Then not surprisingly, visual effects were a challenge when adapting the book’s story into a play. The magic solution came from using big puppets rather than actors wearing animal costumes like in the famous Disney musicals The Lion King and The Little Mermaid.

“… the animal puppets for Life of Pi hang on rolling racks. They are impressive to look at. The interior is a skeleton made from wood and aluminum, with joints made out of bungee cords to allow movement, and trigger mechanisms to manipulate ears or mouths. The exterior is crafted from a type of foam that is light, easy to carve, and able to take paint without melting. These puppets, co-designed by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell, are works of art. But to watch them come to life… is mesmerizing. According to Caldwell, through puppetry, “You get to tell the impossible stories,”” wrote Talaura Harms for Playbill this April.

The “impossible story” here was born in the book Martel first published in 2001, becoming an international bestseller in more than 50 territories, earning him several literary recognitions, including the 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction, and the 2002 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. It had sold more than ten million copies worldwide by February 2013, according to Los Angeles Times.

Ironically, it was rejected by at least five London publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada, pointed out The Guardian. Defined as a “philosophical novel”, it follows Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, an Indian teen born in the 1960s whose father owns a zoo.

When the family decides to emigrate to Canada in 1976 after Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of national “emergency”, the Patels bring along some animals from their zoo. But the Japanese ship they took encounters a storm and sinks. Pi finds himself stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a spotted hyena, an injured zebra, an orangutan, and the most unexpected stowaway: “Richard Parker”, a Bengal tiger that had been hiding under the boat’s tarpaulin.

Pi would recount all that from a hospital bed in Mexico City, while being questioned by a couple of incredulous bureaucrats. Did that odyssey really happen? Is he conscientiously lying? Or has his reason been affected by hallucinations, isolation, and extreme sun exposure? At some point Pi decides to tell a second version, asking his examiners to choose which one they believe the most.

The story of Pi is a dramedy tale about reality versus how it is perceived and told by each one. Martel has said that Life of Pi can be summarized in three statements: “Life is a story”; “You can choose your story”; and “A story with God is the better story”.