Life of Pi to End Broadway Run
(Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)
The new Broadway play Life of Pi will conclude its run on July 23. The production began previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 9 and opened on March 30. At the time of closing, Life of Pi will have played 22 previews and 133 performances.
Hiran Abeysekera, who originated the title role in London and on Broadway, will play his final performance as Pi on July 9; Uma Paranjpe will play the role on Tuesday evenings until she takes on the role full time beginning July 11. Paranjpe will star in a gender-flipped version of the original script.
In addition, Life of Pi will launch a North American tour in the fall of 2024. Additional details will be announced.
The production is directed by Tony Award nominee Max Webster. Life of Pi is adapted by playwright Lolita Chakrabarti from Yann Martel’s best-selling novel.
Life of Pi was nominated for five Tony Awards and won three: Best Scenic Design of a Play for scenic designer Tim Hatley and video designer Andrzej Goulding, Best Lighting Design of a Play for lighting designer Tim Lutkin and Best Sound Design of a Play for sound designer Carolyn Downing.
The production also features costume design by Hatley, puppet design by Nick Barnes and Caldwell, puppet and movement direction by Finn Caldwell and wig design by David Brian Brown. Original music is by Andrew T. Mackay with dramaturgy by Jack Bradley.
The cast of Life of Pi on Broadway 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. Casting is by ARC.
Life of Pi debuted at Wyndham’s Theatre in London’s West End. The stage production had its North American premiere at American Repertory Theater at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from December 4, 2022, through January 29.
