Los Angeles Times
- Highly Recommended
"..."Life of Pi" doesn't dwell on the deaths of Pi's loved ones. A cloak of magical realism is thrown over aspects of the story that might prove too disturbing. But the inexorable facts of mortality are glimpsed in the way the animals are depicted onstage."
Stage Scene LA
- Highly Recommended
"...Not since War Horse has there been a theatrical experience as spectacular as Life Of Pi, the Tony-winning Broadway smash now dazzling L.A. audiences with its life-sized animal puppets, it cinematic spectacle, and Taha Mandviwala's star-making performance in the title role."
LA Theatrix
- Highly Recommended
"...Under Max Webster's direction, this very physical - sometimes violent - production is also perfectly paced, and all the actors deliver their lines in exceptionally clear and nuanced ways. The story thus comes to life and washes over the audience without much effort, allowing us to suspend our disbelief and immerse ourselves in the the wonder of the performance that much more."
ArtsBeatLA
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Lolita Chakrabarti’s adaptation seems somewhat in a hurry to get to the shipwreck, and as a result the characters never register very deeply, including Pi. I rarely felt emotionally moved by Pi’s plight, which seems like a pretty low bar for a writer to reach for. I haven’t read Martel’s novel, so I don’t know how much of the religious material derives from that, but in the play it seems like a poorly fitted frame – wait, this two-hour story about a tiger on a lifeboat was all about believing in God? Is this the most expensive episode of Davey and Goliath ever made?"
Stage Raw
- Highly Recommended
"...Pi is an energetic and likable teenager, with an infectious curiosity. He and his family - zookeeper Father (Sorab Wadia), Amma, his mother (Jessica Angleskhan) and sister Rani (Sharayu Mahale) - live happily together. That is, until Pondicherry experiences unrest that turns into violence. Pi's parents decide the family must flee India with their animals and find a Canadian zoo willing to take them in."
Ticket Holders LA
- Recommended
"...Lolita Chakrabarti's stage adaptation of Yann Martel's international Booker Prize-winning novel and Ang Lee's Oscar-winning film Life of Pi is not really the star of this multi-award-winning production, which has settled in nicely at the Ahmanson and later will be moving on to the Segerstrom Center through mid-June to dazzle Southland children of all ages."
Indulge Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...More than a survival tale, The Life of Pi is an elegy for lost innocence, a meditation on belief, and a parable about the myths we construct to survive the unbearable. In this staging, it becomes something rarer still: a deeply spiritual theatrical journey that asks not just what happened-but why we need the story to have happened the way it did. At the Ahmanson, Pi's voyage is no longer just his. It becomes ours. And for a few transcendent hours, we too are cast adrift-aching, awestruck, and utterly changed."
Larchmont Buzz
- Recommended
"...What is truth? Which religion is the "right" one? Who can explain survival when it defies logic? These are merely a few of the questions that audiences contemplate in The Life of Pi. Lolita Chakrabarti adapted Yann Martel's novel of the same title into a play that is a feast for the eyes, as was the 2012 Ang Lee film adaptation that captured four Academy Awards (including Best Visual Effects)."
Nerds Of Color
- Highly Recommended
"...The puppetry and stage scenic design & effects are a whole element on its own and is a remarkable feast for the eyes. The actors/puppeteers who bring Richard Parker (the Bengal tiger), Orange Juice (orangutan), spotted hyena, and Grant's zebra to life are distinct characters that are vividly realized in their mannerisms, movement, and personalities. The scenic design swiftly and gorgeously moves between different worlds from the hospital, marketplace, the ship, and the ocean. It is however in the ocean where some of the most astonishing effects come to life and makes a compelling case that one would need to watch this from the balcony to see it in its full magnificence. Many of the book's philosophical and religious elements quietly come into focus during these still moments, which was perhaps one of my most favorite parts of the play."
Broadway World
- Highly Recommended
"...The reviews for Life of Pi have arrived at a clear consensus. After its Sheffield premiere, the play took London, Boston, and then Broadway by storm eliciting praise and garnering prestigious awards for its sumptuous design elements. This critic can do nothing but affirm the hype!"
