Review: THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL at Shanley High School

When the Shanley Players first announced that they were to present The Lightning Thief, I was very intrigued. This musical is adapted from the book The Lightning Thief written by Rick Riordan. I have personally never read the books, but my kids were all huge fans. I did, however, see the movies with my kids when they came out. Knowing this was a new musical for me, I purposely did not listen to any of the songs before hand. As far as I can tell, this is the local premier of this show.

The story is about a bunch of kids that are demigods (half bloods), meaning each of them has a parent who is a god. These kids are at Camp Half Blood, and their goal it so go on a quest. This musical tells the story of one of those quests.

First of all congrats, to Patrick Kasper, Director and Choreographer, on another successful show. Once again, The Shanley Players deliver a super fun, family friendly show.

A big shoutout to Steve Kostecke and the student tech crew. Steve is the Technical Director, Sound Designer and also worked on Scenic Concept and Set Construction. Steve and the kids build a wonderful set, one of the best I have seen at Shanley.

I must also mention the team of Sandy Thiel and Kathryn Gay for their work on costumes and props.

Before I get into the actors and actresses I have to mention the people providing the live music. These amazing musicians were Eric Saari, Seth Schaefer, Evan Wood and Jordan Degerness.

Also a HUGE congrats to all of the Shanley Seniors. I have watched so many of them on stage for years, so it's sad thinking this could be the last time I see some of them.

Shanley has talent, that is never a question, but I was not expecting what I saw from Jacob Mayo during this show as the title character of Percy. I have always enjoyed Jacob on stage but he took it to another level. Jacob was an absolute rock star and it was so fun watching him shine. From the very first number "The Day I Got Expelled" I knew I was in for a treat. I could probably mention every song he was a part of but a few more standouts for me were "Good Kid", "Drive" and "Son of Poseidon" . Jacob has the singing, acting, comedic timing, dancing and everything in between. I can't wait to see what his next show is!

Next up, we have Sophia Welsand as Annabeth. Sophia is another amazing talent that I have loved watching grow up on stage. She has some great scenes and has great stage chemistry with Jacob and Matthew. I loved her performance in "Put You In Your Place" with Emma, and she also really stood out on "The Campfire Song", "Killer Quest!", "My Grand Plan," and "Son Of Poseidon" .

Next up is Samuel Swenson as Grover and Mr. D. Samuel played Grover, Percy's best friend, wonderfully. Sam is so talented and it shows in every scene. As Mr. D, he gets to do one of the audience favorites, "Another Terrible Day". This fun number is performed with his brother Matthew, and includes some great tap dancing! A few more songs that Samuel really stands out on are " "The Campfire Song", "Killer Quest" and "Tree On The Hill".

Matthew Swenson got to play many characters as Luke, Ares and Mr. D. I already mentioned his wonderful performance with his brother on "Another Terrible Day" and he was also amazing on "The Campfire Song" and "Son Of Poseidon".

A few more standout numbers for me was Miriam Breen as Sally Jackson on "Strong" and also Emma Grothmann as Clarisse on "Put You In Your Place.

Everyone else in the cast and crew did such a good job. This show has something for everyone. It has a Minotaur (Mark McLaughlin), Disco Dancers (Addison Ressler & Rachel Seefeldt)), A Squirrel (Hannah Jennings), Medusa (Anny Nshuti), and so much more.

This is a fun show with great music, singing, dancing and acting. At the time of this writing, you have 2 more chances to see the show. (Suggestion for next year - please add another weekend!!).

This might be my favorite Shanley productions yet!

***Photo Credits to Robby Njos

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