The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical Should Please Fans at Stages Theatre Company

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is an adaptation of the first book in the Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan. Riordan’s series inspired a generation of kids, my youngest George included, to take an interest in Greek Mythology. From what I remember of the film version, I’m afraid I never read the books myself, it felt as if the book by Joe Tracz for this musical version adheres fairly closely to the plot of the book. Young fans of the series should get a kick out of seeing their favorite characters brought to life and singing on stage. There’s a fair amount of stage magic used to create some moments of wonder but audiences shouldn’t go in expecting Harry Potter and the Cursed Child level effects. Still for the scale of a Stages show I was impressed with what they did and the scenic design by Joe Stanley, props by Marc Berg, sound design by Gretchen Katt, and costumes and make up by Samantha Fromm Haddow are all well done. The lighting design by Tony Stoeri however, seemed to leave the characters in the dark on several occasions though there were also some very effective lighting queues. The songs by Rob Rokicki unfortunately are for the most part forgettable and a lot of them do seem to be pushing many of the performers ranges, so that aspect of the production isn’t ideal.

The story follows a group of half bloods, meaning they are half human and half God, known as Demigods. The main character Percy doesn’t know that he is a half blood he just thinks his father abandoned him and his mother before he was born. When he is attacked by a Fury during a field trip his mother takes him on to a camp for half bloods and he learns who he really is. Unfortunately, they are attacked on the way by a Minotaur and Percy’s mother is presumed dead. Percy’s only friend Grover from his former school turns out to be Satyr, he has the legs of a goat, and accompanies Percy to the camp. There he meets other Demigods including Annabeth who is the child of Athena, and Luke who is the son of Hermes. When Percy is accused of stealing the lightning bolt of Zeus ha must go on a quest to the underworld with Grover and Annabeth to try and retrieve the lightning bolt and avert a war between the Gods. Percy takes on the task in hopes of also reclaiming his mother from Hades in the underworld.

The performers are all confident and handle the the fight choreography by Anna Crace well. George Wellens as Percy really belts out the songs reminding me a bit of performances I’ve seen of Roger in Rent. The role doesn’t always hit his vocal sweet spot and can sound at times slightly discordant, but when it does hit his range perfectly he’s very strong. Other favorites are Willa Breen as Annabeth, who brings the character to life as a formidable and resourceful young woman, exuding quiet strength and imbued with resilience and intelligence. Her vocals are among the best. Another favorite is Henry Halverson who plays Luke, he’s solid in the first half of the play but then disappears as we follow Percy and his friends on their odyssey. But when he comes back at the end of the play, he gets a really nice scene with a song that is just right for his voice. It was probably the best performance in the play his anger in the moment feels authentic and I wish we’d gotten more of him in the show, definitely one to watch for in future productions.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical runs through May 11th at Stages Theatre Company in Downtown Hopkins. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.stagestheatre.org/the-lightning-thief-the-percy-jackson-musical/

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