So,
exactly how does one whack off with a prosthetic hand? This is certainly not
one of the more profound questions raised by this complex and compelling play
by Cleveland Heights High grad Rajiv Joseph. But it does represent the absurd
situations that abound, amidst all the blood and tragedy, in this theatrical
expedition into humanity’s dark heart.
Justly
nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2010, Tiger
is populated almost equally by the living and the dead, as they all puzzle
over the Iraq War and deep existential quandaries. And the Ensemble cast under
the direction of Celeste Cosentino, while not exceptional in all cases,
delivers the script in a powerful and compelling manner.
Much
of the story is narrated, oddly enough, by that eponymous tiger. He is shot
dead soon after the show begins by an American soldier named Kev, after the
hungry kitty bites off the hand of Tom (an excellent Leilani Barrett) another
grunt who is guarding the zoo with Kev. This causes that masturbatory conundrum
for Tom later on, while freeing the ghost tiger to prowl the streets and
speculate on war, God, death, and why lions get all the good publicity.
Meanwhile,
other ghosts abound. Kev, who is trigger happy and gung-ho for war, soon has a
mental breakdown, tries to cut off his own hand to rid himself of the tiger
phantom following him, and dies from a loss of blood. The Kev ghost is then up
and about, as is the ghost of Uday Hussein, one of Saddam’s sadistic sons. He
carries daddy’s head in a bag and is busy tormenting Musa, a former gardener on
the Hussein estate where he created topiary sculptures of animals.
In
a play packed with lush and inventive metaphors, that garden is particularly
resonant, made even more so by the exquisite set design and projections by Ian
Hinz. This is a dark, lovely and forbidding visual experience, which does full
justice to Joseph’s intricate and risk-taking script.
As
the Tiger, amply-bearded Michael Regnier is a cross between two familiar felines from another
show where cats vocalize their thoughts: Grizabella and Old Deuteronomy from Cats. He’s kind of a mess physically
(death will do that to you) but he has a wry sense of humor and is deep of
thought, exploring the foolishness of violence and mortality. He is seeking
atonement even as he casually admits to devouring passersby when he’s hungry.
Regnier keeps a firm hold on this fanciful entity and lends enormous heft to
the show, even if some of his latter speeches slide off into didactic territory.
The
other most compelling character is Musa, portrayed with remarkable finesse by
Tom Kondilas. Musa is working as an interpreter for the Americans while also
trying not to become victimized by them, the Iraqis, Uday’s ghost, or anyone
else. It’s a daring balancing act and Kondilas has never been better as he
brings a sense of humanity to the chaos at hand.
As
Kev, Daniel McElhaney exudes “crazy soldier guy” through every pore, but he
relies a bit too much on volume and noise-making while eschewing some of the
quieter, and scarier, aspects of soldiering gone wrong. And Assad Khaishgi has
some nice moments as the maniacal Uday, even though his delivery tends to fall
into repetitive rhythms. Justine Zapin fashions two female characters—an Iraqi
prostitute and Hadia, Musa’s doomed sister—and does so with clarity.
In
a play where the production design is so fine, it seems mean spirited to
quibble about a couple props. But the American soldiers are lusting after a
couple gold items that were pillaged from the Hussein mansion, a gold pistol
(which Kev uses to shoot the Tiger) and a gold toilet seat. It’s a shame those
two functional yet enormously expensive objects don’t glow brightly golden on
stage, for they represent the illusory goals so many Americans had for that
insane war.
We
will never make sense of the mess that the Iraq War was, nor will we probably
understand what the world faces now in that part of the world. But playwright
Joseph has created a play that makes us ponder the decisions our government and
other people (not to mention tigers) make in this volatile world.
Bengal
Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Through
May 17 at Ensemble Theatre, 2843 Washington Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-2930.
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