Lauren English

No one knew what to expect when the San Francisco Playhouse introduced the work of Rajiv Joseph to Bay Area audiences with "Animals Out of Paper" three years ago. After that quirky comedy, about origami, hip-hop and melancholy matters of the heart, Joseph's next local outing was another surprise. TheatreWorks' world premiere of "The North Pool," a year later, was a tense cat-and-mouse game between an assistant principal and the Middle Eastern high school student he suspects of ... well, all sorts of things.

In a completely different vein, Joseph's darkly comic, surreal war drama "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" opened on Broadway about the same time, with Robin Williams in the title role. Now, just after Joseph's first musical - "Fly," an alternative take on "Peter Pan" - has premiered in Dallas, and he's stopped writing for Showtime's "Nurse Jackie," the Playhouse is opening its 11th season with the regional premiere of "Tiger."