By SHARON EBERSON
Three puppeteers morphing into one regal, fearsome Bengal tiger in Life of Pi requires harmonious teamwork, not unlike a band that has found its groove.
Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
The musical comparison had not occurred to the head of the tiger in the theatrical spectacle — the actor/puppeteer Toussaint Jeanlouis — until it was suggested to him. But he was immediately onboard with the comparison.
“You know what? I’m going to have to tell them that,” he said of the tiger’s “heart” and “hind,” fellow puppeteers Shiloh Goodin and Anna Leigh Gortner. “That’s actually a great way to explain it. It’s all about breath. It’s about communication because, yeah, it’s kind of like jazz, right? And there’s one musician that plays and then they pass the ball to the next person and so on, and then they do it all together, and then maybe they go back into their solos again. But I mean, ultimately, we are all together.”
Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.
Taha Mandviwala as ‘Pi’ and puppeteers Anna Leigh Gortner, Shiloh Goodin and Toussaint Jeanlouis as ‘Richard Parker’ in the National Tour of LIFE OF PI.
Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.
In the play version of the popular book and movie, a teenager – Taha Mandviwala as Pi – survives a shipwreck and lives to tell the fantastical story of his time on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a tiger named Richard Parker. Pressed for a more realistic account, Pi recounts a likelier, harrowing version of events, where the animals are instead humans (Jeanlouis doubles as the ship’s cook).
Was his original tale a coping mechanism, borne out of trauma? Which would you prefer to believe?
That’s a question you’ll be asking yourselves when Life of Pi arrives at the Benedum Center, January 28 – February 2, 2025.
“I do think that there is a conversation about trauma and how one survives that and what stories they tell themselves and others to get through,” Jeanlouis said. “But I also think it’s about family dynamics and families wanting to stay together and make sure that they’re supportive of one another. I think it’s extremely beautiful, and it’s beautifully designed as well.”
The original London production received five Olivier Awards including a first for the West End equivalent of the Tonys: The team of puppeteers were recognized as Best Supporting Actor(s). The Broadway transfer won three of five Tony nominations, for scenic, lighting and sound design.
Life of Pi falls into the niche of successful plays that rely heavily on puppet characters – for example, The Lion King and War Horse – with the ability to inspire a visceral response, along with their artistic virtues.
Jeanlouis had done “some” puppeteering before auditioning for his first national tour. His introduction to the story had been through the 2012 Ang Lee movie.
There is choreography involved, to be sure, but other details helped Jeanlouis find the tiger’s physicality, in the context of being a tiger on a boat, reacting to an untenable situation.
“From the moment that we first started tech in Baltimore, there were just all these discoveries. For me, it was the fish that are swimming underneath the boat. And as Richard Parker, who’s hungry, it’s kind of like a good offering that, oh, wait, I can actually look for the fish or try to reach for it. And that’s just one discovery,” said Jeanlouis, speaking by phone from the pre-Pittsburgh stop in Cleveland.
Other discoveries involve the sounds made by the animals who inhabit the lifeboat with Pi. Richard Parker roars, of course, as do some humans. According to The New York Times, “Life of Pi delivers magic. That roaring you hear at the show’s end? It’s the sound of a standing ovation.”
Fierce though they are – tigers, that is — there are other ways they communicate.
“Those options give us just that much more time to be in the present moment,” Jeanlouis explained, adding that the sounds are not improvised so much as they are “just going with the flow, and it’s beautiful.”
As an example, he mentions that in his own research, he found that “when orangutans don’t like something, they actually make a kissy sound. And so those types of elements just kept getting added” as a wealth of options.
Pi has a lot to say while trying to survive his predicament, including conversations about how different people worship their God. His test of faith is especially meaningful to Jeanlouis.
“When I’m playing Richard Parker, it’s like a different sense of the universe. It’s this really amazing, expansive position, to be in as this primal animal. And I think ultimately for me, what always comes back is the spiritual aspect of the show. Even though Pi’s interested in multiple religions, it’s something about searching for God and searching for the closeness that you can have with the universal spirit, however anybody wants to describe it.”
The actor compares Pi’s struggles to survive and process his grief to his own feeling when his father passed away. He emerged from a place of feeling lost to an inner strength that he had not anticipated.
“I’m still here to be able to tell my story and also to hopefully help other people. And I think that that’s what Pi is kind of offering. … So yeah, it pulls at my heartstrings every now and then, but it’s a great place where I can kind of empty out through the Tiger or as Cook. It’s a really interesting show to be a part of.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust PNC Broadway in in Pittsburgh presents Life of Pi at the Benedum Center, Downtown, January 28 – February 2, 2025. Tickets: visit TrustArts.org or call 412-456-4800.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Show Previews
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