The Lightning Thief

Aug 7

Sterling Playmakers

Think you know what it means to have daddy issues? Ask the son of Poseidon.

Sterling Playmakers’ latest production of “The Lightning Thief: the Percy Jackson Musical” brought the beloved middle-grade book series to life--angsty teenagers and all. With innovative props, soaring vocals, and more than a few monsters, this energetic cast dove headfirst into a romp unlike any other.

There’s a three-headed DJ dog at the function--need I say more?

Let’s take a dive into the mind of Rick Riordan: the man, the myth, and the legend who ultimately defined our generation.

Percy Jackson

If you’re like me and grew up sometime during the late 2000s to the early 2010s, you’d know firsthand how Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series had an iron grip on our childhoods. I personally never made it past the first series of books, but I had friends who could recite the lore of the Greek Gods for hours upon hours at the cafeteria table.

So, how did this series come about? And what about the musical?

Back before Riordan published his first novel in 2005, “The Lightning Thief” only existed as a bedtime story he told to his 9-year old son. Once he released it into the world, however, the series took off like a rocket. It was so popular that “Percy Jackson” became a household name, and Riordan’s books quickly joined the ranks of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games as a YA literary phenomenon.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to forget the dumpster fire that was the 2010 live-action Percy Jackson film. I mean… Rick Riordan himself disapproved of it, which is when you know you’ve messed up.

After the failure of the movie, the people were skeptical about a musical adaptation of the series. Luckily, Rick Riordan approved of Joe Tracz’s script (who also wrote the book for “Be More Chill”), and had his full support behind the project from the get-go. With a score by rock composer Rob Rokicki, the show had an angsty, rebellious teen energy, which immediately drew an angsty, rebellious teenage audience.

Its original off-broadway run had a modest budget of $125,000: a framework that forced the directorial team to explore innovative, DIY methods of achieving the show’s special effects.

For example, think about Percy’s hydrokinetic powers. Manipulating actual water for the live stage production would’ve been a technical nightmare.

The team’s solution?

Toilet paper.

By attaching it to leafblowers, the flying streams of toilet paper achieved the same chaotic energy exhibited by jets of water. It’s this type of charm that really drew audiences to the show, and created a playfulness that resonated with its younger viewers.

Now the legacy of Percy Jackson lives on through not only the original novels, but also through community and regional productions of musical, as well as the stunning TV series on Disney+.

So, how did Sterling Playmakers’s latest production add to the legacy of this beloved franchise?

This Production

For starters, it’s safe to say that the charm of the off-broadway production was present in Sterling Playmakers’s rendition. While they might not have used toilet paper, there were a number of props and gags that Muirrin O’Connell (props) and the crew added to elevate the show: glowing eyes on the towering Minotaur, collapsible wings for the Harpies, and blue streamers that shot out of a prop toilet (my personal favorite). Some other highlights were an LED firepit for Camp Half-Blood, an eerie Medusa head, and a pair of sliding elevator doors that attached to the set .

Alex Lew starred in the titular role of Percy Jackson, and excelled when it came to emanating the quick impulses and heightened demeanor of a teenager. Lew crafted a protagonist who was easy to root for, and skillfully exposed Percy’s vulnerable side in the powerful ballad “Good Kid.” He had a heartwarming relationship with Ashley Promisel’s Sally Jackson, who demonstrated both the fiercely protective and softer sympathetic sides of a caring mother. It’s their relationship that anchors the plot and spurs Percy’s journey into the Underworld, so it truly matters that their connection is a believable one.

Along for the killer quest were Johnny Villa and Hope Carey in the respective roles of Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase. To call Villa’s interpretation of Grover enthusiastic would be an understatement: he bounded across the stage with an adorably goofy grin, and didn’t hesitate to let out a goat bleat or two. Equally impressive was his poignant rendition of “The Tree on Halfblood Hill,” where Villa unpacked the tragedy of Tahlia, his former charge. Completing the trio was Hope Carey, who embodied Annabeth Chase’s classic feistiness and razor-sharp wit. When she performed alongside Sarah Driessen’s vicious Clarisse La Rue in the rock-infused duet “Put You in Your Place,” the number became one of my favorites. With Driessen and Carey’s impressively piercing vocals--as well as the fast-paced fight choreography of the camper ensemble--this song hit one of the most spirited peaks of the show.

Honestly, Jane White’s fight choreography in general was some of the best I’d seen in a community theatre production. Let’s be honest: it’s not hard to boast that your show has fight choreography, but it’s certainly a feat to say it was believable and well-done (which is courtesy of fight captain Mylo Avalan-Neptune). A show like “The Lightning Thief” practically hinges on its fight scenes, and each one in this production had an impressively quick pace that kept the lofty story moving.

A final element of the show I’d like to shout out is the ensemble, which contained actors ranging from young teens to adults. Many played multiple roles throughout the course of the show: harpies, bus passengers, campers, you name it. A lucky few were statues in Aunt Em’s Gnome Emporium, which meant holding a frozen pose for not only the scene, but for the entirety of Carey’s stellar “My Grand Plan” right afterwards. One of the statues even had his jaw dropped as part of his frozen pose the entire time--major props to his dedication.

Final Thoughts

This show is a monster. It packs an entire novel of material into about 2 hours: a staggering number of locations to travel through, monsters to battle, and myths to recount. With that being said, Sarah Hardy’s direction did an excellent job illustrating the story in a way that made the material easy to follow. What’s more, the variety of technical elements added to the show’s goofiness in all the right places.

Again, as a late 2000s teen, I’d like to think I’m part of the show’s target demographic, but that also extends to the newest readers of the series (or watchers of the Disney+ show). There were a number of smaller kids at the performance I attended, but not once did I hear an outburst from any of them. That’s a rare experience in and of itself, and definitely a testament to how gripping and child-friendly the production was.

So, whether you could recite Greek mythology for hours or are just looking for a fun time at the theater, Sterling Playmakers’s production of “The Lightning Thief” will fill the quota!

They’ve got one more weekend of performances running from August 8-10 at Potomac Falls High School: visit sterlingplaymakers.org for more information.

Madelyn Regan