Flora Lynn [rating:5] (5/5 stars)
Tiger (Will Marchetti) talks to God in SF Playhouse’s current production. Photo by Jessica Palopoli.
The San Francisco Playhouse has launched the first year of their second decade, now in a new venue, at 450 Post Street, with a Tony nominated and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv David and directed by Bill English.
This show is about a tiger (Will Marchetti) 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 and redemption.
This 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 (Gabriel Marin), a soldier. Kev (Craig Marker), another soldier shoots the tiger, mortally wounding him.
Kev finds himself haunted by the ghost of the tiger, who wanders about Baghdad. Due to an outburst while searching an Iraqi home, Kev is sent to the hospital. Back in Baghdad with a prosthetic hand, Tom pays a visit to Kev. 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 U.S. by selling the gold plated gun. During the exchange however, the gun falls into the hands of Uday’s former gardener, Masa (Kuros Charney), who is also working as a translator for the soldiers. He is frequently visited by Uday’s ghost (Pomme Koch).
The rest of the show involves the living characters interacting with the dead ones as the war happens around them. Will Marchetti gives an amazing performance as the tiger (worth the price of admission) and is ably assisted by Gabriel Marin and Craig Marker as the two Marines.
Director Bill English chose this play because “it asks the biggest question of our lives—why are we here…we are all part animal, part spirit and our success at being human is defined by how we balance our contradictory nature.” In addition, English has created a fantastic set which is augmented by the imaginative lighting design of Dan Reed.
Playwright Rajiv Joseph tells us “Bengal Tiger is more of a ghost story than a war story in which we are haunted by our struggle to define guilt and responsibility—to define ourselves in relation to the universe and to find a moral compass to guide us.”
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo runs October 1-November 16, 2013. Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. plus Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. SF Playhouse is located at 450 Post Street (2nd floor of Kensington Park Hotel b/n Powell and Mason). For tickets, call the box office at 415-677-9596 or go online at www.sfplayhouse.org.
Coming up next at SF Playhouse will be Store Front Church by John Patrick Shanley and directed by Bill English, November 26-January 11, 2014.
Flora Lynn Isaacson
