, "It wasn't cruelty; it was lunch." Just what exactly is murder and cruelty anyway?
And what happens to Kev who "saves" Tom? Now he has the golden gun, boastfully waving it in front of his interpreter, Musa (Arian Moayed). Musa seems hypnotized. During a mental meltdown when Kev starts talking to the ghost tiger, Musa gains possession of the gun. Musa remembers the gun and his memories conjure up his younger sister Hadia (Sheila Vand) and Uday Hussein (Hrach Titizian) who first appears with his brother Qusay's severed head.
Moayed's Musa is no Gunga Din. Thank goodness for that. He's a deeply troubled man, a gardener who delighted in making a desert green and an artist who wanted to create beauty only to have it destroy someone he loved. Titizian's Uday is a darkly delightful evil prince. Sleekly dressed, thin and handsome, his Uday exudes an oily charm and is matter-of-fact in his cruelty.
Tom returns for his golden treasures and reconnects the tiger, Kev, Musa and even Uday. How this plays out with the tiger, Kev and Musa I won't reveal here except to say that there are no happy endings.
Director Moises Kaufman has deftly balanced the threads of delicate mental stability of Kev and Musa, the stronger determined mercenary cords of Tom and Uday and Joseph's whimsical design of a tiger musing about the meaning of life and his place in the universe. This Oriental carpet soars, lifted from the deep and grim contemplation of war by the infusion of humor.
As for the real tiger, here are the facts. According to News24.com, the shooting happened during a party. After a few beers, one of the soldier tried to feed the cat. The tiger's response was to take off one of the soldier's fingers and maul his arm. The tiger was 14 years old and had been born in the zoo. In the wild, there are only 3,000 to 4,500 Bengal tigers left and they are considered an endangered species. National Geographic lists only fewer than 2,500 in the wild.
At the time of the incident, the Baghdad zoo housed 44 animals, many of them former pets of Saddam Hussein and his son Uday. There was a happy ending of sorts. In 2008, two new Bengal tigers arrived at the Baghdad zoo. They were donated from the Conservators Center located in North Carolina. Veterinarians from the center accompanied the tigers to Baghdad. A new living space which included a wading pool had been prepared. The 2 Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division and a Baghdad Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team helped make improvements in the zoo.
The 14-year-old Bengal tiger in the Baghdad zoo was a casualty of war, but in Joseph's play truth, justice, the soldiers, and the people--American and Iraqi--were all casualties of this tragic war that was only supposed to last a few months.
"Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo," Kirk Douglas 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. $20-$45. Ends June 7.
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