Davis, Fleischer et al.. Join Williams in BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO on Broadway; Cast Complete

Casting has been completed for the Broadway premiere of Rajiv Joseph's play BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO - set to begin previews March 11 and open March 31 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 W. 46 St.), starring Robin Williams in his Broadway acting debut - it has been announced by the play's producers Robyn Goodman, Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Center Theatre Group.

Glenn Davis, Brad Fleischer, Hrach Titizian, Sheila Vand, Necar Zadegan and Arian Moayed - all of whom appeared in BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO during its two engagements at the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles in 2009 and again earlier this year - will join Mr. Williams on Broadway in Mr. Joseph's play, a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Earlier this week on December 7, it was announced that Rajiv Joseph is one of nine theatre artists who have each been awarded a $50,000 unrestricted USA Fellowship for 2010 from United States Artists, a national grant-giving, arts advocacy organization.

BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO will be directed on Broadway, as it was in Los Angeles, by Moises Kaufman.

Glenn Davis appeared Off-Broadway in the Vineyard Theatre production of Tarell McCraney's WIG OUT and at Steppenwolf Theatre in Mr. McCraney's THE BROTHER/SISTER PLAYS. Brad Fleischer, seen Off-Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of STREAMERS and on Broadway in CORAM BOY, has appeared in Rajiv Joseph's play GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES at the Alley Theatre.

Arian Moayed's numerous credits include Tony Kushner's HOMEBODY/KABUL at BAM and Steppenwolf, QUEENS BLVD at Signature Theatre, AMERICAN PILOT at Manhattan Theatre Club and Jeff Daniels' play APARTMENT 3A. He received a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance in MASKED Off-Broadway at DR2 Theatre.

A stage actor and former theatre producer, Hrach Titizian has appeared in the Universal film "The Kingdom," and in "The Men Who Stare at Goats" with George Clooney. Sheila Vand appeared in the Los Angeles Theatre Company production of PORTRAIT OF THE ARCHITECT IN RUINS and was a regular on the television series "Prom Queen." Necar Zadegan appeared in the West Coast premiere of Diana Son's play STOP KISS and in GILGAMESH at Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena.

The Oscar, Emmy and Grammy Award-winning actor Robin Williams makes his Broadway acting debut in BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, having previously appeared Off-Broadway opposite Steve Martin in a revival of Samuel Beckett's WAITING FOR GODOT at Lincoln Center in 1988.

In Rajiv Joseph's savagely funny play BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, a tiger 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, redemption and a toilet seat made of gold.

The play premiered in 2009 at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre and was remounted at CTG's larger theatre in Los Angeles, the Mark Taper Forum, in the spring of 2010.

Rajiv Joseph is an American playwright whose plays include ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER, which premiered at Second Stage in 2008, HUCK & HOLDEN produced at Cherry Lane Theatre, ALL THIS INIMACY and THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX. He is the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Kesselring Fellowship from the National Arts Club, and the 2008 Paula Vogel Award for emerging playwrights presented by the Vineyard Theatre.

Robin Williams has more than 40 industry honors to his credit including four Oscar nominations and one win, two Emmy awards, four Grammys and six Golden Globes, including the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award.

In 2009, he concluded his hugely successful comedy tour entitled "Weapons of Self Destruction." The show was filmed over two nights at Washington, DC's DAR Constitution Hall, and premiered on HBO as the network's most successful stand-up comedy special of the year, earning three Emmy award nominations.

Williams began his career as a stand-up comedian and has created a repertoire of indelible characters, first in the hit series "Mork & Mindy" and then in numerous film roles. In 1997, Williams received Academy and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance in "Good Will Hunting," having been previously nominated by the Academy for performances in "The Fisher King," "Dead Poets Society" and "Good Morning Vietnam." Williams' blockbuster films include "Mrs. Doubtfire," "The Birdcage," "Jumanji," "Hook," two "Night at the Museum" films, and the animated films "Aladdin," "Robots" and "Happy Feet."

Having trained at the famed Juilliard School under John Houseman in New York, his other stage credits include a landmark production of Samuel Beckett's WAITING FOR GODOT directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Steve Martin, and a short run in San Francisco of THE EXONERATED, which tells the true stories of six innocent survivors of death row.
Best known philanthropically for his affiliation with "Comic Relief," Williams supports numerous causes and has toured the Middle East numerous times with the USO.
Moises Kaufman received a Tony nomination for his direction of Doug Wright's play I AM MY OWN WIFE, and a Tony nomination as playwright for 33 VARIATIONS, seen on Broadway last season starring Jane Fonda. As founder of Tectonic Theatre Project, he wrote and directed GROSS INDECENCY: THE THREE TRIALS OF OSCAR WILDE, and directed THE LARAMIE PROJECT, which he co-wrote with other members of the company.

Robyn Goodman won Tony Awards for Best Musical as producer of AVENUE Q and IN THE HEIGHTS. Her other Broadway productions include METAMORPHOSES and WEST SIDE STORY. She is a producer of AVENUE Q at New World Stages, and produced ALTAR BOYZ Off-Broadway. She is a founding Board member of The Ride and Artistic Consultant to Roundabout Theatre Company. Robyn was co-founder of Second Stage Theatre, serving as artistic director for 13 years.

Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey Seller are the winners of three Tony Awards for Best Musical: RENT (which also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama), AVENUE Q and IN THE HEIGHTS. Also on Broadway, they produced the current revival of WEST SIDE STORY, HIGH FIDELITY and Baz Luhrmann's production of LA BOHEME. They are producers of AVENUE Q at New World Stages, and produced DE LA GUARDA Off-Broadway. .

Center Theatre Group (Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director; Charles Dillingham, Managing Director) is Los Angeles' leading theatre company and one of the nation's preeminent arts organizations, programming theatre year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre. BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO is the eighth show sent from CTG to Broadway in the last five years and joins the current musical BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, which also premiered at the Douglas.

Tickets to BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO are currently on sale and can be reserved by calling Ticketmaster at 800 745 3000, online at www.ticketmaster.com or at www.bengaltigeronbroadway.com, as well as at the Richard Rodgers Theatre box office (226 W. 46 St.) in Manhattan.

 

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