BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO Plays Kirk Douglas Theatre 5/17-6/7

The world premiere of Rajiv Joseph's "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo," presented by Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, opens May 17, 2009, and continues through June 7. Previews began May 10.

Directed by Moisés Kaufman, the cast features (in alphabetical order) Glenn Davis, Brad Fleischer, Arian Moayed, Kevin Tighe, Hrach Titizian, Sheila Vand and Necar Zadegan.

"Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" is a lyrical, haunting new play set against the backdrop of the war in Iraq, in which the lives and, in some cases, the afterlives of two American soldiers, an Iraqi translator, the ghost of Saddam Hussein's son Uday, and a Bengal tiger all intersect in a surreal, darkly humorous and gently balanced view of war and its aftermath.

Earlier this year it was announced that "Bengal Tiger" was selected as an NEA Outstanding New American Play as part of the National Endowment for the Arts New Play Development Program hosted by Arena Stage, and Rajiv Joseph also received the 2009 Kesselring Fellowship for his work on the play. His play "Animals Out of Paper" in New York recently received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Play. Joseph's other plays include "All This Intimacy," "The Leopard and the Fox," and "Huck & Holden," which was produced in Los Angeles by the Black Dahlia Theatre in 2006.

Tickets for "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" are available by calling (213) 628-2772, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office at the Ahmanson Theatre or two hours prior to performances at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office. The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.

Photo credit: Craig Schwartz