Rob Rokicki News

How much one enjoys THE LIGHTNING THIEF, The Percy Jackson Musical, currently at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston through July 28, may correlate directly with one's familiarity with the source material. On opening night, the large number of teens and tweens in the audience - who were clearly anticipating the appearance of every monster, plot twist and special effect - were laughing, cheering and clapping with unbridled vigor. However, the adults whom I queried at intermission, who had no such prior exposure to the immensely popular Rick Riordan children's book series that mashes up teen angst with Greek mythology, were considerably less enthralled.

How does a book so grounded in popularity in Young-Adult fiction, that was then translated to a 2 film series, transition its magical storytelling to the stage? These and more are the questions I asked myself upon entering Morsani Hall Tuesday evening for the opening of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. As a fan of the book series, and having seen the films a few times, I was skeptical at best. Upon finding my seats and purusing the program I found 10 actors making up the subsequent company of the show before me. Little did I know that each character minus Percy, would be doubling as several other characters throughout the night. At a talk-back immediatelty following the show, one actress said she had upwards of 21 costume changes throughout the show which can be an astounding feat. Having little knowledge of the music in the show I sat back and was ready to embrace the adventure. Usually I find myself listening to the Cast recordings prior to seeing shows, however with this one I wanted every surprise available to me.

The cast of the national tour of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical brought on the monsters during its June 25th performance as the drama students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School join Chris McCarrell, Kristin Stokes, Jorrel Javier, and more for a special encore performance at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Check out the full video!

Huntington Theatre Company is delighted to bring adventurous programming for the young and young at heart to Boston this summer with The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, an electrifying (Newsday) musical adaption of The New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan. The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical will play at the Avenue of the Arts / Huntington Avenue Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue, Boston). Performances begin July 17 and will run through July 28, 2019. Tickets go on sale to the general public Sunday, June 2.

BROADWAY SESSIONS is described as an evening of musical performances, games and open mic featuring a new Broadway cast twice monthly. The show is created and hosted by Ben Cameron (Bway Wicked, Aida, Footloose, Dance Captain Dance Attack web series) and features musical director Joshua Stephen Kartes on piano. This Thursday night, June 6th Broadway Sessions will offer up a sneak peek of the upcoming BROADWAY BUSKERS concert series in Times Square.

Celebrity Attractions is thrilled to announce that THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, a musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan, will make its Oklahoma premiere at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center for a limited three performance engagement May 31-June 1. Tickets are on sale now.

Celebrity Attractions has announced that THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, an "electrifying" (Newsday) musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan, will make its Oklahoma premiere at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center for a limited three performance engagement May 31-June 1. Tickets are on sale now.

Next month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Composer/lyricist ROB ROKICKI releases the “Smart Girls” EP, celebrating female vocalists Kristin Stokes, Sarah Beth Pfeifer (The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical), and Morgan Siobhan Green (Be More Chill).  Songs include: “Take the Weight,” a fan favorite cut from The Lightning Thief; an acoustic version of “Good Kid” along with the new tune, “Marking” from Rokicki's Eleven Eleven, recently featured at the LiveRead series at the School of Dramatic Arts at USC.

Watch in the clip below as Chris McCarrell performs from THE LIGHTNING THIEF Musical!

Dear Readers, I am not the intended audience for 'The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical', currently playing at the 5th Avenue Theatre, and if you're over the age of twelve and a musical theater aficionado like me, I suspect it's not for you either. However, if you are indeed a pre-teen or younger or a parent looking for something to thrill your kids or maybe even give them an introduction to theater, this may be perfect for you. Because of that, we're going to have two reviews in one here. One to point out why I think it appealed to kids and one to explain why I couldn't leave the theater fast enough.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School presents a concert version of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical on Thursday, April 25 and Friday April 26 at 6:30 p.m. Follow Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, on his quest to find Zeus' stolen lightning bolt and save the world from a potential war between the gods. 

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School presents a concert version of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26 at 6:30 p.m. Follow Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, on his quest to find Zeus' stolen lightning bolt and save the world from a potential war between the gods. 

Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.

Broadway Sacramento is thrilled to announce that THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, an musical adaption of The New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan, will play Community Center Theater for five performances only, April 18 - 21. This will be the California premiere of the hit musical.

Portland'5 Centers for the Arts is thrilled to announce that THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, an "electrifying" (Newsday) musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan,will play Keller Auditorium on May 7th and 8th. Tickets are now on sale at www.portland5.com, the Portland'5 Centers for the Arts box office at 1111 SW Broadway Ave (Monday through Saturday 10am to 5pm), by phone at 800-273-1530, and at all TicketsWest outlets.

The Ambassador Theatre Group is thrilled to announce that THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, an "electrifying" (Newsday) musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan, will play at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is thrilled to announce that the national tour of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, a musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan, will play its stage from April 23 - 28, 2019.

It's time to bring on the monsters because The Lightning Thief's Kristin Stokes is taking over BroadwayWorld's Instagram Story tomorrow, March 30th! Make sure to tune in all day as she takes us behind-the-scenes on a two-show day of the electric musical as the tour plays New York's Beacon Theatre! It's gonna be a killer quest that you're not gonna want to miss!

Musical theater writer and rabble rouser Joe Iconis brings his unique mash-up of showtune cabaret and rock and roll jamboree back to Feinstein's/54 Below.