Life of Pi stage adaptation gets 3 Tony Awards

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Life of Pi, Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel of the same name, which opened on Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre March 30, 2023, just won three Tony Awards.

“Oh, is it a wonder! LIFE OF PI delivers magic. That roaring you hear at the show’s end? It’s the sound of a standing ovation,” said The New York Times.

Similar comments came from other leading papers, noted in a press release –

“GLORIOUS! A DAZZLING MARVEL OF STAGECRAFT. THIS POWERFUL PRODUCTION SPARKS TO STUNNING LIFE.” – Entertainment Weekly

“AN EXHILARATING EVENING OF THEATER!” – Wall Street Journal

“LIFE OF PI creates moment after moment of theatrical magic.” – New York Post

The first Broadway play with a majority South Asian cast/creative team to win 3 Tony Awards, the production won for Best Lighting Design of a Play, Best Scenic Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Play.

It has also won four Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play (Max Webster), Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play (Tim Hatley), Outstanding Projection and Video Design (Andrzej Goulding) and Outstanding Puppetry (Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell) and two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical (Tim Lutkin) and Outstanding Video or Projection Design of a Play or Musical (Andrzej Goulding).

Hiran Abeysekera has won the Theatre World Award and Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award (Favorite Male Breakthrough Performance) for his portrayal of Pi.

The five-time Olivier Award-winning play includes three Olivier Award-winning performers making their Broadway debuts. Recreating their critically acclaimed performances for Broadway are “Best Actor” winner Abeysekera in the role of “Pi” and “Best Supporting Actor” winners Fred Davis and Scarlet Wilderink have joined the “Richard Parker” puppeteering team.

The Broadway production also 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, Fred Davis, Rowan Ian Seamus Magee, Jonathan David Martin, Betsy Rosen, Celia Mei Rubin, Scarlet Wilderink and Andrew Wilson as Royal Bengal tiger “Richard Parker.”  Mahnaz Damania, Jon Hoche, Usman Ali Mughal, Uma Paranjpe and David Shih round out the 24-member cast with Adi Dixit as the “Pi” alternate.

An epic tale of adventure in which, 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, Martel’s story is one of hope, faith, and perseverance. (LifeOfPiBway.com)

On Broadway, it is told through superb puppetry and stagecraft.