Olivier Winners Will Reprise LIFE OF PI Roles on Broadway
Several West End players are coming to Broadway for the Life of Pi transfer opening this spring. Best Actor Olivier winner Hiran Abeysekera will reprise the title role of Pi while the multi-person puppeteering team for the Royal Bengal tiger Richard Parker will include Best Supporting Actor winners Fred Davis and Scarlet Wilderink. Joining the duo are Nikki Calonge, Rowan Ian Seamus Magee, Jonathan David Martin, Betsy Rosen, Celia Mei Rubin, and Andrew Wilson.
Also in the cast are Brian Thomas Abraham as Cook/voice of Richard Parker, Rajesh Bose as Father, Avery Glymph as Father Martin/Russian Sailor/Rear 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, and Sonya Venugopal as Rani. Mahnaz Damania, Jon Hoche, Usman Ali Mughal, Uma Paranjpe and David Shih round out the 24-member cast with Adi Dixit as the Pi alternate.
As previously announced, Life of Pi will premiere on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, with previews set to begin March 9. An opening night is set for March 30.
The story follows a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, who is stranded on a lifeboat after a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Left with only four other survivors—a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a tiger—Pi must find a way to live through a harrowing journey.
Life of Pi is directed by Max Webster, with set and costume design by Tim Hatley, puppet and movement direction by Finn Caldwell, puppet design by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, video design by Andrzej Goulding, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound design by Carolyn Downing. The show also features original music by Andrew T Mackay and dramaturgy by Jack Bradley. Casting for the Broadway production will be announced shortly.
The West End production won five Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, Scenic Design and Lighting Design. In a historic first, the seven performers who play the Royal Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, were collectively awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role. A U.K./Ireland tour will launch this summer.
