Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo

For some reason, I always think of Robin Williams as that guy from RV, that incredibly stupid movie that I saw on a plane once. I think that was the first time I saw him in a movie, something I am slightly ashamed of. Still, since then I have watched a lot of his other work to learn that he is not "that guy from that stupid movie that time" but an amazing actor. Mostly I learned this from his phenomenal performance in Good Will Hunting, one of my favorite films. And then I saw him on Broadway.

One of my favorite things to do is see screen actors come to Broadway, to see an actor that you know from somewhere in a completely different setting. And honestly, Robin Williams was great as the Bengal Tiger in the Baghdad Zoo.

Bengal Tiger was a play about the current war in Iraq and how it has affected everyone there, the soldiers, the civilians and of course, the Bengal Tiger. It was told, for the most part anyway, from the perspective of this tiger who died and is now on his path of redemption so he can escape the terror of the world around him. Throughout his path of redemption he encounters various people and situations only to have his final epiphany and the end of the show.

Robin Williams as the Bengal tiger

Honestly, I think the show was incredibly clever. First, the overall premise, the chaos of the war interpreted through various people's stories, and mainly based around the death of this tiger. Everything, down to the last word was just smart. Even at those moments when you started laughing because of the show's comedic outlet, right afterwards you were left thinking. I left the theatre lacking my usual stage door excitement/"let's meet the actors" mood, but more of just wandering around thinking about what it was I just saw.

And I find it fascinating when a relevant and controversial topic is used to create some art form. It really shows our ability to understand and cope with various problems in any way we know how.