LIFE OF PI at Fox Theater Review

Taha Mandviwala as ‘Pi’ and puppeteers Anna Leigh Gortner, Shiloh Goodin and Toussaint Jeanlouis as tiger ‘Richard Parker’ and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

– By Cate Marquis –

The Tony Award-winning “Life Of Pi” may be the crown jewel of the 2025-2026 theater season at the Fabulous Fox. Immersive and spectacular, “Life of Pi” brings the play based on the bestselling book and award-winning movie to life through impressive, creative large puppetry, remarkable staging and an energetic, athletic, engaging cast.

“Life of Pi” tells a story of survival at sea of a 16-year-old boy named Pi, who shares his life raft with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger, a tale of determination to survive, resourcefulness, and especially hope. Superb puppetry The original version of the play debuted in Britain and won multiple awards, including five Laurence Olivier Awards, including for Best New Play. The Broadway version won three Tonys and more. Max Webster directs this show, which runs fairly long, with one intermission.

“The Lion King” broke the mold on what puppetry could be on stage, and that revolution continued with the outstanding “War Horse.” “Life of Pi” continues that, with striking puppets operated by teams of artists to create a dynamic effects. Many in the cast play multiple roles and it takes several puppeteers to operate the various moving parts of the larger puppet. All those moving parts – lower heads, opening jaws, swishing tails – are what makes the performance come alive. That puppetry magic is further enhanced by projections, large sets and theatrical effects that at times are jaw-dropping.

In both the book and film, the story is told by a middle-aged writer, recounted the harrowing events of his youth, when he was adrift at sea for months as a seventeen-year-old. In this play, the story is told by the seventeen-year-old survivor himself, Pi Patel (Taha Mandviwala), as the traumatized teen recovers in a Mexican hospital in 1978. He is telling the story to a representative of the Japanese shipping company, Mr. Okomoto (Alan Ariano) who is investigating the cause of the shipwreck. The shipping company man is blunt but he is reined in by a Mexican nurse (Jessica Angleskhan) and a representative of Canadian government, Lulu Chen (Mi Kang) to which Pi and his family had been emigrating when they were shipwrecked.

The play toggles back and forth between the hospitalized teen telling the story and the events takes place before and during the shipwreck and ocean journey. Pi begins his story in happy times in India, where his family run a zoo in a national park. Pi’s full name is Piscine, French for pool, which was conferred by an uncle (Rishi Jaiswal) a swimming enthusiast who spent time in France. To avoid having his name shortened by kids at school to “Pis” or worse, he calls himself Pi, referencing the mathematical number that starts 3.14.

Pi and his older sister Rani (Sharayu Mahale) live on the grounds of the zoo with their parents (Jessica Angleskhan and Sorab Wadia), where they are often visited by that uncle and aunt (Mi Kang) and the animals are a big part of their daily lives in this leafy idyllic world. Among their animals are a beloved orangutan named Orange Juice, and a zebra named Black and White. The zoo’s new acquisition is a Royal Bengal tiger, with the unlikely name of Richard Parker.

But the part of India where they live is becoming politically unstable and unsafe, so Pi’s parents begin looking for a new home abroad. While there are many places eager to have the zoo, obtaining the visas from governments and permission to immigrate is trickier. Finally, they gain permission for Canada, and book passage on a freighter for their animals and themselves.

A sudden massive storm out in the Pacific changes everything. As the ship is tossed, the animals’ crates are smashed. A sailor tosses Pi into a life boat as the ship sinks, and the life boat accumulates some survivors: the hyena, the orangutan and the zebra, with a broken leg. Then the tiger shows up.

The dramatic tale is gripping start to finish, as Pi copes with the loss of his family, the animals and simple survival on the open ocean, with no rescue in sight. As he does, he wonders about the exploration of life, the world and world faiths that he had begun before he boarded the ship.

One can easily imagine there is plenty of action, drama and danger in such a scenario but the staging and effects of this astounding play go far beyond any imaging. The actors are superb, especially Taha Mandviwala as Pi, and the puppeteers are as well.

The best view for this show is from the balcony, where you can better appreciate the lighting effects on the floor, especially the ones of the ocean waves. The set and effects, while breathtaking, are fairly complex and on opening night, the intermission had to be extended shortly after the second act began, due to a technical problem.

This show is very much worth the effort and expense to see it, as it is dramatically powerful and technically astounding. Don’t miss out on this spectacular (in the truest sense) show.

“Life Of Pi” is on stage at the Fabulous Fox through Oct. 19.

© Cate Marquis