LIFE OF PI Announces Broadway Closing Date

There are only five more weeks to see the three-time Tony Award-winning theatrical event of the season! Lolita Chakrabarti’s LIFE OF PI will play its final Broadway performance on Sunday, July 23, 2023 at Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street).  

Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera will play his final performance as “Pi Patel” on Sunday, July 9th. Cast member Uma Paranjpe will be playing the role of “Pi” beginning Tuesday, July 11th. Paranjpe’s “Pi” is portrayed as female with a gender-flipped version of Lolita Chakrabarti’s original script.

A North American tour of LIFE OF PI is scheduled to launch in fall of 2024. Locations and specific dates to be announced.

LIFE OF PI won three Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design of a Play Best Lighting Design of a Play, and Best Sound Design of a Play, four Drama Desk Awards for 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 for Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical and Outstanding Video or Projection Design of a Play or Musical. Hiran Abeysekera won the Theatre World Award and Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award (Favorite Male Breakthrough Performance) for his portrayal of “Pi.”

The Broadway production of LIFE OF PI features Brian Thomas Abraham as Cook/Voice of “Richard Parker,” Rajesh Bose as Father, Avery Glymph as Father Martin/Russian Sailor/Admiral Jackson, Mahira Kakkar as Nurse/Amma/Orange Juice, Kirstin Louie as Lulu Chen, Salma Qarnain as Mrs. Biology Kumar/Zaida Khan, Sathya Sridharan as Mamaji/Pandit-Ji, Daisuke Tsuji as Mr. Okamoto/Captain, Sonya Venugopal as Rani, with Nikki Calonge, Shiloh Goodin, Jon Hoche, Rowan Ian Seamus Magee, Jonathan David Martin, Betsy Rosen, Celia Mei Rubin, and Andrew Wilson as Royal Bengal tiger “Richard Parker.” Oge Agulué, Mahnaz Damania, Taha Mandviwala, Usman Ali Mughal, and David Shih round out the cast with Sonya Venugopal as the “Pi” understudy.

Lolita Chakrabarti’s dazzling stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel is Broadway’s most spectacular Theatrical experience.  The three-time Tony Award-winning Play opened to critical acclaim on Thursday, March 30th.

LIFE OF PI is directed by Max Webster, with Set and Costume design by Olivier Award winner Tim Hatley, Puppetry and Movement Direction by Olivier Award winner Finn Caldwell, Puppet Design by Olivier Award winners Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, Video Design by Olivier Award winner Andrzej Goulding, Lighting Design by Olivier Award winner Tim Lutkin, Sound Design by Carolyn Downing, Original Music by Andrew T Mackay, Dramaturgy by Jack Bradley, Wig Design by David Brian Brown, and Casting by ARC.

The Tony and Olivier Award-winning hit LIFE OF PI is an epic tale of adventure that is "giving new life to Broadway” (The Today Show).  After a shipwreck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi survives on a lifeboat with four companions— a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Royal Bengal tiger.  This remarkable story of hope, faith, and perseverance speaks to every generation. Told through incomparable puppetry and exquisite stagecraft, LIFE OF PI creates a visually breathtaking journey that will leave you filled with awe and joy. Get your tickets now to this thrilling new production that "will make you believe in the power of theater” (The Times of London). 

Tickets for LIFE OF PI on Broadway are available at Telecharge.com (212.239.6200) and at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre box office and range from $49 - $199 (including $2 facility fee).  The playing schedule for LIFE OF PI is as follows: Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm, Wednesday and Friday at 7:30pm, and Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 3pm. Uma Paranjpe will play the role of “Pi” on Tuesday evenings until she takes on the role full-time, beginning Tuesday, July 11th.

You can enter the LIFE OF PI digital lottery the day before the performance at rush.telecharge.com. The digital lottery opens at 12am (ET) at rush.telecharge.com one day before the performance with winners announced that same morning at 10am (ET), with a second announcement of additional winners that afternoon at 3pm (ET). Winners may buy up to two tickets at $45 each (inclusive of $5 service fee), subject to availability.

A limited number of in-person LIFE OF PI rush tickets will be available on the day of each performance for $40 per ticket when the Schoenfeld Theatre box office opens. Maximum of two tickets per person, subject to availability. The box office opens Tuesday through Saturday at 10am (ET) and Sunday at 12pm (ET).

LIFE OF PI on Broadway is produced by Simon Friend, Daryl Roth, Hal Luftig, Mark Gordon Pictures, Playing Field, Tulchin Bartner Productions, Gavin Kalin, Hunter Arnold, Hall Smalberg Winkler, 42nd.club, Elizabeth Armstrong, Eilene Davidson, deRoy Shea Waxman, Federman Jenen Productions, Susan Gallin, Independent Presenters Network, John Gore Organization, Kuhn Dodani, Harriet Newman Leve, Anastasia Muravyeva, Mary Lu Roffe, Catherine Schreiber, American Repertory Theatre and Sheffield Theatres, with Aaron Lustbader and Hanna Osmolska serving as Executive Producers.

The Broadway production of LIFE OF PI is proud to partner with World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “Much like Richard Parker, wild tigers face considerable obstacles to survival,” said Ginette Hemley, Vice President of Wildlife Conservation at World Wildlife Fund. “They have lost an estimated 95% of their habitat range due to development and deforestation. Through our partnership with LIFE OF PI on Broadway, we hope to educate new audiences and inspire them to take action in support of this charismatic species. Together, we can secure a stable future for tigers.”

LIFE OF PI played Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End where it won five Olivier Awards including Best New Play, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design.  In an historic first for the Olivier Awards, the seven performers who play Royal Bengal tiger “Richard Parker” were collectively awarded “Best Actor in a Supporting Role.” The London production with its cutting-edge visual effects has garnered great critical acclaim and will launch a UK & Ireland tour in the summer of 2023.  Prior to the Broadway engagement, LIFE OF PI made its North American Premiere at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.