Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?
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Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? is a 1969 play in three acts by Don Petersen. It helped launch the career of Al Pacino.
The story is a racially charged drama about teen drug addicts at a rehabilitation center. The center is on a floating barge.[1] An English teacher tries to make a difference in his students' lives. He encounters barriers -- the same ones set by the system that hinders the addicts' development and keeps them coming back. The play portrays addicts as the victims of loveless upbringings. They fail in isolation, or find strength in love.[2] The play, however, was characterized as more of a documentary about the lives of addicts and our rehabilitation system. It does not provide morality or solutions. It leaves judgment to the audience.
One addict, Bickham, is a tough who searched for his father and found him working in a seedy barber shop. Upon meeting his son, the barber shows him a dirty photograph.
The title of the play is explained by the character Fullendorf, who said, "Does a tiger wear a necktie? It ain't for us to go straight. We're like the tigers. We always chucked on raw meat. We was raised on it, and we like it."[3] "Does a tiger wear a necktie? No, it would be against his nature - and reform is against the nature of addicts like Bickham," Clive Barnes explains in his New York Times review.
Contrasting Bickham is Conrad, an African-American addict. Conrad wants to recover and marry his love, Linda. He leaves to live with his addict sister.
Besides the students, there are only four characters in the ehabilitation center - a teacher, a psychiatrist, a policeman, and the center's principal.
The original 1969 production was at the Belasco Theatre. It had nine previews and thirty-nine performances.[4] It was directed by Michael A. Shultz in his Broadway debut after years of professional work with the Negro Ensemble Company.[5] Al Pacino who won a Tony Award for Best Dramatic Actor in a Supporting Role (for playing Bickham). Jack Kroll in Newsweek said that Pacino had "the choreography of a hood, with a poetic soul."[6] A poll by Variety magazine of drama critics named Pacino "most promising new Broadway actor" for his performance.
Hal Holbrook played Mr. Winters, the teacher who cares enough to reach his students. Lauren Jones received a 1969 Tony nomination for playing Linda. Michael Brandon played Prince. Roger Robinson played Conrad.
It enjoyed a 2002 revival at the Looking Glass Theatre in New York directed by Michael LoPorto.[7][8] It is a regular on the community and school theater circuit, and in acting classes.[9][10]
[edit] External links
The script is available as a paperback, ISBN 0-8222-0318-9
