Review: Long Live the LIFE OF PI at DCPA

Sometimes as I read through the latest novel on my TBR list - "to be read" for the uninitiated - I can't help but to visualize how the book would translate to the silver screen. Pop culture is full of books that end up in the cinematic universe. The next seemingly logical step is the transition from screen to stage, thus completing the trifecta of storytelling mediums. Life of Pi is among the more recent adaptations to start as the written word and make its way to Broadway. It is also the most recent National Tour to make a stop at DCPA's Buell Theatre.

By and large, the play sticks to its roots. It tells the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, who goes by the moniker "Pi", who becomes lost at sea after facing incomprehensible tragedy. When his family flees political unrest in India, they pack up not just their belongings, but their zoo animals too, and board an ill-fated ship only for a great storm at sea to sink the ship, their belongings, and the lives of many including Pi's father, mother, and sister. Pi is left stranded in a lifeboat accompanied by a zebra, hyena, orangutan, and most notably a tiger known as Richard Parker. We meet Pi at the top of the show after he has been found and rescued, recovering in a hospital room when two figures implore him to recount the tale of his 227 days lost at sea. 

Directed by Max Webster with Tour Direction by Ashley Brooke Monroe, the show is altogether stunning, both visually and in its portrayal of such a heart-wrenching, action-packed adventure. Tim Hatley serves as both the Scenic and Costume Designer which leaves his artistic thumbprint marked so elegantly across the stage. I was particularly impressed with the lifeboat itself in addition to its entrances and exits from scene to scene. The video and animation design by Andrzej Goulding is a great complement to Hatley's work but also stands on its own as pure theater magic.

Puppetry serves as an integral design and performance element to the show. Puppet Designers Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell have delivered stunning work with Richard Parker's design serving as the crown jewel. I'll admit though, there was something about Richard Parker that made the other puppets feel adjacent to the red-headed step-children. Take that as you will. Nevertheless, it is all an engineering feat wrapped in artistic expression. 

Generally speaking, I think the cast has a rather difficult task in this show to be remarkable against a plot that largely deals with one human character and an ensemble of puppets. That being said, I think they do well enough overcoming this perception that I wish the story gave more opportunity for them to showcase their abilities. Pi's family, in particular, suffers from their unfortunate departure just as my connection to those characters was solidifying. I wish that Pi's Father and Amma, played by Sorab Wadia and Jessica Angleskhan respectively, along with his sister Rani, played by Sharayu Mahale, would've been around a touch longer. I think if the show would have further explored their relationship, even for just one or two more scenes, it would make their tragic demise that much more impactful. I really enjoyed Mahale's portrayal in particular and would have loved to know more about the mathematical genius that is Rani.

Two of the more notable human figures beyond Pi are Mr. Okamoto, played by Alan Ariano, and Lulu Chen, played by Mi Kang, who meet Pi in his hospital room in hopes of gaining a better picture of his ordeal and that of the sunken cargo ship. For both Ariano and Kang, I was left a little underwhelmed. I feel like I never got a defined motivation from these actors for these characters, especially given they are so prominent to Pi's personal divulgence. To put it simply, I wanted more.

As our titular character, Pi, Taha Madviwala is captivating in the role. Madviwala works so diligently, guiding the audience from start to finish in a piece that could be bogged down by trauma and instead is pushed along by urgency. Madviwala himself has to at times manage sudden shifts in emotions from scene to scene and handles this moments so elegantly. For a show that largely deals with a child lost at sea, Madviwala puts so much energy into the physicality and movement of his performance. My only point of criticism is I think there is room to explore the loss of his child-like wonder due to his circumstances, or perhaps the internal battle to keep that wonder in the face of such tragedy. 

I would be remiss not to mention the puppeteers of Richard Parker and the other animals presented throughout the show. The team of puppeteers behind the animals are masterful in their work.  During an intimate press event the morning after opening night at the Buell, a handful of the puppeteers spoke to their experience in having to let go of their individual egos to lock in as a single character, let alone that character being an animal. Richard Parker alone is managed by three performers at any given time. The Head, the Hind, and the Heart learn to work cohesively in stunning fashion. Some of the folks that bring Richard Parker and the others to life include, but are not limited to, Ben Durocher, Shiloh Goodin, Anna Leigh Gortner, Austin Wong Harper, Aaron Haskell, Toussaint Jeanlouis, Betsy Rosen, and Anna Vomáčka, and Andrew Wilson.

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