Review: The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

From page to stage: Percy Jackson reborn

When writer Joe Tracz and composer Rob Rokicki began adapting Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief, the globally best-selling young adult adventure had already suffered one lacklustre big-screen effort. Could musical theatre succeed where Hollywood had failed?

The answer is…just about.

For book fans, Tracz keeps the adventures of Riordan’s ADD and Dyslexic boy hero, Percy, (mostly) faithful to the source material. Sure, he’s aged (as with the movie), from troubled 12 to angsty teen, but otherwise his story is more abridged than re-invented for the stage.

Rokicki explains Percy’s situation with a big opening number complete with a chorus of, “Yeah, the gods are real, and they have kids, and those kids have issues.” It’s not the stuff musical theatre dreams are made of, but it gets the job done.

High-energy adventure with a rock edge

No sooner have we met the serially expelled Percy than he’s being attacked by a winged harpy masquerading as a teacher, and sent off to a camp for people like him, that is to say, other half-blood kids of various Greek deities.

“It’s not the stuff musical theatre dreams are made of, but it gets the job done.”

Only, Percy doesn’t know who his dad is, and his mum gets dispatched by Pupper Director Laura Cubutt’s gargantuan Minotaur before she can tell him. It’s an action-packed opening, and director Lizzie Gee doesn’t let the pace flag throughout the rest of a high-energy first act. The slightly grungy light rock soundtrack isn’t memorable, but it’s smartly deployed to grease the wheels of exposition and navel-gazing inherent to a magical journey of self-discovery.

Vasco Emauz leads a strong central trio

At the centre of it all, Vasco Emauz infuses Percy with a mix of boyish charisma and believable self-doubt. His ability to voice Percy’s sometimes abundant complaints about his life without seeming like a gargantuan whinge is particularly impressive.

**Cast of The Lighting Thief (Production Images) – Photo credit Johan Persson**

Kayna Montecillo and Cahir O’Neill support him well as Percy’s comrades, Annabeth and Grover. Whilst the latter’s part is a little underwritten, both give cracking performances as the spiky approval-hunting daughter of Athena, and desperate to prove himself satyr, respectively. It’s a pleasure to spend time with this trio as they road-trip across the USA, hunting for Zeus’s lost lightning bolt, en route to the Greek underworld (beneath Los Angeles) to save Percy’s mom.

Simone Robinson steals the spotlight

However, the vocal laurels fall to Simone Robinson, whether as Percy’s mom, or a disco-diva vision of Charon, ferryman of the Greek underworld. Whether extolling the virtues of being different in Strong or laying down a toe-tapping beat with D.O.A., her voice has clarity and power on a different level from everyone else.

By contrast, the rest of the cast — though full of good voices — don’t quite put enough power under the bonnet to lift Rokicki’s score on a big musical stage. Written without a strong bass line, it leans on trebles and sopranos, and here those higher voices need more tiger in their tanks. Numbers like the Act I finale, Killer Quest!, look sharp under Gee and assistant choreographer Philip Catchpole, but musically they lack a knockout punch.

“However, the vocal laurels fall to Simone Robinson, whether as Percy’s mom, or a disco-diva vision of Charon…”

Design choices and stagecraft

I’m also not totally convinced by Ryan Dawson Laight’s gargantuan LA-Sewer-inspired set, which, however grand and adaptable, really only makes sense mid-way through the second act. It’s certainly epic in scale, but it makes a rather grungy backdrop for a 21st-century story of might and magic. It’s particularly curious in light of Laight’s extravagantly fun costuming, particularly where mythical beings are involved.

Nevertheless, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is a thoroughly enjoyable musical romp. The tight, perky on-stage band led by Will Joy gives every number a cracking rendition, whilst Richard Pinner’s illusions and Matt Powell’s video effects offer welcome touches of stage magic here and there. Ok, so the tin swords and highly stylised fight choreography don’t generate visceral threat, and Percy Jackson’s ultimate victory never seems in doubt, but the action trips along merrily, making it a fun ride.

Conclusion: a lively if uneven quest

What emerges is a show that plays squarely to its strengths: youthful energy, wry humour, and a faithful nod to Riordan’s novels. The score may not have the ballast for truly epic sound, and the set design may jar, but Vasco Emauz’s likeable Percy, Simone Robinson’s powerhouse vocals, and the sheer pace of Lizzie Gee’s staging ensure the evening never drags. For fans of the books and younger theatregoers in particular, this is an inventive take on Greek myth that finds more than enough stage magic to justify its quest.

Featured Image: Vasco Emauz – The Lighting Thief (Production Images) – Photo credit Johan Persson