Seattle author Garth Stein's wildly successful novel "The Art of Racing in the Rain" has been adapted for the stage at Book-It Repertory Theatre , Seattle Center, April 17 to May 13. The book, released in 2008, has been a New York Times best-seller for 173 weeks and still counting, and while it has been translated into over 30 languages, it is the language of a lab-terrier mix, Enzo, that seems to connect with the reader.

The official synopsis explains that Enzo knows he is different from the other dogs, and has educated himself by watching TV, and listening to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast.

"I've been acting professionally for about five years, most recently here in Seattle I was in 'Christmas Carol' in ACT as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Estella and Biddy last year in "Great Expectations" here at Book-It," said former Ballard resident Sylvie Davidson.

"In 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' I'm playing Eve, Denny's wife, and mother of little Zoe," she said. While she gets ill in the play, she said, "I have a very joyful story. I fall in love and have a baby. I loved the book and read it before I knew it was going to be a play here."

"I play everything from Mr. Rogers to Denny's best friend in the play," said current Ballard resident, André Nelson. "I've been with Book-It for about three years. I just graduated from Cornish College of the Arts. I have worked at Seattle Shakespeare Theatre, too.

"I read the book a few months before we started this," he added. "It's a heartwarming book with a lot of tear-jerking moments. It's an adapted stage version so you have to change a few things, but generally speaking it's doing a good job keeping the spirit of the book."

Portraying Enzo is West Seattle/White Center professional actor David S. Hogan who also happens to be a professional dog trainer and walker.

In a telephone interview, Garth Stein spoke to the Ballard News Tribune enthusiastically about the play which is the first production based on his book.

Stein said, "People often say, 'You must have written this because you love dogs and therefore you wrote a dog book.' That's really not the way it happened. I was interested in the character of Enzo and his particular dilemma and frustration in which he wants two things that are mutually exclusive. He wants to be reincarnated so he can come back as a man.

"But he also wants to stay in this life because he loves his family so much and wants to be with them," he said. "This frustration makes for a good character. Yes, he's a dog, but he could have been a person. He could have been anything.

"A real-life character, Seattle-area race car driver Don Kitch, Jr., appears in the book, and play. Stein said, "It is going to be funny to see the actor Don Kitch playing in front of the real Don Kitch." Kitch operates Proformance Racing School at Pacific Raceways, in Kent. Kitch's fluffy golden retriever, GT, appears prominently on his professional website.