‘Life of Pi’ @ Broadway Dallas (Winspear)
Photos by Evan Zimmerman of MurphyMade
—Carol M. Rice
I will admit to knowing absolutely nothing about Life of Pi going in. I hadn’t read the novel or seen the movie, although I had watched a couple of cool videos featuring the tiger puppet. I knew it was about a boy on a boat with a tiger, but that was IT, and I actually thought it was about boy and his pet tiger. (I was wrong.) I wasn’t even 100% sure it wasn’t a musical!
I must also admit that I absolutely love seeing shows I know nothing about, because I am inevitably awed by them. Life of Pi was no exception.
The play was adapted for the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Yann Martel. The West End production won five 2022 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play and Best Actor, and played on Broadway the following year. The story revolves around two survivors of a shipwreck, lost in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat together for more than 200 days. The unlikely pair includes a 17-year-old Indian boy named Pi Patel…and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Taha Mandviwala is a whirling dervish of energy as Pi from the get-go, and his performance is absolutely mesmerizing. Pi starts off as an innocent teenager who loves animals, and is in search of the best way to find God. (He samples all the religions he can, often on the same day). By the end, Pi is a tortured yet resilient survivor trying to make sense of it all. Mandviwala is extremely athletic, and his physicality is a wonder to behold. He is also a gifted actor with never-ending facial expressions that leave no doubt what his character is feeling and going through.
Ben Durocher was the Cook/Voice of Richard Parker, with Shiloh Goodin, Austin Wong Harper, and Aaron Haskell as the Richard Parker puppeteers at the performance I saw. These actors come together to form a cohesive unit, making Richard Parker a scary and extremely believable tiger. The thing that most amazed me was the fact that a puppet’s movements could portray so much emotion. Durocher brought a different level of humanness to the tiger and the Cook (I can’t go into much more detail without giving up some spoilers), but his multilayered performance was just as compelling as the puppet itself.
Pi is telling his story to Lulu Chen and Mr. Okamoto, as they try to determine why the boat sank and how he survived. Mi Kang is excellent as Chen, giving her both empathy and humor at just the right moments, while Alan Ariano’s Okamoto is more bureaucratic and rushed—a “just the facts” kind of guy. These actors also shine in other roles throughout.
Pi’s family members are played by Sharayu Mahale (as his sister Rani), Sorab Wadia (his Father), and Jessica Angleskhan (Amma, his mother). Together with Pi they make a convincing family unit, complete with bickering, advice, and love. It’s truly heartbreaking when they are torn apart in the storm, and they are sad yet magical when they visit Pi on his journey after their deaths. Angleskhan also plays a Mexican nurse and the orangutan called Orange Juice, and differentiates them beautifully.
While the acting is all top-notch across the board (including the smaller named roles and the ensemble), the puppetry and digital projections are what make this show remarkable. The Puppet Design by Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell is not quite realistic—on purpose—and the stylized nature of the puppets combined with the skill of the puppeteers is incredible. Caldwell is also credited with the show’s Puppetry & Movement Direction and deserves every praise he receives.
Andrzej Goulding is the Video & Animation Designer and, combined with Carolyn Downing’s Sound Design and Tim Lutkin & Tim Deiling’s Lighting Design, creates worlds ranging from a sterile hospital room in Mexico to a zoo to a shipwreck, and more. The shipwreck was so stunning and realistic (in a hyper-stylized way) that it brought me to tears, and that impact wouldn’t have been possible without the combined efforts of these designers and the ensemble. The show’s solid direction of this complex work rates a mention too—Max Webster led the original production, with Ashley Brooke Monroe directing the touring company.
Tim Hatley’s Scenic & Costume Design also plays a huge part in the success of the production, as the named roles and ensemble members morph seamlessly in and out of their various parts (and the set does the same) aided by the aforementioned video and lighting.
I’m honestly glad I went into Life of Pi with no expectations or knowledge of the story. That way, I got to experience Pi’s onstage story with fresh eyes. I loved drinking it all in as it happened, instead of knowing what was to come next. Broadway Dallas’s production, playing at the Winspear Opera House, will be with me for a very long time.
WHEN: August 5-17, 2025
WHERE:l Winspear Opera House, Dallas (Arts District, Flora St.)
WEB: broadwaydallas.com