The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

 

Introduction:

    Hello everyone! I am officially back with ANOTHER show review. That's right, ladies and gents; it is officially theatre season ONCE AGAIN. First up is the show The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical from Toms River High School North's Nautical Stars Theater Company! We are in for quite an interesting review. This musical is based on Rick Riordan's first book in the Percy Jackson series, The Lightning Thief. Before this review continues any further, I have a confession: Growing up, I attempted to read the Percy Jackson series, and it never worked out, so I never really liked the books. Gasp, I know I, know, I sinned for not loving this beloved book series. So, I have to give a warning; going into this show, I was already biased against it due to my feelings toward its source material. But, I am going to be objective for this review.

Synopsis:

           Percy Jackson thought he was an average kid. Turns out he is not, as he is the half-blood son of a Greek god. As a result, this causes Percy to have newly-discovered powers he can't control, a destiny he never wanted, and mythological monsters trying to capture him. Things get even worse for him when Zeus's master lightning bolt is stolen, and Percy is now the crime's prime suspect. Now, he has to find and return the bolt to prove he is innocent and prevent a war from breaking between the gods. To do this, he has to not only catch the thief but also travel to the underworld and back, solve the riddle of the Oracle, and come to terms with his absent father. Not to mention, a close friend allegedly betrays him in the process.

Review:

  To be honest, I thought this was going to be another Tarzan. I was, however, pleasantly wrong. Even though the source material is subjectively bad, I had a fun time watching this show. It was an extremely entertaining show to watch. Not to mention, incredibly well put together. 

    Let's first touch on the positives. After all, we love keeping things light and upbeat. The lighting? INCREDIBLE. It was so fun with all the blinking lights representing lightning striking. The lighting crew also emphasized the main characters at the correct times. The blue light was also used to convey the feel of the ocean, which was honestly great thinking. Overall, 10/10 lighting. The props were also fun! I still remember one of the swords used for a fight scene being a lightsaber, and that is honestly iconic. Not to mention, the Taco Bell bell went off as the elevator ding in one of the scenes, and it was so funny I started cracking up. You can tell the kids were having fun on stage based on the props and effects they had. Also, a smokescreen was used, adding an air of mystery that was very much needed. The acting was also spot-on. Now to be fair, I sat in the back as an usher, so I could not see the facial expressions too well. But, based on the emotions the actors conveyed through their voices, it was breathtaking how well everyone embodied their characters. I thought Percy, Hades, Grover, Annabeth, and Mr. D. all especially played their roles well. And do not even get me started on the SINGING. The singing was beautiful, oh my god, especially Percy's voice, and honestly, it made the songs 10x better.

    Speaking of the songs, they were BANGER after BANGER after BANGER. Who knew rock songs would fit so well for this show; I certainly did not. But then again, Percy is a moody, angsty teenager, so in a way, it honestly fits. My favorite song was "Another Terrible Day," where Mr. D (D for Dionysus) goes on and on about how terrible being a camp counselor at Camp Half-Blood is. The actor portraying him did a fantastic job embodying how tired he was. Now that I think about it, there were not many songs in this musical, at least compared to Tuck Everlasting. (That's a spoiler for another review!)

    One last thing to note was the themes explored in this show because, wow, I was not expecting it. Then again, that is because I did not know ANYTHING about what happened in the books due to my poor impression of it. The representation in this show is crazy, maybe not in terms of racial diversity, but in terms of showing what it is like living with non-communicable diseases like ADHD and dyslexia. That is right, folks; there is a character with ADHD and dyslexia in the story. Can you take a wild guess on who it is? If you said Percy, you are correct! It is refreshing to know that a main character is challenged with those kinds of conditions since there are many main characters who end up being a Mary Sue. In addition, the show already has a theme of parental neglect in the performance, which is honestly crazy but incredible that it was being developed so early on. 

    Before I discuss the negatives, I would like to quote some of my favorite quotes from the show:

• "The gods are real... like the Greek gods"
• "Daddy doesn't love me and mommy is a god"
• "The only thing I seem destined for is detention"
• "Wait, did you just say half-blood, half-god?" "Yes and I half care"
• "Turns out he's not just a deadbeat, he's a deadbeat GOD"
• "I met the guy once and once was enough"

     As you can tell, I had a fun time watching this show. The jokes were funny, what can I say?

    And before I officially move on, we have to talk about fashion for a second. Like the Bratz dolls, I, too, have a "passion for fashion." To keep things short and sweet, they were amazing and fit the early 2010s vibes The Lightning Thief encapsulates.

    Now onto the negatives. I am going to be honest; there is not much to say. The dancing was unsynchronized at certain times, nothing too bothersome. However, what was highly annoying was the constant mic issues occurring throughout the show. The mic kept cutting in and out throughout most of the show. While mic issues are usual, they should not happen frequently or noticeably. Other than that, though, the show was fantastic.

Conclusion:

    The Lightning Thief was a fantastic show. Because I hated (and still hate) the source material, it was a miracle I loved the musical. This was an AMAZING start to the 2023 spring edition of Toms River Theatre Extravaganza. Before I end this, shout out to the concession stand workers; they were terrific and had better service than the people at Donovan.