After more than 150 performances, the national tour of Life of Pi has docked at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre, where it will run through June 1st. Following L.A., Orange County residents will have the opportunity to catch it from June 3rd through the 15th at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
The astonishing sights and sounds of the play bring Yann Martel’s luminous tale of survival and faith to dazzling life. Adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti and directed by Max Webster (tour director is Ashley Brooke Monroe), this three-time Tony-winning stage production (nearly mirroring the 2012 film’s four Oscars) transforms Martel’s novel into a theatrical triumph. It follows Piscine “Pi” Patel, a young man who finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker after a shipwreck claims the lives of his family. Pi’s 227-day ordeal weaves reality with wonder, probing truth and belief, and inviting audiences to embrace their own story: a narrative as intimate as it is expansive, distinct in its own way from the film.
The production’s soul lies in its breathtaking puppetry, designed by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, with a masterful puppeteer team breathing life into Richard Parker as well as zebras, a giraffe, sea turtle, goat, fish, and so on, with lifelike grace. Tim Hatley’s vivid sets and Andrzej Goulding’s immersive video designs transport viewers from 1970s India to the Pacific’s endless horizon, deepening the play’s emotional and spiritual impact. Life of Pi seeks to unite diverse audiences, bridging skeptics and believers through its meditation on shaping truth — a vital message in today’s divided world. Overall, its blend of visual splendor and philosophical depth is conducive to a shared, transformative experience.
Among the company is Sharayu Mahale who not only shines as Rani, a new character adapted for the stage, but also as the lead understudy. Mahale, who previously earned her degree in business and worked in corporate America for a few years, is relatively new to the acting world, having been in the sphere for only five-to-six years, but feels deservedly confident in the path she’s forged, particularly with such an acclaimed play to show for it.
LAexcites recently chatted with Mahale about embodying Rani (and Pi), her approach to the role, navigating the show’s technical demands, memorable moments experienced in the play, what Life of Pi means to her, and much more.
Tell us about your character Rani and what you do in the show.
Mahale: I play Pi’s sister Rani and I also understudy Pi, who is female when I play it. In the book, Life of Pi, a lot of the characters in Pi’s life are men, but our playwright has incorporated a lot of women in pivotal roles. In the movie/book version, Pi has a brother, and in the stage play, he has a sister (Rani).
She (Rani) is a powerful character, and in the play’s first scenes, [she and] the women are portrayed in a progressive, positive light, ahead of the 1970s time period the show takes place. [My] Pi is also very rational and smart.
How many times have you played Pi thus far?
Mahale: About five times now, with two more times coming up in L.A. — the afternoon performances on May 24th and 25th. It keeps things fresh for me as I have a couple weeks to marinate on the last show to see what I want to try out the next time I play it. I think having our genders be different helps with that; there’s certain ways in which boys play Pi which I, as a woman, find difficult to play similarly. When boys express grief, they express it more outwardly. I play it more internally, perhaps also as a function of my upbringing.
How did you approach developing Rani’s character, knowing she was created and adapted specifically for the stage version of Life of Pi?
Mahale: I think it gives me so much more freedom in certain ways as it’s left to my interpretation and imagination — I get a fresh slate. Obviously, this was done on Broadway so there are certain things I have to stay beholden to, but the director was open to my ideas. Pi and Rani’s relationship is a lot more playful and fun in our version of the story.
Do you have an example of that playfulness?
Mahale: There are many scenes where we’re teasing each other, where we play pranks, and taunt one another. There’s also lots of non-verbal communication.
How does Rani’s presence enhance the storytelling or emotional impact in the stage production compared to the film or novel? Perhaps there’s also a difference in the way you may have interpreted something as Rani versus the way it was performed on Broadway?
Mahale: I think that Pi and Rani are almost foils of each other in some senses; Rani is much more emotionally charged and has a lot of conviction about what she feels regarding the world. And Pi is in a more exploratory phase, since he’s younger, and he leads with curiosity. By the end of the play, Pi has a lot more conviction, but some curiosity, too. I like to think that Rani influences him to think more in that way.
Rani is so analytical, rational, and science-driven that it challenges and forces Pi to question, as well as reinforce, his spirituality in some ways as he seeks out the answers he’s trying to find. Rani poses the questions [Pi attempts to find answers to] at the beginning of the show.
Can you share a specific rehearsal moment that helped you unlock Rani’s unique place in the Life of Pi national tour?
Mahale: There’s a scene in the second half of the show when Rani comes back in ghost form to talk to Pi — and I thought as an older sister she would comfort Pi and offer positive support, but I kept getting the note from our tour director Ashley [Brooke Monroe] that it should feel like I’m reprimanding Pi, not consoling him. It was confusing to me at first, but I realize now that Pi needs tough love, especially in these do-or-die circumstances that he is experiencing. Rani is a very strong-willed, stubborn character and this is one of the few people that Pi will receive that reprimanding or tough love from, using it as a catalyst in the next few scenes to spur action.
I realized the importance of this the more times we got to rehearse it. Pi’s attention is all over the place, because of his curiosity, and he needs people in his life to focus his attention, which Rani is able to help him with.
What’s been the most memorable moment of connecting with a fellow actor or puppeteer during a live performance?
Mahale: There’s a moment when I play Pi where it’s just Pi and the tiger at sea; I find this a very beautiful moment of surrender and relief. I have a line that is essentially saying to the effect of, ‘You really scare me, Richard Parker, but when I’m with you, I feel better.’ I remember in one show I looked at the tiger and felt a sense of comfort knowing there was someone else out there when I was stranded at sea.
In playing with these puppets and animals on stage, there is a sense of improv. If I were to splash water — in an unscripted moment — the tiger would react similarly.
Can you share a behind-the-scenes challenge of the production — perhaps with staging or movement — and how the team overcame it?
Mahale: This is something on a more technical level, but when the gender swaps for Pi, all the pronouns swap as well. So, it keeps everyone on their toes to remember the gender-swapped pronouns. We also have a couple understudies and swings that swap pronouns when they go up. Social worker Lulu Chen can be Leonard Chen — and that keeps everyone present as well.
Also, with the puppetry — because we have a rotation of puppeteers, with different body shapes and sizes, the difference in spacing also keeps us in the moment from show to show. For instance, in a lifeboat, the choreography can slightly change based on who is there.
I’m a little newer to theater, so it’s cool to experience and offer each audience something new. One time an oar broke on stage (which Pi uses to train the tiger), and the audience wondered how one might tame a tiger in that circumstance with a broken oar.
And behind the scenes, every city we go to has a different team of locals that we hire. Each department hires local crew members, and we need to train these teams on the wardrobe, quick changes, props (puppets), etc. From a tech perspective, the changes with local hires week to week keeps things dynamic and sometimes chaotic on stage [laughs].
As an actor in this production, what universal message of Life of Pi do you hope resonates with theatergoers?
Mahale: In the last year and a half, with all the political tensions, international affairs, and upheaval to the economy, I hope this story offers a reminder that we shape the world we live in and we decide the story we believe.
Cover image caption: Taha Mandviwala, Anna Leigh Gortner, Shiloh Goodwin, and Toussaint Jeanlouis in the national tour of Life of Pi. Photo by Evan Zimmerman.
The national tour of Life of Pi runs through Sunday, June 1st at Center Theatre Group’s Ahmanson Theatre. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit centertheatregroup.org. Directly following its L.A. run, the Life of Pi tour will make a stop at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts from Tuesday, June 3rd through Sunday, June 15th. For more information and tickets to that engagement, visit scfta.org.
