The Life of Pi, A Fabulist Adventure Story, Washes over the Benedum Stage with Dazzling Puppetry and Sumptuous Visuals

 

Taha Mandviwala (Pi), Toussaint Jeanlouis, Shiloh Goodin and Anna Leigh Gortner (puppeteers, Bengal tiger-Richard Parker), LIFE OF PI Tour Photo by Evan Zimmerman. 

          It’s hard enough to imagine floating in a lifeboat on the Pacific for 237 days and surviving. Add to that the extra peril of having as boatmates a zebra, orangutan, and hyena (temporarily) and a ferocious Bengal tiger. Preposterous, you say.

          But that’s the story Mr. Okamoto (Alan Ariano), a rep from shipping company whose boat sunk and left the menagerie afloat, and Ms. Chen (Mi Kang), a rep from the Canadian embassy, get from the hospitalized teenage survivor named Pi. As they listen to his story as part of their investigation into the incident, they grow ever more skeptical.

          The adventurous tale begins in Pondicherry, where Pi’s father (Sorab Wadia) manages a zoo. As political unrest in the country threatens the family with potential violence and a concomitant loss of zoo patrons, Pi’s father and mother (Jessica Angleskhan) toy with the idea of moving with their children and animals to safer ground in Canada.

          But not before father decides to show his brood the ferociousness and aggressive natures of some of the animals under his care. Despite the objections of his son, the zookeeper puts a “live” goat in the pen of a tiger named Richard Parker, and the carnage begins.

          This is the first instance the audience gets to see the puppetry magic of the show. Somewhat reminiscent of the panoply of animals in The Lion King, the show includes a life size zebra, a diabolical hyena, an animated orangutan, a tall giraffe (briefly) and a turtle and a school of fish, all designed by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell. Oh yes, and the above-mentioned goat.

          Caldwell is also responsible for creating the puppet movement, some of which requires as many as three puppeteers to maneuver one animal, while, at the same time, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024.

         Act One is largely the backstory of Pi, an energetic, inquisitive and adventurous 16-year-old, played with remarkable authenticity, energy, and skill by Taha Mandviwala. The boy’s questioning nature has him explore the three religions represented in his neighborhood – Christianity, Islan and Hinduism. From these he picks and choose beliefs that best fit his questioning nature.

          Eventually, the family decides to emigrate via a freighter able to accommodate them and their animal entourage. Unfortunately, I found the first act somewhat uncomfortable to sit through, chiefly because the dialogue seemed rushed and rather artificial as the characters hurled short one-lines at one another.

Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024.

What made the act interesting and redemptive was the seeming ease that the various scenes seamlessly merge from one to another by skilled scenic designer, Tim Hatley, the exceptional video and animation designs of Andrzej Goulding and the lighting design by Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling, which is especially poignant during the sinking of the freighter.

On board the lifeboat in Act Two with the animals, Pi witnesses the struggle for survival as he sees the hyena dispatch and eat the zebra and orangutan, then get similar treatment from the tiger. All this ferociousness and action on a small boat in the middle of the ocean requires some deft treatment. My guess the creative force responsible is Toussaint Jeanlouis, listed in the program as fight captain.

All this blood-drenched activity naturally threatens Pi’s sense of safety as he asks himself and Richard Parker “Am I next”. Fighting his own hunger and thirst, the delusional-prone teen sees his father appear to advise him to try cowering the tiger, showing him who’s the alpha animal on board. Surprisingly this tactic works with the help of a whistle as an intimidating tool and the habit of catching fish and giving them to the famished feline, whose roar (Ben Durocher is in fine vocal form here) is the decibel equivalent to the lion the once opened the films of MGM Studios.

Eventually, the lifeboat hits land in Western Mexico and the exhausted Pi and his dicey friend slink out of the boat and collapse on the beach. According to the book, Richard Parker slinks off into the woods without even a backward glance, leaving Pi alone, awaiting discovery and recovery in the hospital.

When his two interrogators come to admit that they find his story implausible, he suggests an alternate. Instead of animals, his lifeboat companions include a sailor with a broken leg (the zebra), the mean and brutal ship’s cook (the hyena) and Pi’s mother (the orangutan).

Pi then suggests that his interviewers pick one of the two stories they find most plausible, giving the audience a chance to make a similar decision.

Like some circus master of ceremonies, tour director Ashley Brooke Monroe keeps all the various members of the acting and technical crew working together to create a harmonious unfolding of an unusual tale of survival, courage, unbelievable challenges and the suggestion that life is a story, one you can possibly choose for yourself.

Life of Pi is at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh now through February 2. For tickets and more information, phone 412-456-6666 or trustarts.org.