Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” an Iraq War play by Rajiv Joseph that had an acclaimed production in Los Angeles, may come to Broadway in the spring with Robin Williams in the title role.

Moises Kaufman, who directed the Los Angeles production, said Monday that a New York engagement depended on continuing negotiations among the producers, Robyn Goodman and Kevin McCollum, and Mr. Williams. While he said it was not yet a sure thing, Mr. Kaufman expressed optimism that the play, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama this year, would arrive on Broadway. (The website Broadway.com first reported that the production would open on Broadway in the spring.)

Set early in the American invasion of Iraq, the play concerns the aftershocks of violence and brutality under Saddam Hussein and during the war, with a character — a tiger at the zoo — providing comic commentary and philosophical musings throughout.

Kevin Tighe played the part in a production at the Kirk Douglas Theater that was remounted at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. The possible addition of Mr. Williams to the cast is a recognition of how hard it is for a new play to reach Broadway without a star attached.

Otherwise, Mr. Kaufman said that the proposed Broadway production would be very similar to the Los Angeles edition, with some tweaks. He declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiations with Mr. Williams, but said that he thought the comedian and actor would be “a great fit” for the part of the tiger.

“There is a great deal of intelligence and sarcasm and humor in that character, who has a bird’s eye view of us mortals,” Mr. Kaufman said. “There is something about the keen intelligence and unblurry eye of the tiger that fits when I think of Robin.”

“Bengal Tiger” would be Mr. Williams’s Broadway acting debut; he appeared in “Waiting for Godot” Off Broadway in 1988, and did three performances of standup comedy on Broadway in 2002.

Ms. Goodman did not return telephone calls on Monday, while Mr. McCollum was on vacation. Mr. Joseph, in a brief phone conversation, said an announcement was expected later this week, but declined further comment.