Life of Pi at the Eccles

I really love the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel and I also enjoyed the movie adaptation but I wondered how it would translate to the stage because the book is very interior and the movie is incredibly cinematic.  I had the chance to see the Broadway touring production at the Eccles Theatre last night and I was blown away by the spectacular staging and an incredible central performance.  After surviving 227 days at sea, Piscine "Pi" Patel (Taha Mandviwala) is washed on shore in Mexico as the sole survivor of a Japanese freighter that was sunk during a storm.  He is questioned by officials and begins recounting his life at his family's zoo in India, their decision to emigrate to Canada with the animals, the sinking of the ship, and his fantastical journey at sea trapped in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.  The officials do not believe his story about coexisting at sea with a dangerous animal so he tells them a more plausible one and leaves it up to them to determine which one is true.  I loved the emphasis on the power of storytelling and that sometimes the better story requires you to believe something without proof.  I also found the emphasis on survival and the need to create a story in order to live with what was done in the name of survival to be very compelling.  The interiority of the novel is very cleverly portrayed by having characters physically appear to Pi during his darkest moments at sea to give him instructions for survival (the admiral, portrayed by Sinclair Mitchell, who reads to Pi from his survival guide was my favorite).  The visuals used in this production are absolutely stunning and I especially loved the projections and fog used to represent the undulating ocean waves all around the lifeboat and the lighting effects that mimic a starry night at sea.  The set is absolutely brilliant and the transitions from the hospital, to the zoo, to the ship, to the lifeboat, and back to the hospital again happen in an instant.  The animals are portrayed by the most amazing puppets (they were designed by Finn Caldwell who also worked on the puppets in War Horse) and the way the puppeteers manipulate them is ingenious!  I was giggling out loud watching the orangutan swing from branch to branch in the zoo as well as the iridescent fish swimming around the lifeboat but the appearance of Richard Parker (performed by Jon Hoche, Anna Vomáčka, and Andrew Wilson) took my breath away because his movements are so lifelike and I couldn't take my eyes off him whenever he was on stage.  Finally, this production is worth seeing for Mandviwala's energetic physical performance alone.  This is one of the most mesmerizing shows I've seen and it is certainly my favorite from the 2024-2025 Broadway at the Eccles season (which is ironic because I wasn't especially looking forward to it).  There are five more performances left at the Eccles and I highly recommend getting a ticket for one of them (go here).