Theater Thursday - Life of Pi

We were given complimentary tickets to Life of Pi for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Life of Pi

Where: Schoenfeld Theatre

             236 W. 45th St.

              New York, New York

Who: Recommended for Ages 8 and Up

Life of Pi is truly a feast for the eyes. The show is a visual masterpiece. An elephant, a gorilla, a tiger, and more appear before your eyes and they all seem so real and seem to have such vivid personalities. Even though you can see the puppeteers, their work is so incredible that you actually forget that they are there and that these puppets aren't really living creatures. The human actors are amazing as well. Most of them play a variety of roles and do at least a little bit of puppetry too except for Hiran Abeyekara who plays Pi.

Abeysekera does an amazing job in a role in which he is never really off stage. He won an Olivier award for his performance, and he is sure to get at least a nomination for a Tony as well. His performances never lags. He always keeps things moving and interesting. The whole show is a little bit like an action movie on stage. There is always something happening.

The movie of the same name and based on the same source material, the 2001 book of the same name by Yann Martel was visually gorgeous but kind of boring. There were long stretches where nothing really seemed to happen and all you saw was a boy and a tiger on a boat. That is not a problem here. The playwright has reworked the story in a much more fascinating way that keeps it interesting and holds your attention throughout. Accordingly, even if you didn't like the movie, you should still give the play a chance. If you don't, you'll truly be missing something beautiful.

And that's our view. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit lifeofpibway.com.

Tune in Saturday for Still More Theater Saturday.

Photo credits:

All Life of Pi production photos by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade