Review: THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, Festival Theatre

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is adapted from Rick Riordan's books. When his young son ran out of bedtime stories, he asked his dad to make something up, and Riordan decided to create a superhero with ADHD and dyslexia - characteristics his son has. The book for the musical was written by Joe Tracz and the music and lyrics are by Rob Rokicki. 

Expelled from six schools in five years, Percy Jackson (Vasco Emauz) struggles to fit in. Trouble seems to find him and his mother suggests he go to a summer camp after yet another incident on a school trip. It’s called Camp Half-Blood and he discovers that it is for children who have a Greek God as a parent. Percy never knew his father and he certainly wasn’t aware that he was a God but it certainly explains some things. 

Ryan Dawson Laight’s set design is inventive and exciting. We see Percy travel to the underworld to try and retrieve a stolen lightning bolt and prevent a war between the gods. He teams up with Grover (Cahir O’Neill) and Annabeth (Kayna Montecillo) for his epic quest and a strong bond forms between the trio.

The music leaves a bit to be desired. There are some fantastic vocals but the songs just don’t hit the mark and there are too many of them. The leading trio are brilliant in their roles and have a great dynamic together onstage. 

As this musical is based on a series of books, it feels as though some elements of the plot have been shoehorned in to get more references in. It’s a fun show that will no doubt appeal to fans but can be a little confusing to newcomers to the Percy Jackson world. 

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