Life of Pi - North American Tour Launch

[carlisle14]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 11:51am

Life of Pi North American Tour launched at the Hippodrome in Baltimore this weekend.  I was able to attend. 

Not much excitement or fanfare for a tour launch.  The weekend saw significant pockets of empty seats, even with Lucky Seat being open for the show to try to fill.  In Baltimore through next weekend, the show still has larger-than-usual pockets of unsold seats for the rest of the week. Hippodrome usually sells very well for shows and has a strong subscription base.  Ticketmaster has verified resell tickets for next Saturday's show starting at $18 a seat.  For a comparison point, MJ the Musical had the lowest get-in price for resell seats last month at about $150 a seat.    

Show itself carries over the visual splash of the Broadway original.  The puppets and puppeteering are the stars of the show. However, I found the cast to be less-than-compelling and the delivery was flat.  Audience felt as if they were with me on that, as at intermission and afterward I heard mostly mixed reviews.  

Not sure this tour is going to strike a cord with the usual stops across the US.  

[Dan6]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 4:20pm

On Broadway, it was definitely preferable to sit in the mezzanine because of the floor projections (as well as, as I recall, a very high stage). Is that replicated in the touring production? 

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 12/9/24 at 6:38pm

The tour absolutely no one was clamoring for.  

[carlisle14]

Posted: 12/10/24 at 11:58am

Dan6 said: "On Broadway, it was definitely preferable to sit in the mezzanine because of the floor projections (as well as, as I recall, a very high stage). Is that replicated in the touring production?"

Yes. Patrons would still be best served with a bird's eye view of the floor of the stage.  

[TarHeelAlan]

Posted: 12/10/24 at 2:30pm

carlisle14 said: "Life of Pi North American Tour launched at the Hippodrome in Baltimore this weekend. I was able to attend.

Not much excitement or fanfare for a tour launch. The weekend saw significant pockets of empty seats, even with Lucky Seat being open for the show to try to fill. In Baltimore through next weekend, the show still has larger-than-usual pockets of unsold seats for the rest of the week. Hippodrome usually sells very well for shows and has a strong subscription base. Ticketmaster has verified resell tickets for next Saturday's show starting at $18 a seat. For a comparison point, MJ the Musical had the lowest get-in price for resell seats last month at about $150 a seat....

Not sure this tour is going to strike a cord with the usual stops across the US."

After Baltimore the show moves one hour down I-95 to the Kennedy Center for a run of about 2 1/2 weeks, including the holidays. Looking at some random dates it seems to be selling well, so maybe the DC run is cannibalizing that earlier Baltimore run?