“Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” the book series by Rick Riordon, means a lot to me. One only needs to glance at my previous review of the book, which delves further into my love for it. Simply put, I would not currently be graduating with a degree in European History without exposure to these books as a kid. So when I heard that Clark Musical Theater (CMT) would be putting on a production of “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical,” of course, I jumped for joy. 

Now, I am not exactly what you would call a “theater kid.” While I certainly have friends in that industry and am myself quite an actorly kind of person, I am no expert in the craft, and, indeed, this show was the first I have ever been to where I was intimately familiar with the source material. That said, I found much of my previous experience reviewing films for The Scarlet to be of some good use in this case. But enough about me. This show is, after all, a celebration of the entire Clark community, as was made explicitly clear at the particular performance I attended. 

Now, onto a brief second tangent, I must inform the reader that this review has one major flaw, besides my own lack of experience in theater criticism. You see, the review as a genre of writing serves one purpose: to offer one person’s thoughts on a particular piece of art, in this case, CMT’s showing of the Percy Jackson musical. However, since I did go to its final performance, there is little chance that any reader wishing to go to the show after reading this will ever have the chance. With that in mind, I would like to review the content of the show itself and how it differs from the book and stands on its own, rather than a review of this particular production by CMT, which I have little actual issue with.

The show I attended, being the final performance, was definitely a bit looser and more chaotic than I suspect previous performances were. The lead actor for the title role, the wonderful Grayson Costigan, unfortunately had a bit of a sore throat for the show, leading to an expertly mimed performance complete with lines from the excellent director Lucy Tew. Additionally, the sound system was often uncooperative, with the sound either too quiet or too loud. To my ears, which are already bad to begin with, some music numbers, like the Prologue, were barely audible. 

That being said, the entire cast was really amazing, with particular highlights coming from Costigan’s Percy and Zero Grady as Dionysus. Additionally, Lily Hurlstone-Summers has an amazing singing voice, and I appreciated Lucas Arrington’s Luke Castellan acrobatics. The set design, lighting and costuming, as usual, impressed me, especially with the translation of the one color the book series consistently hits you over the head with. And the choreography was sometimes really good. 

Other times, the entire cast was clumped in the middle of the stage, which made some actions confusing, but thankfully, it only really happened twice, and I could have interpreted it as the confusion of battle early in the story. This also means that the actors will sometimes cheat out (turn their backs) on the audience, though I did like how the shadows especially enhance the actors’ visage.

The three main characters of the first book: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, and Grover Underwood. Official Art by Viktoria “Viria” Ridzel.

Going through the story, I am left with the impression that the musical itself was designed primarily for an audience who has already read the books or watched one of the television/movie adaptations of the series. Even with the length of the show being longer than the godawful 2010 movie, both versions ultimately do not explain some of the most important aspects of the book and somewhat speed through parts of the plot I feel do not need to be sped through. This pacing ultimately hurts the musical by removing what is, to me, the most fun part of the book: the adventurous spirit of these three preteens trying to get across America, all combined into a single musical sequence. 

Fan-favorite moments like the Lotus Hotel and Casino and Mount Olympus being atop the Empire State Building are reduced, if not completely excised. Also missing is any mention of the Mist—the magic that shields mortals from seeing Gods or monsters— while supporting characters like Charlie Beckendorf are mentioned even though they are not important until later books.. Similarly, moments like the lost squirrel (which in the book was a miniature poodle) are given too much time to feel consistent. It seems you really have to be familiar with the book to really get much out of this as an adult..

The worst effect of this pacing issue is the removal of any stakes or motivation for the audience. The worst instance of this is when Percy, Grover and Annabeth leave camp. In the book, they are motivated to do so after Percy has been attacked by a Hellhound after the game of capture-the-flag. Staying at camp would put his friends in danger, so he must leave on his quest. In the musical, none of this happens. Percy is left to defend the toilets, not the random shoreline, but then instead of being attacked and having his true parentage revealed just then, he just embarrasses Clarisse, and that’s it. His Godly parentage is revealed almost offhandedly later on, and he is forced to leave camp after some vague threat from Zeus. Basically, the whole of the song about him embarking on his quest, “Good Kid,” is predicated on a nothing premise.

It may still sound like I’m being negative about this whole play, which I kind of am, but I do think CMT’s production kind of salvages it. All of this is really down to the tone of it. To me, “Percy Jackson” as a series is even more geared towards the kid inside of me than the “Harry Potter” series it was influenced by. These books are the kind of thing I expect to be adapted by a ragtag and chaotic group of middle-schoolers— or, in this case, college students. 

Indeed, it does present a sort of dichotomy for me when I move from this musical live performance to something like last year’s Disney+ Percy Jackson show. Something about that show did feel a bit off, perhaps owing to a general quality of the show that felt like it lacked much of the authenticity that felt so real about CMT’s take on the source material.

In a way, I did very much welcome the technical difficulties, mimed performances, oddly-paced plot and inconsistent characters. All of it felt cheesy and amateurish in the best way possible, designed and performed by people who are clearly professionals and will absolutely be moving on to bigger and better things in the future. With something like “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical,” I think it’s equally important to move forward as it is to look back. Certainly, I will as well. I currently expect this to be my final article for the Scarlet due to my upcoming graduation. Even writing these words now, I know that the final words from the final song of this show still ring true for me. “Bring on the Monsters. Bring on the Real World.” As I move on, I know that I will always have the power to challenge convention and combat what scares me. That is what the real world is all about.

Final Thoughts: