''Tracy's Tiger'' is a short novel by

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

. It was first published in 1951 by Doubleday, illustrated with drawings by Henry Koerner. It appears in the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

collection "The William Saroyan Reader," first edition 1958, published by George Braziller, Inc. The story of Tracy's Tiger was adapted into an original

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

in two acts for the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional Repertory, repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and conte ...

's 2007 season. This world-premiere production, with books and lyrics by Linda Alper, Douglas Langworthy and Penny Metropulos and music and additional lyrics by Sterling Tinsley, was directed by Penny Metropolus. Produced in the New Theatre, the smallest of

's theaters, the musical met with a warm reception from critics and played to sold-out audiences for the entire season. The Saroyan story was transplanted from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to 1950s

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

for the musical. Twentysomething Tracy, whose jivey tiger is invisible to all but him (and the audience), falls instantly for Laura, who has her own invisible and very seductive tigress. But on his first visit to Laura's home, Tracy makes a possibly irremediable mistake. The tiger becomes visible and is hunted down on the streets of San Francisco by a compassionate police officer, under the orders of his bumbling chief. The moving finale is a scene of redemption and reincarnation of characters not seen since Act 1. Tinsley, who also played the piano in this production, worked in a wide range of musical genres, matching the genre to the character.

Notes

1951 American novels Novels by William Saroyan Doubleday (publisher) books {{1950s-novel-stub