Bringing words to life
Theatre performs The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
For a generation that grew up reading Rick Riordan’s books, The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is the perfect high school production. The characters Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, Luke Castellan, and Clarisse LaRue were written to completely embody the characters from the book, with the actors and actresses accurately portraying the roles. Percy Jackson was played by senior Jonah Romanoff, Annabeth Chase played by senior Amelia Knight, and Grover Underwood played by junior Becca Amend. Each performer personified their character’s needs and wants and goals.
It would be very easy for the musical to fall into the pattern of protagonist (Percy), love interest (Annabeth), comic relief side character (Grover), and antagonist (Luke). However, each character had their own moment (song) to shine, in which they were able to show who they are, what they stood for, and their goals in life. For example, “My Grand Plan” showed Annabeth’s deep desire to receive recognition from her mother and prove herself. “The Tree on the Hill” allowed Grover to display his past mistakes and show how he was trying to earn his redemption.
The musical had a variety of songs, everything from ballads, rock songs, and angsty teen numbers. In addition to quality songs, the musical was also chalked full of pop culture references and Greek mythology references that added another layer to the play. The costumes were also very timely to the time the book was written in 2005. Luke looked like the classic angst-riddled teen in his beanie and ripped skinny jeans.
The script was highly entertaining as well as being accurate to the books. Several phrases came directly from the book. And there were multiple audience “laugh-out-loud” moments. At the end of the musical, the actors, actresses, and stage crew were met with a standing ovation and robust round of applause.
Saydria Ostler is a senior at Perry High School, and this is her third year of newspaper. Saydria is the Editor-in-Chief this year! When Saydria is not...
