#izzy figueroa

[junietuesday]

HELLO I AM BACK FROM THE LIGHTNING THIEF AND IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE

Everyone! Was! Awesome! I am still starstruck from stagedooring and getting everyone but Chris’s signature! I wasn’t sure what to think about Izzy and T. Shyvonne but they were absolutely incredible no joke, I think I might like them more than Jorrel and Sarah actually

(this was the 8 PM show on 7/18/19 btw)

Act 1

During the trip to the Met Percy was like pulling on Grover’s sleeve and wandering off to look at statues and stuff, Kristin’s and James’s characters were acting like a couple, every time Mr. Brunner said “Kronos” Mrs. Dodds echoed “KRONOSSSS” in an ominous voice and the lights went all green

When Smelly Gabe came in Percy started spraying a can of air freshener all over the place until Sally pushed his arm down

Chris clearly said “you’re a furry!!” none of that “you’re all furry” shit, I was literally close enough to the stage that I could clearly see their faces even with my shitty eyesight so I know what I’m talking about (also the entire theater fucking died of laughter) no but i kinda headcanon grover as a furry now lmao

When Percy was claimed he said “...is that a fork?” and then when he learned it was a sign of Poseidon there was a few moments of silence then he went “sweeeeeeet!!”

When Percy got his sword he waved it around and made “floom” noises until Annabeth said “it’s not a lightsaber”

Oh and I think I know how he got the pen to turn into a sword during the fight with Mrs. Dodds, it looked like he pulled it out of Mr. Brunner’s wheelchair

They brough Another Terrible Day up a step or two for Izzy, it still sounded amazing though, I actually liked him better than Jorrel, his growly voice was less strained

During the part where Silena Beauregard said “sunflowers, everywhere” she did circles around her crotch

After Katie talked about saving trees, Mr. D grabbed a pencil and thrust it into an automatic sharpener, she looked horrified as Mr. D chased her offstage with it, at the end she was marching around with a sign that said “save the trees!”

Percy, after Annabeth calls him sexist: No, I love girls!!! *incredulous/weird pause* I mean, I think girls are really...nice?

Also Percy, to Annabeth: You’re my dream girl!!!!!!! *awkward pause* I mean you’re the girl from my dream!

Grover and Percy were sitting by the side while everyone danced at the beginning of Campfire Song, Grover was joining in from where he was sitting on the ground, but Percy just hunched in on himself other than the times he leaned over to whisper something to Grover

Grover was super super enthusiastic about Percy finally joining in to sing, and someone went “aww” loudly in the audience when Percy started singing about his mom

When Katie was talking about how “planting and planting’s a pain” Grover was looking like “can’t relate”, then when he sang “those who love nature are often beguiled” he looked straight at Katie

When Silena sang about “she’s there in her nightie!” Luke literally fell over laughing

When Grover went “my turn my turn! It’s my turn!” and everyone was like “ugh” at him, Annabeth eventually threw her hands in the air and went “alright your turn!”

After Put You In Your Place—

Percy: was this your plan all along?

Annabeth: you mean the plan to distract Clarisse so we could get the flag unnoticed?

Percy: I could’ve died!

Annabeth: the plan would’ve worked anyway

Mr. D kept going on and on about turning Percy into a dolphin when Chiron was talking about what to do about the prophecy, like—

Chiron: We only have one option

Mr. D: *cough* dolphin

Chiron, giving Mr. D a look: one reasonable option

When Chiron said to go “talk to the mummy in the attic”, Percy said “by mummy you mean like the old person way of saying mom, right?”

Percy and Grover are really huggy it’s actually super cute, but also when they hugged during Their Sign (first time I watched it these little kids up front went “awww” during it), after Percy pulled away he looked down at Grover’s goat legs and Grover just kinda shrugged sheepishly (ha)

During Killer Quest Grover ran in for his verse with like a million camping bags slung all over himself, and he just handed this tiny backpack to Percy

When Annabeth was singing her verse in Killer Quest Percy and Grover were whispering on the side, their expressions were like “is she really coming?” (Percy) / “yeah duh” (Grover), Grover looked really excited when Annabeth officially said she was joining in

When Chiron’s horse side appeared he swung his butt all over the place to show off his tail, everyone cracked up laughing

Luke, after Percy was claimed: Come on, Mr. D wants to kill you—I mean talk to you—

During Put You In Your Place Clarisse punched Grover in the mouth and stomach, he stumbled away in pain, after Annabeth drew her game plan into the ground with her spear and told him “satyrs are creatures of Pan, you know what to do?” he whimpered “yeah, hide in a tree!” and ran away

Oh and speaking of, when Annabeth told Luke “Hermes kids are fast” Luke said “actually that’s a stereotype”, Annabeth gave him a look and said “Luke” and he said “okay, okay, foot brigade, got it!”

After Put You In Your Place, Luke bowed down to Percy before he left and said “all hail Percy Jackson, supreme lord of the bathroom!” (we all love book references), then Annabeth was like “how did you do that?”, Percy struck a pose and said “the toilet water just, spoke to me”

Mr. D said Zeus’s lightning bolt was “pure Celestial Bronze, not some piece of tin for a traveling musical!”

When Grover pulled Percy behind him to show him around camp, the last thing he mentioned was “the cafetorium!!” in that tone so I’m 99% sure it was a BMC reference

T. Shyvonne Stewart was awesome holy shit, her Put You In Your Place was fucking incredible I loved it and her high notes were powerful

When Clarisse said “don’t get eaten by monsters!” Chiron quickly put his hand over her mouth and Clarisse glared at him as he said “have a great quest!”

Act 2

When Percy said “so you hate me because of our parents?” to Annabeth after she told him about Medusa’s backstory he sounded really heartbroken

Percy: of course i know how to hold a sword! *swings it around, slices self on shoulder* ow

When Percy said “that seems kinda...nuts”, Annabeth looked away and covered her eyes with her hands in supposed irritation at the bad pun but she was smiling

When Hades told Percy to hand over the bolt, Percy said “There’s no way in hell—wait”

Before My Grand Plan when Percy talked about how many schools he’d been kicked out of to try and relate to Annabeth, she said “yeah, but boys always get a second chance” and OOF i felt that

At the end of DOA Charon’s backup dancers were fighting Percy, Grover, and Annabeth, and when Charon was calling out each of their weaknesses, the dancer would wrestle the demigod to the ground

Oh and right before that she had everyone onstage on their knees in front of her, she directed their movements based on her dance moves

When Poseidon talked to Sally he deepened his voice and shot her fingerguns, “hey”, he stepped closer and closer to where Sally was half-hugging Percy until they were staring into each other’s eyes, finally Percy ran forward and threw his hands in the air and said “okay! That was the weirdest family reunion ever!”, when Poseidon left he pumped a fist at his “smoothness” and strutted offstage, Percy was like “so that’s my dad!” in this totally done voice, Sally stared off after Poseidon and said in this lovestruck voice, “that’s your dad”, Percy looked disgusted

The layering in Bring On the Monsters is even cooler in real life just gonna say

When the bus exploded the driver said “that wasn’t even my worst experience on a Greyhound” right before a confetti cannon exploded, I missed a tiny bit of Lost! because I was trying to catch some confetti (it didn’t quite reach me rip, but the guy right beside me and the girl right in front of me got some)

During Lost! when Annabeth said “I hope so!” it was super super excitedly, like she was literally thrilled to be being chased by monsters

After Luke monologued about how he was going to get back at the gods, he told Annabeth, “I know you’ll do the wise thing”, a pause when Grover from up above put his head down on the railing in despair while Percy watched in shock, then Annabeth finally said “Yeah” and took out her knife, Percy and Grover both looked up, delighted

In the lobby of DOA records this really peppy music was playing—idk whether they added it after January (when I saw it the first time) or if i’m just forgetful—then when they got in the elevator there were these vertical lines of lights that lit up so the light was falling downward, slowly the music got drowned out in favor of growls and scary sound effects while the light changed to red

The tractor in Drive was literally a piece of the set on wheels (kinda like this scaffolding thing?) being pulled around by a piece of rope tied to the wheelchair, the motorcycle was a stage light with handlebars with a piece of pillar for the seat, Grover sat on the ground to indicate the sidecar and Ares threw his hand on Grover’s chest so he didn’t fly forward when they “hit a bump”

The kids on their way to the Vatican were literally hand puppets, I choked when I saw them, and DJ Cerberus was just a person with this three-headed dog hat with red eyes it was fucking hilarious

Hades was talking about his brother like “he doesn’t care about his family” then he got choked up and said “or his brother...it gets lonely down here you know! but does he ever visit!?” and then later “everyone always thinks i’m the villain! is it because of the decor?” and he gestures around

I wasn’t sure what to think of Izzy Figueroa before seeing him but he was fucking incredible!! like during Tree on the Hill he literally made me tear up and I never cry at music, god that was so powerful, I wish we’d had a chance to applaud him but they went straight into the next scene

During the fight with Medusa at the end Grover swung Percy on his shoulders toward Medusa where Percy slices her head off, Annabeth picked it up and muttered “ew ew ew” and shoved it in a closet

When Percy sent the head to Mt. Olympus, Annabeth told him in horror “the gods will think we’re impertinent!”, Percy gave her a deadpan look and said “we are impertinent”, he did it again at the end when Annabeth said the same thing after Percy said he was going home for the school year since he didn’t want the gods to just solve all his problems

At the end Sally sent Percy a letter with a picture of “her new statue, Bean Dip” (Percy’d given her Medusa’s head)

[kristinstoked]

The Lightning Thief Broadway cast!

[chasing-musicals]

AHHHHHHH IM SO HAPPY FOR THESE GUYS

Baby’s going back to broadway!

Sarah-Beth, Jorrel, Kristen, James, Izzy, Sam, Ryan, Jalynn and Shyvonne, are making their broadway debuts!

Next stop: PLEASE BE UK!

[botls]

did everyone see the video of izzy going “heyheyheyheyhey” and jorrel looks up and goes “ah?” and then izzy says “have a great showwww” bc it’s literally making me 🥺🥺🥺

[auspiciousmanner]

I just saw lightning theif the musical and omg

They are so talented

Everyone played so many parts and I was shook, especially Ryan Knowles he was Chiron, Hades, Poseidon, Medusa and so many more

Chris McCarrel made Percy seem like a believable kid with his peculiarities it wasn’t just some 28 year old up there but actually Percy

Izzy Figueroa understudied for Grover and he was so good, loved his song bout Thalia it made everyone cry

The low budget sets and props were so inventive

The lighting was gorgeous

The notes that they hit were insane

I cried so much

They actually cared about the book

There was jokes for both kids and adults

Good kid was so freaking amazing, my friend and I were sobbing

Nostalgia hit me so hard while watching it

Please go watch it if you can, it might be my new favorite musical

[carrylechat]

So i went to see the lightning thief in boston (an 8ish hour drive from where i live in canada) and i was getting signatures from the cast at stage door, and when Izzy Figueroa came out we were chatting a bit and i said “yeah i drove eight hours from Canada to be here and you were totally worth it” and he looked really surprised and said:

“you know we were in Toronto, right?”

I did not know that.

(plus its a 15 hour drive to Toronto so Boston was still much closer)

It sucks to live in Atlantic Canada when you’re a theatre lover.

[somelittlevaudevilleimreviewing]

Lightning Thief times 2 and 3! I’m gonna try to go back for the last show, but I literally sobbed at the matinee I love this show and this cast so so much, and being able to see them again and meet them, I honestly can’t express how happy I am!!!! James Hayden Rodriguez gave me a hug on Saturday, I got to talk to Kristin Stokes and T Shyvonne Stewart and Jalynn Steele, and we got a picture with Izzy Figueroa on Sunday, and my heart is just!!!!

[dragonsareawesome123]

The full cast of the Lightning Thief Musical Tour

Chris McCarrell (Percy Jackson)

Kristin Stokes (Annabeth Chase)

Jorrel Javier (Grover and Mr. D)

Sarah Beth Pfeifer (Clarisse La Rue and others)

Jalynn Steele (Sally Jackson and others)

James Hayden Rodriguez (Luke Castellan, Ares, & Others)

Ryan Knowles (Chiron and others)

Sam Leicht (Understudy for Percy and Luke)

T. Shyvonne Stewart (Understudy for Sally and Clarisse)

Izzy Figueroa (Understudy for Grover, Mr. Brunner, Assistant Stage Manager)

[caroleditosti]

'The Lightning Thief-The Percy Jackson Musical,' a Stirring Adaptation of the Titular Rick Riordan Novel

‘The Lightning Thief-The Percy Jackson Musical,’ a Stirring Adaptation of the Titular Rick Riordan Novel

(L to R): Kristin Stokes, Chris McCarrell, Jorrel Javier in ‘The Lightning Thief-The Percy Jackson Musical,’ book by Joe Tracz, Music & Lyrics by Rob Rokicki, adapted from the book by Rick Riordan, directed by Stephen Brackett at the Longacre Theatre (Jeremy Daniel)

It’s even in the Bible. Gods hung around with humans and children were born to them. Of course this caused issues for the children…

[jamieisnotrich]

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical Tour Review

This past Saturday I had the privilege of seeing the national tour of The Lighting Thief musical at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas. From the set design to the actors to the engagement with the audience, I would certainly suggest seeing this musical if you have the chance. Now, for my experience seeing the musical. 

The set design for the musical was phenomenal; the low-budget, thown-together stage production look they were going for worked. Some of the set pieces even got a few laughs from the audience with how awkward they appeared. Instead of this appearing lazy, this design looked as if Percy Jackson himself were telling his story on a stage, which is how the original book is narrated. The stage appeared charming throughout and while I took a picture of the stage beforehand, I kind of regret not getting a picture during intermission as well. The rafters on the sides held the band up, which helped to maintain the overall creative design put forward in this production.

At the Winspear, there is a giant chandelier (shown above) that is risen up into the ceiling before the start of a show. Before the show, it was blinking blue and white the the sounds of creepy birds and wind; I have been to several shows and the Winspear and I have never seen them change the lights on the chandelier to fit a show. Also, when the chandelier was raised, it depicted the shape of a lightning bolt (the logo) in blue and yellow, and later on in the show when Percy was claimed by his godly parent, they showed the shape of his parent’s symbol in blue and white. This was very creative and I thought it gave a nice touch to the production as a whole. However, I do wonder how they do it at other theatres. If you have seen this show somewhere else, feel free to message me about how they did it there. 

Chris McCarrell’s performance was amazing and I would definitely go see this musical again just to see his comical execution at Percy again. From his over-the-top reaction to Smelly Gabe to his smart aleck comments about the gods, McCarrell certainly portrayed a 12-year-old Percy Jackson. One of the most memorable moment was during the opening song when he slide out onto the stage into a “Draw me like one of your French girls”-type pose. It was really a great moment for the audience and really amusing overall. 

While I did particularly love George Salazar’s original performance as Grover/Mr.D, I am kind of biased toward Texas State graduates. Jorrel Javier is a great replacement for Salazar and did an amazing job at making the character(s) his own. Sadly, however, Javier left during the intermission and Izzy Figueroa had to fill in for him. Figueroa kept up the amp of the characters for the audience and did a great job at helping the show go on. Overall, all three actors do a great job at portraying the characters; the casting for this musical is great all the way through. 

While McCarrell and Javier are certainly showstoppers when it comes to this production, the surprising talent comes from Ryan Knowles’ performance as Hades. I was certainly thrown off-guard when Knowles absolutely stole the show in a single scene. His over-the-top portrayal of an often looked-over god was hysterical, and I kind of wish more people were talking about it. His performance is definitely underrated. 

The musical as a whole did a great job at engaging with an audience that has either been reading Rick Riordan’s books for years or may have never heard of Percy Jackson at all. With a plethora of adult humor mixed with the middle grade level jokes the Percy Jackson series is known for, this musical is definitely for all ages. I saw a mixture of families with young kids, teenagers, and elderly seeing this musical, and all walked out with a smile on their faces. 

My only complaint about this musical (which is very minor, mind you) is the choreography could have been done a lot better. It was all kind of awkward and I really wish it were a bit bigger, yet simpler to fit with the musical. Otherwise, every bit and piece creative-wise was perfect. 

If you have the chance to, I would certainly suggest seeing this musical. Tickets are fairly cheap and last until July, which isn’t much more time. Here’s the website to check it out: X. 

[hergrandplan]

Also just putting it out there that I’m always looking for The Lightning Thief audios. always. 

[kristinstoked]

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From huntingtontheatreco’s Instagram story (July 18 2019)

[andrewsmoviereviews]

Redacted (2007)

Plot: A found-footage reconstruction of the rape and murder of a 15 year old Iraqi girl by United States forces.

Review: There was a time when director Brian De Palma could seemingly do no wrong. Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables, it seemed like he made instant classics. Redacted makes that seem like a long time ago.

The entire film seems as though it was made by somebody just getting into the movie business, rather than a seasoned director. The terrible standard of the acting, the found footage gimmick, the intention to say something unpalatable and controversial, all hallmarks of somebody who is looking to get noticed and grab headlines rather than somebody who is looking to make the best movie possible. And there is a story here worth telling, and there are points worth making - especially about the mental attitude of a small minority of U.S. soldiers who see themselves as better than the Iraqis, and think they’re owed something for being there.

Unfortunately all of that is lost amongst the gimmickry of the found footage concept. De Palma sets it up to pull from several sources, including the private footage of soldier Angel Salazar (Izzy Diaz), who just happens to be using military service to get into film school, because that’s how you do it. Then there are the jarring cuts to a French film crew, and these will come with a dash of unintentional humour for Brits due to them using the backing music Dave Gorman uses for his ‘found poems’ on Modern Life Is Goodish. Then you have various poorly constructed bits of army interrogation tapes, security footage, etc.

The whole movie is constructed very poorly, with the constant jumping of time and type of footage making it more impossible to watch than the brutal rape and the beheading of a soldier. One to avoid.

[botls]

CAN WE PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT FOR IZZY

[ijustlikehoney]

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Yu-gh74FuXqkLNX_Jy_BtOlEbG5AabDT

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ak5ED24dbgXT040ruN43dutN2PijBr8R

Date: 4/26/19 Where: 5th Avenue Theatre (Seattle) Production: National Tour Format: .wav Cast: Chris McCarrell, Kristen Stokes, Jorrell Javier, Izzy Figueroa (u/s Chiron and others), Sarah Beth Pfeifer, James Hayden Rodriguez, Jalynn Steele

so i posted a link to a google drive folder recently with a lightning thief audio but only act 1 was showing up for some reason so heres the two separate links to act 1 and 2, maybe someday ill figure out what went wrong and maybe someday ill end up actually tracking the audio

[newyorktheater]

I think if I were eight years old I might have loved “The Lightning Thief” on Broadway, but that’s mostly because I would then have been too young to have seen it at the Lucille Lortel Theatre five years ago. Downtown, this musical about Percy Jackson, a modern American adolescent who also happens to be a demigod from Greek mythology, was just an hour long, charming in a do-it-yourself low-budget way….and free of charge!

At Broadway’s Longacre Theater, “The Lightning Thief” is two hours long, not as charming…and very much not free.

Bringing the musical to Broadway hasn’t made The Lightning Thief a better show — it’s ballooned beyond its fighting weight — but I can understand why the creative team might have felt compelled to do so.   Percy Jackson began life as the hero of a series of bedtime stories that Rick Riordan created for his son, then became the protagonist on the pages of Riordan’s bestselling novels. The novels  were adapted into a couple of blockbuster movies starring Logan Lerman. Once the story was further adapted into a Theatreworks children’s stage musical by playwright Joe Tracz, composer Rob Rokicki and director Stephen Bracket, it must have seemed inevitable to continue the trajectory.

There is still some charm and wit, especially for those who have read the books, in the story of Percy (Chris McCarrell), a boy who doesn’t fit in, discovering that he is the son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and one of the three most powerful deities.

He finds this out after his mortal mother Sally (Jalynn Steele) has sent him to Camp Half-Blood where he meets other children from mixed families (half mortal, half divine.) Together they sing “The Campfire Song,” the cleverest of the 18 in the show, expressing their resentment of their absent god parent:

Oh things couldn’t be worse When your parents run the universe

We’re introduced early and often to this sometimes amusing crossbreeding of myth and adolescent angst – increasingly familiar on Broadway, as well as on young adult bookshelves – which would be funnier if there were less of it. Similarly, the inspirational message for the kiddies is hammered home in song after song. In “Strong,” for example, Percy laments:

if you’re weird, you’re weak

His mother Sally replies melodically: That’s where you’re wrong The things that make you different are the very things that make you strong

The plot too is familiar – a hero’s quest, which kicks in soon after Percy learns that Zeus (his uncle) thinks Percy has stolen his thunderbolt. Percy travels by bus from New Jersey to L.A., where Hades is located. He is ccompanied by his best friend Grover (Jorrel Javier), who’s a satyr, half-man, half-goat, and by Annabeth, the super-competent but of course neglected daughter of Athena (Kristin Stokes, the only performer in the seven-member cast who was also in the Off-Broadway production.)

But on Broadway, audiences must now withstand the irksome effects from the overblown Broadway special effects playbook –  the production flashes bright lights in our eyes, and thunderous booms in our ears, drops confetti on our heads, plus (admittedly a novel one) uses leaf blowers to drape us with rolls of toilet paper, as if we’re suburban trees during Halloween. My reaction to these touches reminds me of an old Borscht Belt joke: Catskill resort guest: “The food in this place is terrible.” Her friend: ‘Yeah, and such small portions.” Nobody who’s been to Broadway before is going to ooh or ahhh at the effects, or at the parade of colorful (mostly low-tech puppet) monsters with whom Percy and his pals do battle, via sword or fist or just tumbling and fumbling around — Furies, a minotaur, Medussa, Chime, Hades, a surprise traitor in their midst….. “The Lightning Thief” has its pleasures. Among them are the chance to see stand-out cast memer Jalynn Steele work her way through half a dozen mythic or monster characters. This includes Charon, who ferries people to the Underworld, and late in the show does a full-on, soulful show-stopper called “D.O.A.” with cameos by Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Mozart. Not everybody stuck it out to see it the night I attended; two adults sitting to my left and two immediately in front of me left at intermission. But I didn’t see any kids leave.

Click on any photograph by Jeremy Daniels to see it enlarged

The Lightning Thief Longacre Book by Joe Tracz, based on the book by Rick Riordan; Music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki; Choreography by Patrick McCollum; Directed by Stephen Brackett.

Scenic design by Lee Savage, costume design by Sydney Maresca, lighting design by David Lander, sound design by Ryan Rumery, new puppetry designs by Achesonwalsh Studios, fight direction by Rod Winter, hair, wig and makeup dieting by Dave Bova. Cast: Chris McCarrell, Izzy Figueroa, Jorrel Javier, Ryan Knowles, Sam Leicht, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, James Hayden Rodriguez, Jalynn Steele, T. Shyvonne Stewart and Kristin Stokes Running time: Two hours and ten minutes, including one intermission Tickets: $39 to $199 The Lightning Thief is on stage through January 5, 2020.

The Lightning Thief Review: On Broadway Battling Beasts and Bloat I think if I were eight years old I might have loved "The Lightning Thief" on Broadway, but that’s mostly because I would then have been too young to have seen it at the Lucille Lortel Theatre five years ago.