Thomas Tracy has a tiger. The tiger is hip, wise and invisible to all but Tracy. The tiger is actually a panther, but that’s no matter because Tracy thinks of him as a tiger. He found him in the zoo when he was 15. Now Tracy is 21 and they are in San Francisco. It is 1956, the era of beat and jazz, and opportunity knocking on a young man’s door.

Tracy is working at the old but colorful Seyfang’s Coffee Emporium on the city’s Embarcadero. He hauls sacks but knows he is destined for better things. He tries to impress Mr. Seyfang with his innovative ideas. The hiccupping taster Nimmo is charmed by Tracy and befriends him. Seyfang, however, simply sends him back to work, hauling sacks. Undaunted, Tracy decides to enter a jingle-writing contest and make his fortune. The Tiger suggests that there are more important things on the horizon.

Tracy’s life is changed forever when the Tiger yelps as the beautiful stenographer, Laura Luthy, passes by. She captures the attention of all, but only Tracy can see that she, too, has a tiger.

Tracy pursues and in spite of her practical nature, Laura falls for Tracy’s enthusiastic spontaneity. She invites him to come to Daly City (where she lives with her parents). The two tigers are delighted.

Tracy meets Laura’s eccentric father, who goes out for ice cream, and her alarmingly seductive mother, Viola. When Laura leaves the room, he is in over his head as Viola feeds him chocolates and tells of her days as a beauty queen. His anxious tiger watches as the impulsive Tracy kisses Viola. Laura and her Tiger return to see the kiss. Unable to speak, Tracy and his Tiger leave.

Next day, Laura passes by on the arm of another guy. Tracy shrugs pronouncing that he will find “another girl like Laura Luthy.” The tiger protests and Nimmo warns, “There will never be another girl like Laura Luthy.” Defiant, Tracy decides to leave Seyfang’s.

He wins the jingle-writing contest but does not become famous. The tiger grows sullen as Tracy’s life becomes aimless. They return to the Embarcadero to discover that Nimmo has died and Seyfang’s has closed. Tracy panics; so much has disappeared. Is it the Tiger’s fault? Suddenly there are screams. The police arrive pointing guns. Inexplicably, Tracy’s Tiger has become visible—a wild animal escaped from the circus. They shoot. The tiger runs off, leaving Tracy alone and in the hands of the police.

Thus, Tracy begins a journey to regain his Tiger and hence his soul. He battles the city of San Francisco, which has become mad with fear. The city’s insanity is represented by the racy press, pompous police, terrified citizens and amateur tiger hunters, all who follow Tracy’s story with a mixture of sensational self-interest and a desire to solve the real mystery.

Can Tracy rescue his injured tiger before the animal bleeds to death under a funeral home? Will the hysteria of the city overtake all sanity and hope? With the help of the curious Dr. Pingitzer, Tracy revisits his past and finds the Luthys and his lost Laura.

Through music, faith, wisdom and magic come together to help Tracy find his place in the world and reunite him with his soul mate and his soul.

For Families: This whimsical story of love and faith in the impossible is filled with a delightful array of eccentric “Saroyan-esque” characters. Tracy’s Tiger is a lyrical, musical fable that is most likely to be enjoyed by audiences 12 and up.