As someone who’s been a fan of the Percy Jackson universe since childhood, getting the chance to watch The Lightning Thief musical in person is a feeling unlike any other. Having listened to the score for many years, I can say with much satisfaction that seeing the show live completely lives up to the hype.

The show live completely lives up to the hype

The musical originally premiered Off-Broadway in 2014, and on Broadway in 2017, with the current score by Rob Rokicki. The soundtrack and the performance went viral amongst fans who had been disappointed by the film adaptation. Revived just last year, the musical is once again following in the wake of another on-screen Percy Jackson adaptation. With a new and equally talented cast, the musical once again lives up to almost every expectation.

The first thing that caught my eye was Ryan Dawson Laight’s set; it is striking and curiosity-inspiring. My first guess was that it represented the inside of a sunken ship or submarine’s engine. The seemingly simple set takes on many colours throughout the show, consistently changing the setting through the projector; a brilliant way to keep the set flexible with the constantly moving plot.

The costumes for the main trio – Percy, Annabeth and Grover – captured the first book well.  However, the most surprising were Mr. D’s and Hades’ costumes. While Mr. D’s sparkly suit and bright orange hair suited his dramatic personality, Hades’ rather cheeky characterisation was definitely as much of a surprise as his costume. The other Gods present all had similarly silly and dramatic personalities. Perhaps, all the Gods in the musical version hang out together a lot more than they did in the books, which only added to the delight of the show.

The entire cast […] were phenomenal

Speaking of the characters, the entire cast portraying them were phenomenal, with a special hats-off to the actors who played multiple characters. It was a bit of a whiplash in the beginning to see the same actress Simone Robinson play both Sally Jackson and Silena Beauregard and the same actor Paolo Micallef play both Luke Castellan and Ares.

Percy himself, played by Vasco Emauz is the perfect blend of the new Disney adaptation and the original books. Vocally, my favourite had to be Annabeth, played by Kayna Montecillo; while My Grand Plan has never been among my favourites, it left me in awe this time. In terms of choreography and overall performance, the most impressive were Cahir O’Neill and Niall Sheehy. To dance and perform so well while playing a satyr and a centaur, respectively, is commendable.

The pacing felt rather rushed towards the end

I did find that while the production follows the plot of The Lightning Thief quite well, the pacing felt rather rushed towards the end and missed key moments. Although this is understandable given the limited time, the beginning was comparatively better fleshed out. The focus of the entire musical seemed to be stressed on the moments leading up to Percy arriving at camp and discovering his identity as a half-blood more than the quest of finding the lightning thief and bringing back Sally. Additionally, I would say the musical should be advertised with a flash and volume warning. One doesn’t normally go into the theatre expecting to actually experience a long moment of flashing lights in the audience. Even if you don’t know the context beforehand, you won’t be able to say there wasn’t any lightning in The Lightning Thief.

Rating: 4/5

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