Bengal Tiger in The Baghdad Zoo

If you are buying a ticket to “Bengal Tiger in The Baghdad Zoo” to see a funny Robin Williams, save your money. Someone once noted that Robin Williams wears a beard for serious roles and is clean-shaven for comedic roles. Well, that pattern holds true here, for the naturally hirsute Williams sports a shaggy beard. So the hair alone suggests the tenor of the play.

The Richard Rogers Theatre was filled with Williams fans, many of them undoubtedly hoping that he’d break out of the script and go into a comic jag. The one time he did, very briefly, was a moment when the tiger riffed on eating a fresh kill we saw a brief glimpse of the manic genie in Aladdin. Although he’s excellent in the play, Williams is far from humorous. He plays the title role and as the tiger and does a fine job, with a raspy voice, a menacing posture and sometimes ferocious attitude.

He portrays a pacing tiger in the zoo who is starving, so when one of two American soldiers guarding the zoo sticks a slim-jim into the cage, he bites off the man’s hand. The other soldier, Kev (Brad Fleisher,) shoots and kills him. For the duration of the play, the tiger’s spirit roams about the city, trying to discover why he is still there. He even tries to change his beastly nature to try to appease God. Only Kev, who later commits suicide, sees the tiger.

Other characters appear as spirits and wander throughout Baghdad, including Uday, the deceased son of Sadam Hussein. Uday continues to be bloodthirsty, cajoling and commanding Musa (Arian Moayed), his former gardner, who’s now an American interpreter.

The play, written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Moises Kauffman, is a provocative picture of war and raises more questions than answers.The play is thought-provoking and will likely stimulate dialogue and discussion afterwards with its many philosophical and existential ideas about war, God, and animal souls. Bengal Tiger inThe Baghdad Zoo touches on the senseless cruelties and violence, destruction and anarchy. However, despite excellent performances from Williams and Moayed, the play needs more meat, which would make the tiger and the audience happier.