Life of Pi - Rebecca Knauff

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    Hyenas and Tigers and Orangutans, oh my! All of these creatures and more are featured in the Tony

Award winning tour of Life of Pi. Based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel and the 2012 movie of the

same name, Life of Pi follows Piscine Molitor (Pi) Patel (Taha Mandviwala) after a devastating shipwreck

that kills his family and leaves him stranded on a lifeboat with a Royal Bengal Tiger. Struggling with the

loss of his family and stuck with a frightening companion, Pi must learn how to survive through

unconventional means that shake everything he believes in. A story of faith, truth, and recovery, Life of Pi

is a fantastical tale that comes to life on stage.

The most impressive part of this play are the technical elements. Life of Pi marries Tim Hatley’s set design, Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling’s lighting design, and Andrzej Goulding’s video and animation design beautifully to display the unique settings in the play. The scenes in Pondicherry, India combine colorful lighting and intricate sets to convey the festivity and joy in the town whereas the cold, emptier design of the lifeboat and hospital put Pi’s isolation on full display. This production uses various projections to create a truly immersive set, and while some projections appear very unnatural and out of place, as a whole they complete their job.

Another particularly excellent part of this play is the movement. Life of Pi includes various animal puppets designed by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell which appear to be made out of driftwood. The puppeteers, sometimes inside of the puppet, have the difficult job of bringing these animals to life through movement and they completed this job very well. With movement direction by Scarlet Wilderink, the actors completing the puppeteering truly embody these animals and their movement. Their costuming, however, tended to distract from the beauty of the puppets as the puppeteers were often very visible and in costumes that did nothing to mask that visibility. Nonetheless, Life of Pi combines beautifully crafted puppets with exact and animalistic movement to create a truly extraordinary sight.

Unfortunately, the sound design was very hit or miss. This production included original music compositions by Andrew T. Mackay and sound design by Carolyn Downing and while their design was very strong, it did not fit the image the play had already created. The fun, upbeat music played during the scenes in India did greatly contribute to the lively atmosphere but the music during some of the more action packed scenes felt overly dramatic and out of place. These compositions were very well crafted but their sensational sounds made it feel as if Pi was fighting a video game boss and created a cinematic effect that did not fit into the rest of the show.

Despite all this, Life of Pi is a thoroughly entertaining tale that combines technical elements of the highest quality with a well loved story. Faith and trust are some of the hardest things to find in this day and age but through Pi’s story we can relearn how to trust and to uphold our faith.

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