Like its young protagonist, Life of Pi has made a long, arduous journey to Dallas. Based on Yann Martel’s bestselling, Booker Prize-winning 2001 novel, which was made into a celebrated film by Ang Lee, the play is about a 16-year-old boy who spends 227 days on a lifeboat with a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The trip starts after a cargo ship carrying Pi’s family and their zoo animals sinks in the Pacific Ocean during a violent storm. For a time, the lifeboat also carries an orangutan, zebra and hyena. The story engages with spiritual and metaphysical themes.
Adapted for the stage by British actor and writer Lolita Chakrabarti, Pi has become known for its design elements. Almost half the cast of the national tour arriving here in a presentation by Broadway Dallas is involved in manipulating the elaborate Richard Parker puppet. The 2023 Broadway production won Tonys for its scenic, lighting and sound design. Pi premiered in Sheffield in 2019 before transferring to the West End. It won five Olivier Awards in the U.K., including for best play.
Details
Aug. 5-17 at Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St. Tickets at broadwaydallas.org.
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