As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans and Iraqis who are searching for friendship, redemption, and a toilet seat made of gold.

"[1] The back of the book gives a synopsis: "The lives of two American Marines and an Iraqi translator are forever changed by an encounter with a quick-witted tiger who haunts the streets of war-torn Baghdad attempting to find meaning, forgiveness and redemption amidst the city's ruins.

Back in Baghdad with a prosthetic hand, Tom pays a visit to Kev, less out of compassion for a broken-minded buddy than for a more practical purpose.

He can start a new life in the United States by selling not only the gold-plated gun, but also a solid gold toilet seat that was also Uday Hussein's.

[3][4][5][6] The play debuted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, California, directed by Moisés Kaufman.

[11] Again directed by Kaufman, the Broadway cast featured Robin Williams in the title role, with Glenn Davis as Tom, Brad Fleischer as Kev, Hrach Titizian as Uday, Sheila Vand as Hadia, Necar Zadegan as Leper, and Arian Moayed as Musa.

[12] Robyn Goodman, Kevin McCollum, and Jeffrey Seller produced this production along with the Center Theatre Group.

[18] In reviewing the Los Angeles production, Charles Isherwood in The New York Times wrote that the Tiger "isn't given any silly costuming, thank heavens, but simply wears tattered clothes" and saying that the show is "boldly imagined" and a "worthy finalist for the recent Pulitzer Prize".

But I'm glad that it has found a home in the commercial theater district not only because the work will challenge mainstream theatergoers but because I think it will leave the more sensitive among them profoundly moved.

- The New York Times[3] "Joseph's metaphoric inventiveness is magnificently displayed throughout, and the kaleidoscope of figures and images bespeaks a purely theatrical imagination."

Joseph has created a theatrical landscape that is totally different from the harrowing war reports to which the nightly news has accustomed us."

- CurtainUp[3] "The bottom line: Dark and disturbing but also corrosively funny, Rajiv Joseph's play set during the early days of the Iraq War is an exotic original."