Life of Pi<\/em> is based on the revered 2001 novel by Yann Martel, as was the 2012 Ang Lee-directed film. Having neither read the book nor seen the movie, (please don\u2019t judge; I\u2019m a busy girl!,) all I knew about the story going in is that there\u2019s a boy and a tiger on a lifeboat. But that was enough for me, as the trailers for the presentation were definitely inviting. I was thrilled to be on my way to the theatre to see it.<\/p>\n Taha Mandviwala and company. Photo by Evan Zimmerman, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n And it was even better than I had imagined. I actually cry, as I did at the end of the show, every time I explain it to someone. I was, surprisingly to myself, the first one to jump out of my seat to give the actors a standing ovation on opening night, an act which I\u2019m usually hesitant to start. But I couldn\u2019t help myself; I had been engrossed in the action all night.<\/p>\n At one point during the second half, I realized that I had even forgotten to breathe<\/em> in a while! My fellow audience members were uniformly saying \u201cWow\u201d at the first act curtain. (And this time there is an actual curtain that does<\/em>\u00a0come down, which is not the norm in these days of bare stages.) My friend, Roz, said it\u2019s the best show she\u2019s ever seen with me. (I still feel terrible that Mr. X missed it, but we were having a stressful technical situation that week, which, compared to what Pi goes through, was actually not a big deal. So Life of Pi<\/em> is also educational<\/em> in that it teaches us to calm down with what we all perceive as problems in our day-to-day lives!)<\/p>\n (L-R) Mi Kang, Taha Mandviwala, and Alan Ariano. Photo by Evan Zimmerman.<\/p><\/div>\n The plot is simple enough. A teenage Indian boy\u2019s family owns a local zoo, and he has a very happy life. And he\u2019s always searching for God in several religions. And that\u2019s all mostly humorous. Then, early on, the family decides to emigrate to Canada, (animals included,) due to \u201cThe Emergency,\u201d (which was an almost-two-year threat-filled period in the mid-\u201970s during which a state of emergency was declared by the Indian Prime Minister.)\u00a0Pi, his parents, his sister, and the zoo denizens board a cargo ship, which ultimately sinks with just about everyone on board, and Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with a trio of animals, including the infamous Bengal tiger who appears in every image of the tale. And that\u2019s where the main action takes place, told from Pi\u2019s hospital bed, in flashbacks, to an investigator from the shipping company.<\/p>\n And trust me, the entire presentation is riveting. Everything about the boat scenes, especially, is extraordinary.<\/p>\n The zoo. Photo by Evan Zimmerman.<\/p><\/div>\n I had erroneously thought this show was going to be all visuals, so I was pleasantly surprised by the many simple yet clever, deep, or thought-provoking\u00a0lines, such as, \u201cFear poisons everything,\u201d \u201cWe are all\u00a0<\/em>children,\u201d and especially, \u201cMan is the most dangerous animal in the zoo,\u201d which turns-out to be a prescient statement.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also my favorite, “Yarn-spinning is a good way to pass the time.” Don’t I<\/em>\u00a0know it! (I think I\u2019m going to add \u201cYarn-Spinner\u201d to my title on my business cards now!)<\/p>\n There\u2019s sooooo much to laud about Life of Pi<\/em>, but no one more deserving than the star and the puppet actors, the latter of which I\u2019ll get to in a moment. But as gorgeous and remarkable as all the animals<\/em> are, the show is fully carried by the performance of Taha Mandviwala,\u00a0who plays Pi. The only time he leaves the stage is at intermission! (That boy must have some strooong vocal cords!) His physicality is so easy and natural, yet oh so dynamic. Roz says that he \u201cgenerates energy upon energy.\u201d She added that his stage presence is a \u201crevelation,\u201d an assessment with which I concur. She told me that she had never seen someone like that before. (My<\/em> revelation was that I didn\u2019t get thirsty during the show when Pi kept mentioning how thirsty he<\/em>\u00a0is!)\u00a0[Note: I believe that a different actor does the role on certain dates, so perhaps check on that when you\u2019re choosing your tickets.]<\/p>\n Photo by Evan Zimmerman.<\/p><\/div>\n As far as the all-important tiger and his fellow animals go, I have always<\/em> been fascinated with the art of puppetry, (Howdy Doody was my man in the \u201970s,) but what Life of Pi<\/em>\u00a0brings us is not even in the same category as other<\/em> puppets. What these designers and puppeteers accomplish is nothing short of amazing, a word I use only when something truly<\/em>\u00a0deserves that designation. [Note: I believe the company\u2019s puppeteers rotate for every performance, so I can\u2019t name\u00a0the actual people I saw.] As ferocious and terrifying as the tiger is most of the time, (I sat about halfway back, and I was still\u00a0<\/em>scared whenever he was on the move,) there are a few minutes in the second half where he\u2019s downright charming. He was practically Hobbes, (from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes<\/em>. What is it with boys and their tigers?)<\/p>\n And every single special effect is, well, indeed special! And often brilliant. And beautiful. The storm and ocean, in general, are fantastic, and I was especially drawn to the glowing fish. I rarely even noticed the performers<\/em> who were participating in bringing those lovely moments to us.<\/p>\n In addition to all the visual<\/em> fabulousness, there\u2019s so much more to the narrative<\/em> than I expected. From the trailers for both this play and the baker\u2019s-dozen-years-old film, I had assumed that\u00a0Life of Pi\u00a0<\/em>was just a tale of adventure on the high seas; I had no idea about the circle-of-life lessons and philosophical aspects of it. (I could have lived without seeing the animals-eating-each-other scenes, though, but that’s basically the crux of the tale.\u00a0Vegetarians be warned.)<\/p>\n The show is all so fascinating, but I really had to give some thought to the raison d’etre<\/em> of the story. As shallow as I am, I think it\u2019s about the survival of man and the search for god. As to that latter concept, when Pi talks to his fam about all the religions he’s interested in, he queries, \u201cAren’t they just versions of the same thing?” That hit home with me, because I always wonder that myself. Isn\u2019t God just God?<\/p>\n Photo by Evan Zimmerman.<\/p><\/div>\n And, as far as survival goes, I realized, in retrospect, that I relate to the story on a strange level. I, too, was a teenager on my own in a scary world, although LA is not exactly the Indian Ocean. But I did<\/em> have to fight off my share of terrifying \u201canimals,\u201d and I was all alone in this town with no family or friends. As Pi is, I\u2019m also lucky to have survived; I always marvel at my incredible luck to have not only done that, but to have thrived. I have a feeling that this show will trigger a memory like that for everyone who sees it.<\/p>\n On a very serious real world level, when I got settled in my spot-on seat at the theatre, and gave a quick perusal of the info in the program, it hit me that the setting of the play is India. And I could not help but spare a thought for the conflict that country was going through with Pakistan at that very time, (which, thankfully, seems to have ended this morning.) And then, as I was watching Pi\u2019s family discuss \u201cgetting out of India,\u201d it occurred to me that’s what many current citizens must be saying or thinking about in that region at that very same time.\u00a0 The written-many-years-ago\u00a0dialogue continued, \u201cThere’s critical interest in India at the moment.” That is, very sadly, so now<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Indian marketplace. Photo by Evan Zimmerman.<\/p><\/div>\n I always love to give a shout-out to my own Indian connection when I can, so this is a perfect occasion to do so again. The super-quick version is that when I was a teenager, (as Pi is,) I came out to LA from Brooklyn for just a couple of weeks in the summer, and had such a good time that I wanted to stay, but, sadly, knew that I had to go home. The person who convinced me to stay, (not at all for his own advantage, by the way,) was an Indian guy named Krishna. His beautiful accent made him sound so wise, which convinced me as much as his sage\u00a0words did. And that means that I owe my whole happy life to Krishna. So I always credit the entire nation of India for that happiness.<\/p>\n Lastly, here\u2019s some extra good news for all SoCal peeps: If you don\u2019t have time to see Life of Pi\u00a0<\/em>at the Ahmanson, you have an additional almost-two weeks to see it at the beautiful Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa. It\u2019s so wonderful that I suggest you see it at both<\/em>!<\/p>\n Life of Pi<\/em>\u00a0running through June 1, 2025<\/strong> And then:<\/strong><\/p>\n Life of Pi\u00a0<\/em>running June 3-15, 2024<\/strong> LIFE OF PI OMG! This Broadway play that\u2019s being presented at the Ahmanson right now is stunning! On every level. It\u2019s definitely a \u201cmust-see!\u201d Life of Pi is based on the revered 2001 novel by Yann Martel, as was the 2012 Ang Lee-directed film. Having neither read the book nor seen the movie, (please don\u2019t<\/p>\n![\"Taha](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-12-at-12.21.03\u202fPM-e1747077724546.png\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Ahmanson Theatre 135 N. Grand Avenue<\/strong>
\n 213-972-4400 www.centertheatregroup.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n Segerstrom Center for the Arts 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa<\/strong>
\n 714-556-2787 www.scfta.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"