Latest news with #DenverCenterforthePerformingArts
CBS News
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Puppets in Life of Pi bring unique theatrical experience to Denver Center for the Performing Arts
On Tuesday night Life of Pi will take the stage at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, marking the first time the show has made a stop at the Buell Theatre. The play, which is based on the original book, brings to life exotic animal characters through puppets. "Our puppets are best-supporting actors. They are truly fleshed-out characters in the show," said Jon Hoche, one of the tour's directors. The show follows the journey of a teenage boy fleeing India due to political unrest. Coming from a family that runs a zoo, the boy is on a boat that crashes. He is forced to get onto a lifeboat that is also occupied by several exotic animals. While the movie Life of Pi is able to use animation to bring those animals to life, the play has to use puppets to bring the characters to audiences. "There's something about playing a live animal that you have to be so tapped in to make him look like a live tiger," said Shiloh Goodin, puppeteer for the tour. While some may think of generic puppets operated just by a hand, the puppets used on stage bring a sense of life to the animals. The Bengal tiger in the show, known as "Richard Parker," is a puppet that is operated by three different people at once. "You really have to have an art of listening to your teammates. I'm listening to the breath, the footfalls. Really for any micro-movements in the tiger," said Anna Leigh Gortner, one of the puppeteers. "Otherwise, I wouldn't look in the sink. To keep it alive I have to be listening and in tune, and feeling through my body how I can connect through the tiger." When audiences first see the puppets it is somewhat easy to notice the humans operating them. However, as the show continues and you immerse yourself in the story, quickly the puppets seem to take on a life of their own and the puppeteers are easy to overlook. "It is just an engine of imagination," said Taha Mandviwala, lead actor in the show. Each night Mandviwala can be seen on stage, at many times interacting with nothing else on stage other than the puppets. "Interacting with a puppet is very similar to interacting with an actor, Mandviwala said. "An actor has its own thoughts, its own intentions, its own obstacles and reactions." Mandviwala said it is a fun challenge to convince himself he is interacting with real exotic animals so that the audience has the same level of immersion. "I'm really trying to view the puppet with the respect, the life, the weight and physics it deserves. And, the danger they deserve. This is not a Disney-fied relationship." Toussaint Jeanlouis, one of the three puppeteers for Richard Parker, said he enjoys how the puppet challenges him each night to be one with his peers. "I feel like I'm a lot stronger for it, physically and mentally. And, it is fun," Jeanlouis said. The DCPA welcomes Life of Pi from March 18 through March 30. For more information on Life of Pi tickets visit the Denver Center online . CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
CBS News
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
"Life of Pi" play brings new adaptation of iconic tale to Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Next week, "Life of Pi" opens its first-ever stop in Colorado, as the show plays the Buell Theatre in Denver. The play brings a new adaptation to a story which has already seen great success in print and on the screen. "Life of Pi was a book written in 2005 by Yann Martel, which has seen a lot of adaptations across its life," said Taha Mandviwala, the lead actor in the tour. The story follows the journey of a boy from India who was raised at a zoo. His family flees the country due to political unrest, taking their exotic animals with them on a boat. "There are many differences between the book and the stage production," said Jon Hoche, one of the directors of the tour. The story follows the boy's survival journey after the boat he was on crashes, leaving him stranded on a life raft with several exotic animals. "Translating page to stage, and the discrepancy between the book and the stage play, is understanding the shift in audience," Mandviwala said. "When you have a book, there is a lot more room for nuance, there is a lot more room for details and there is a lot more time to let that marinate." However, the live production coming to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts requires the show to be transformed into a two hour stage play. Without giving away the specifics of the show, it is important to note that it is told in a different order than that of the book. For example, details that were left toward the end of the book are what the play opens with. "There are a lot of creative liberties that are involved in this," Mandviwala said. "It is like nothing else (audiences) have seen on stage. It has the epic scale of a musical but the heart of a kitchen sink drama," Hoche said. "It has really become this global phenomenon that the book and movie did as well." Life of Pi plays the Buell Theatre March 18 through 30. For more information on tickets visit CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
CBS News
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Life of Pi cast gives puppet vocal tutorial ahead of shows at Denver Center for the Performing Arts
First a novel, and then a film, the story of Life of Pi is now coming to life on stage at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Life of Pi is scheduled to open shows at the Buell Theatre later this month. The cast of the play welcomed CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas for an advanced preview of the production during their stop in Cincinnati, OH. There, the cast members who help bring "Richard Parker" to life each night explained how they make a puppet look and sound realistic. Toussaint Jeanlouis, Anna Leigh Gortner and Shiloh Gooden are a trio of actors who operate the puppet known as Richard Parker. Richard Parker is a tiger that is stuck on a life raft with the main character of the show, a teenage boy named Pi. The trio works together each show to not only operate and mobilize the puppet, but to also create sounds that a tiger would make in real life. "Because we cannot speak throughout the show in human language, we have to find ways of using our breath to speak. Which could be a yawn," Jeanlouis said. "It is a really interesting way to find ways of communicating as an animal that is relative to human beings." Jeanlouis makes many noises like grunts, growls, moans, and sighs to give audible life to the puppet. He also operates the puppet's head and eyes. Gortner spends much of her time on stage hunched over while operating the hind legs of the puppet and more. "I show emotion through the tail," Gortner said. Gooden also remains hunched over most of the time on stage, moving not only the front legs of the puppet but also giving an appearance of the tiger breathing through the ribcage area. "I play the heart of the tiger. I carry some of the weight and show the breath of his body," Gooden said. The trio said the smallest of physical actions or vocal cues can immerse the audience into further imagining the puppet as a real animal. "We can communicate to the audience what the animal may or may not be thinking," Jeanlouis said. "How long does that take you to perfect?" Thomas asked. "I think it will never be perfect, but we can continue to try every night," Jeanlouis said. Because the three cast members cannot talk to each other on stage, they have to learn each other's cues and feed off of their peers in the puppet. "To keep it alive I have to be listening and in-tune," Gortner said. "You have to remember he can't speak English and tap into your animal side to make him come to life," Gooden said. Life of Pi plays the Buell Theatre March 18 through March 30. The Denver Center. CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
CBS News
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Musical star of "Mean Girls" visits Colorado high school, winner of "Bobby G Award"
Dozens of high school students were treated to a special opportunity to listen to and learn from a star of the "Mean Girls" musical. The national tour of Mean Girls is currently showing at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Thunder Ridge High School in Highlands Ranch was selected as the school to hear from Alexys Morera, who portrays Janis Ian in the production. The school was selected due to its recent success with its own adaptation of the show in 2024. "We were nominated and won the Bobby G Award for outstanding musical," said Gabi Karl, a recent graduate of the high school. The Bobby G Awards are hosted by the DCPA, the same entity currently showing "Mean Girls" at the Buell Theatre in Denver. "It was the most fun I have ever had in musical theatre," said Zack Rymkiewicz, a junior at Thunder Ridge. "We all worked together really well. Everybody was so uplifting and supportive," Karl said. So, on Wednesday, Morera welcomed the students to their own theatre by singing them one of the most popular songs from the show. She then took questions from the students for nearly an hour. "Human interaction is one of the best parts of this job," Morera told CBS Colorado. "It is so great to see so much joy for theatre and kids doing theatre. It is one of the things that got me through high school." Morera gave students tips on everything from how to land their first professional role to how to maintain your vocals while performing eight times a week. "It shows you the musicals you do in high school are not just for high school," Rymkiewicz said. "To see an actual Broadway star who plays Janis, it was such a great thing to watch. It makes you feel like wow, I can do that someday." Mean Girls will play the Buell Theatre for one week alone and opened Tuesday night. "It is inspiring," Karl said. "It is nice to see someone on that level and tell their story re-inspires, brings back the flame and makes you want to do it even more."
CBS News
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Mean Girls the musical brings comedic movie to life at Denver Center for the Performing Arts
One of the most popular comedies from the early 2000s is coming to life on stage at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts this week. "Mean Girls," the musical, begins a one-week stay at the Buell Theatre starting Feb. 25. "It is so timeless," said Katie Yoemans, an actress in the production. Yoemans and Kabir Ghandi both joined the cast of Mean Girls at the end of 2024. Both will be among the many talented singers and dancers who will be taking the stage at the Buell Theatre. "It is kind of a cult classic for sure with the iconic movie. This musical adaptation is so fun," Ghandi told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas. "It is all of your favorite characters and crazy moments, with a little music added in there." Both Yoemans and Ghandi said they were thrilled to bring the production to the DCPA, noting it is a fun show for anyone who has ever attended high school, no matter their age today. "It is just so gosh-darn relatable. No matter where you are in life, if you are in high school you will definitely relate to what is going on," Ghandi said. "But, all of us have been to high school and know trials and tribulations." "Audiences should expect a really fun night. A lot of laughing, a lot of jokes. It is silly and lighthearted. But, there are messages about friendship, empowerment, and being a good friend," Yoemans said. Tickets to Mean Girls at the . CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
