Pittsburgh Cultural Trust PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series Announces THREE-TIME TONY AWARD®-WINNING THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE LIFE OF PI

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to announce LIFE OF PI, the Tony Award®-winning theatrical experience that has wowed audiences around the globe, comes to the Benedum Center, 237 7th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 from January 28 through February 2, 2025.  Tickets are on sale for LIFE OF PI presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and part of the 2024-2025 PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh Series lineup. 

 

For tickets and information, visit Pittsburgh Cultural Trust official ticket sources: TrustArts.org, in person at Theater Square Box Office, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call guest services at 412-456-4800; group sales TrustArts.org/GroupSales | 412-471-6930. The Benedum Center, Theater Square Complex and Cultural District are projects of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.  For more information about the Cultural District, visit TrustArts.org/visit.

 

Produced by Simon Friend, Daryl Roth, Hal Luftig, Mark Gordon Pictures, and NETworks Presentations, Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaptation of LIFE OF PI is based on Yann Martel’s best-selling novel – one of the best-loved works of fiction and winner of the International Booker Prize (formerly Man Booker Prize) which has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. LIFE OF PI has become a global phenomenon with acclaimed engagements on Broadway, London’s West End and UK tour and now LIFE OF PI is thrilling US audiences on a multi-city tour.

 

Told with jaw-dropping visuals, world class puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, LIFE OF PI creates a visually stunning journey that will leave you filled with awe and joy. Martel’s extraordinary story of family, resilience and survival and the natural world combined with Chakrabarti’s brilliantly staged story speaks to every generation.

 

After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy name Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.

 

Critics rave that LIFE OF PI “gives new life to Broadway” (The Today Show) and is “one of the most visually stunning shows I have ever seen.” (Time Out) The global phenomenon was lauded as “an exhilarating evening of theater” (The Wall Street Journal), “a wonder to behold” (Entertainment Weekly) and “the single greatest innovation in puppetry ever to hit the global stage.” (NY Daily News)

 

Leading the production is powerhouse actor Taha Mandviwala as Pi, supported by a dynamic company including Jessica Angleskhan, Alan Ariano, Pragun Bhardwaj, Ben Durocher, Emmanuel Elpenord, Shiloh Goodin, Anna Leigh Gortner, Austin Wong Harper, Rishi Jaiswal, Toussaint Jeanlouis, Mi Kang, Intae Kim, Sharayu Mahale, Sinclair Mitchell, Maya Rangulu, Betsy Rosen, Anna Vomáčka, Sorab Wadia & Savidu Geevaratne.

 

 

LIFE OF PI is originally Directed by Max Webster, with the Tour Directed by Ashley Brooke Monroe, Set and Costume Design by Olivier and Tony Award winner Tim Hatley. The production features Puppet Design by Olivier Award winners Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, with Puppetry and Movement Direction by Finn Caldwell, supported by the Global Associate Puppetry and Movement Direction of Scarlet Wilderink with US Associate Puppetry and Movement Direction by Jon Hoche and US Assistant Puppetry and Movement Direction by Betsy Rosen.  Lighting Design is by Tony Award winner Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling, Sound Design by Tony Award Winner Carolyn Downing, Video and Animation Design by Olivier and Tony Award winner Andrzej Goulding, Hair and Wig Design by David Brian Brown, Original Music Composed by Andrew T. Mackay, Dramaturgy by Jack Bradley, and Casting by Duncan Stewart and Patrick Maravilla with ARC Casting.

 

For the US tour, the team includes Associate Puppet Designer Caroline Bowman, Associate Scenic Designer Ross Edwards, Associate Costume Designer Robin L. McGee, Associate Hair and Wig Designer Meg Murphy, Associate Lighting Designer Paul Toben and Tim Reed, Associate Sound Designer Sam Clarkson and Elliott Williams with Sound Quiet Time, Associate Video and Animation Designer Brad Peterson with Dan Trenchard, Fight Direction from Rod Kinter and Puppet Captain Betsy Rosen.

 

The LIFE OF PI US tour Stage Management team is led by Kelsey Tippins with Matthew Brooks and Fouad Hassan, with Resident Director Jon Hoche. The Company Management team are Katie Cortez and Frank Deming II.

 

“Spectacular! LIFE OF PI delivers magic. That roaring you hear at the show’s end?

It’s the sound of a standing ovation.” – The New York Times

 

 

“A FEAST FOR THE EYES!”  -Washington Post

 

 

★★★★★ “An extraordinary journey. Unmissable” - The Guardian

 

“SPECTACULAR AND SPELLBINDING!” -Wall Street Journal

 

“LIFE OF PI creates moment after moment of theatrical magic and thrills us with sheer emotion and awe.” -New York Post

 

“The single greatest innovation in puppetry ever to hit the global stage.”   -NY Daily News

 

“GLORIOUS! A DAZZLING MARVEL OF STAGECRAFT. THIS POWERFUL PRODUCTION SPARKS TO STUNNING LIFE.” - Entertainment Weekly

 

LIFE OF PI first opened to great critical acclaim with its cutting-edge visual effects at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2019. It took the West End by storm when it opened December 2, 2021, and ran for 500 performances at the Wyndham’s Theatre, winning five Olivier Awards in 2022, including Best New Play, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design. The global sensation made its North American Premiere at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University on December 4, 2022 before opening on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 9, 2023 to celebratory reviews and going on to win three Tony Awards (Best Scenic Design of a Play Best Lighting Design of a Play, and Best Sound Design of a Play), four Drama Desk Awards (Outstanding Direction of a Play, Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play, Outstanding Projection and Video Design, and Outstanding Puppetry) and two Outer Critics Circle Awards (Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical and Outstanding Video or Projection Design of a Play or Musical).

 

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Broadway Across America (BAA) is part of the John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office, and Broadway Brands.  Led by 22-time Tony-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in over 45 markets with over 475,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney’s The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, and Hamilton. Current productions include &Juliet, Hadestown, Hamilton, Hell’s Kitchen, MJ: The Musical, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, The Outsiders and Stereophonic.

 

The John Gore Organization is the leading presenter, distributor, and marketer of Broadway theater worldwide. Under the leadership of 22-time Tony-winning theater producer and owner John Gore, its family of companies includes Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office and Broadway Brands. The company presents shows in 48 cities across North America as well as on Broadway, Off-Broadway, London’s West End, Japan, and China. It has won Tony Awards in every producing category as well as numerous other Drama League, Drama Desk, and Olivier Awards.  The John Gore Organization is committed to supporting theater access and education programs that introduce Broadway to the next generation of audiences and theater professionals.

 

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is one of the nation’s premier arts presenters and a major catalytic influence in Pittsburgh, having overseen one of the city’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts-lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Cultural Trust presents an array of quality performing and visual arts, provides comprehensive educational experiences, and stewards Pittsburgh’s Cultural District as a national model of economic revitalization through the arts. Lauded as “the single greatest creative force in Pittsburgh,” the Cultural Trust has worked to make Pittsburgh a place where the arts can flourish. The 14-block Cultural District, a project of the Cultural Trust, has become a vibrant center for culture, art, food, and community in downtown Pittsburgh, providing a home for a broad range of performance groups and resident companies. Approximately two million people visit the Cultural District each year, generating more than $300M in economic impact for the region.

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