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Epic, Magical and Unforgettable: Life of Pi Leaves Audiences in Awe

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Watch Faith, Humor and Astonishing Puppetry Collide on Stage as Life of Pi Sends Audiences on a Breathtaking Journey Across Imagination and the High Seas.

October 21st, 2025

The touring production of Life of Pi fills the Broward Center’s stage with a kind of stage sorcery that makes you forget how close you are to downtown Fort Lauderdale. This is high-caliber visual theater used in service of a fable about holding to belief while the world beneath you gives way.

As Taha Mandiwala does something rare: he makes a character built on moral light and wonder feel human and breakable. His physical performance, a mixture of frantic survival, devotional stillness, and quick bursts of humor, anchors the spectacle. Even when the stage explodes with motion or machinery, your eye keeps returning to him because he makes Pi’s sincerity believable rather than decorative.

Taha Mandviwala as ‘Pi’ and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

This production leans unapologetically into its tools. Fog, haze and strobe effects are not garnish, they bend the environment so the ocean and sky seem to swallow the space. Sound is treated like a living character with waves, creaks, and impacts arriving with the blunt certainty of memory. Massive moving scenic pieces fold outward and reassemble into new geographies with the logic of a dream. Between the textures of fabric, the palette of the costumes, and the underscored music, the stage seems to tilt the audience into India before the ship has even left port.

Taha Mandviwala as ‘Pi’ and Austin Wong Harper (puppeteer) in the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

And then there is the puppetry. The Bengal tiger Richard Parker, the hyena, and the orangutan are not clever stage tricks but fully realized creatures with weight, recoil, hunger and fear. The work of Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes is so precisely animated that the memory of animal presence lingers in the room. You register a breath, a twitch in the shoulder, a decision behind the eyes. It is startling.

Before the cataclysm, the family dynamic pulses with real warmth. Their small-town family-run zoo and the looming necessity to uproot it are played without irony. You feel the loss as a domestic wound, not only a plot device. That makes the later extremity on the lifeboat burn hotter.

The script gives room for glints of levity even as horror presses in, a necessary counterweight to the violence and the slow mental unspooling that follows. By the time the play reaches its double-vision ending, belief and doubt flickering in the same frame, the night has taken on the character of a parable delivered with industrial-grade stagecraft.

Winner of Tony and Olivier honors for good reason, this Life of Pi tour does not coast on reputation. It inhales the resources of modern stage design and exhales something that feels ancient, a tale about holding yourself together when reason, luck and shelter vanish at once.

Run time: 2 hours, 10 minutes with 1 intermission
Advisory: mature themes, animal death depicted by puppetry, haze, strobe effects, loud sounds
Recommended: 13+

  • Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024.jpg

  • 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 2024

  • Pragun Bhardwaj, Taha Mandviwala and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Mi Kang, Taha Mandviwala and Alan Ariano in the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and Austin Wong Harper (puppeteer) in the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Taha Mandviwala, Sorab Wadia and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • The cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • The cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and the cast of the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

  • Taha Mandviwala as 'Pi' and puppeteers Anna Leigh Gortner, Shiloh Goodin and Toussaint Jeanlouis in the National Tour of LIFE OF PI. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade 2024

Coach is South Florida Insider's Owner, President, Webmaster, as well as a Reporter and Photographer covering events all over the world. Born in West Palm Beach, Coach continues to call the sunny Florida area home. He received his Associate degree from the University of South Florida, then transferred to the University of Florida where he received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Journalism & Communications. During his journalistic career, which has been featured in local newspapers and magazines as well as national publications, Coach has also continued his love of being an educator. It’s through both endeavors that he’s actively got students interested in following in the field of journalism. Coach loves sharing the world of entertainment with others and giving people the opportunity to step out of the everyday life.

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Eudēmonia Summit 2025 Brings Wellness, Science, and Soul to West Palm Beach

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From neuroscience to cryotherapy, the Eudēmonia Summit turned flourishing into a full sensory experience. Every corner offered something new to taste, try, or feel.


November 17, 2025

Eudēmonia might be an unfamiliar word, but its meaning is timeless. Flourishing. Living well. Thriving in every sense. And that spirit defined the entire second annual Eudēmonia Summit in West Palm Beach, where science, wellness, and curiosity came together for a weekend that felt both grounding and energizing.

From the moment guests stepped inside the Palm Beach Convention Center, the tone was set. The lighting was warm, the installations thoughtfully designed, and the air carried a calm that encouraged everyone to slow down and simply take it all in. Attendees wandered through the space with a mix of wonder and intention, sampling wellness drinks, speaking with experts, stretching through guided movement zones, and exploring an impressive collection of new health technologies. It felt like stepping into a world where taking care of yourself was the main priority.

The speaker lineup delivered nonstop inspiration. Andrew Huberman translated neuroscience into everyday tools. Amy Shah made gut health refreshingly clear. Dave Asprey drew crowds eager to understand longevity from a practical angle. Dan Buettner brought the joy and storytelling behind the Blue Zones to life. Halle Berry added a touch of movie star brilliance and genuine heart as she shared her personal approach to wellness. Each session felt polished, purposeful, and packed with insights that guests immediately wanted to try at home.

The Exposome floor was the true heartbeat of the event. It buzzed with people rotating between red light therapy, cryotherapy boosts, aromatherapy experiences, meditation pods, hydration bars, and interactive recovery stations. Brands showcased products that blended science with sensory appeal, and guests moved between booths with an easy mix of curiosity and play. Everywhere you looked, someone was discovering something new.

What made the weekend stand out was how natural the sense of community felt. Conversations sparked over tastings, product demos, and shared favorite sessions. People compared wellness readings, swapped recommendations, and connected over a mutual desire to feel better and live with intention. Nothing felt forced or overly formal. Instead, the summit created space for authentic connection and genuine enthusiasm.

At the center of everything was the idea of the exposome, the concept that our daily environment shapes our health far more than we often realize. The food we eat, the stress we carry, the people we interact with, and the choices we make again and again all leave an imprint. Throughout the weekend this idea transformed from theory into something beautifully practical. Guests began seeing small daily habits as powerful tools rather than obligations.

By the end of the summit, attendees walked out with tote bags filled with wellness products and notebooks full of ideas, but more importantly, they left with a refreshed understanding of what it means to truly flourish. The second year of Eudēmonia felt bigger, smarter, and more vibrant than the first, signaling that it is quickly becoming one of the most compelling wellness gatherings in South Florida.

If flourishing had a destination this weekend, it was here.

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Something Wicked Casts a Spell at The Parker

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A Symphony of Spells: South Florida Pride Bands Conjure a Halloween Spectacle of Sound, Spirit, and LGBTQ+ Pride at The Parker.
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The Fantasticks Returns in a Tender, Elegant Production at The Wick

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Anchored by Commanding Performances and Elegant Staging, The Wick’s Season-Opening The Fantasticks Gently Reminds Audiences Why Some Stories Never Age.
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