Sonya Venugopal, Celia Mei Rubin, and Hiran Abeysekera in 'Life of Pi' on Broadway Through hallucinations and ghostly visits from familiar figures, Pi finds the strength and wisdom to persist against impossible odds. With only a box of rations, some canned water, an umbrella, and a survival guide, Pi must learn how to tame Parker's lethal nature and keep the beast alive so he's not alone in his despair. But a brutal game of predator and prey plays out amongst the beasts and soon only Pi and Richard Parker are left alive. In Pi's retelling, his entire family is lost while the only survivors to make it into his lifeboat are a few of their animals. His curiosity is matched by his imagination, sense of humor, and adaptability, some of the very traits that help him survive the ordeal.Īnd, as it's staged, it's quite the ordeal, with Tim Lutkin's lighting, Andrzej Goulding's video, and Carolyn Downing's sound creating the impression of a treacherous storm at sea. What kind of young man is Pi? Well, he's the type who can't choose just one religion, so tries to practice being Hindu, Christian, and Muslim all at the same time to his family's consternation. The depiction of the shipwreck is a marvel of stagecraft, but it's the earlier scenes in India that help articulate the state of Pi's soul before he makes that fateful trip. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade The cast of 'Life of Pi' on Broadwayīefore that dance can happen, Pi and his family must depart India on that doomed cargo ship. It's not the first time Broadway has seen such creative puppet work - The Lion King, obviously, is one long-standing example - but it's visually dazzling nonetheless. The gorgeously crafted puppets, along with some sensitive puppeteering, allow the animals to move as if independent of their puppeteers, who stealthily recede into the background. Eventually, the breadth of the Patel's menagerie comes into focus as a zebra, orangutan, goat, and hyena parade by onstage as Pi's father (Rajesh Bose) chides his son for needlessly endangering himself around the animals. Butterflies flit across the stage as a giraffe pokes its head through its cage to be fed by a more innocent Pi. Vibrant puppet creations by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell serve as the wild animals in the Patel family zoo, and the innovative staging of these creatures invokes a sense of wonder that only grows as the play unfolds. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade Rajesh Bose and Hiran Abeysekera in 'Life of Pi' Rajesh Bose and Hiran Abeysekera in 'Life of Pi' Pi, short for Piscine, is the lone survivor of the Tsimtsum, a Japanese cargo ship that was lost at sea along with his family and most of the animals from his father's zoo in India. More recently, it's become a five-time Olivier Award-winning theatrical production in London, and is now making its Broadway debut at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York.Ĭreatively adapted by playwright Lolita Chakrabarti and directed with verve by Max Webster, the play opens in a Mexican hospital in 1978 as the youthful Pi Patel (the endearing Hiran Abeysekera, reprising the role that won him the Olivier Award) recounts how he wound up stranded at sea for the better part of a year with only a Bengal tiger to keep him company. Since the release of Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi in 2001, it's become an international best-seller and the basis for Ang Lee's Oscar-winning film in 2012. Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade Hiran Abeysekera and puppeteers Fred Davis, Scarlet Wilderink, and Andrew Wilson as Richard Parker in 'Life of Pi' Here & Now's Robin Young joined director Max Webster and actor Adi Dixit after a recent performance.Hiran Abeysekera and puppeteers Fred Davis, Scarlet Wilderink, and Andrew Wilson as Richard Parker in 'Life of Pi' ![]() The show will be in Cambridge through January when it moves to Broadway. The animals, including zebras, a hyena, orangutans and of course the tiger, Richard Parker, are depicted using puppets, moving around the stage almost like a ballet, manipulated by a team of puppeteers. (Courtesy of the American Repertory Theater) The novel was adapted into a movie in 2012, and now, it's on stage at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ![]() Part fantasy, part psychological thriller, "Life of Pi" also veers into theology, philosophy and our perceptions of reality. The ship sinks, and Pi alone survives: adrift on a raft, with a very hungry, fully-grown Bengal tiger. Born as a novel in 2003, it tells the story of an Indian teen whose family packs up its zoo animals in crates and sails off from Pondicherry, India, for a new life in Canada. "Life of Pi" at the American Repertory Theater.
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