#t. shyvonne stewart

[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)

[gontagokuhara]

i didnt get pictures with chiron and grover, but i got everyones signatures and picz with everyone else!!!

[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)

[kristinstoked]

From James Hayden Rodriguez’ Take-Over of blumenthalarts (January 16 2019)

[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. 

[howtotrainyouragents]

Agent H’s Musical Reactions

[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!!!!

[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.

[hergrandplan]

Apparently T. Shyvonne Stewart is going on as Clarisse in The Lightning Thief musical today so someone please get me an audio!!

I’m willing to trade extremely unfairly + will love you forever

[optimusphillip]

The Lightning Thief is a Divine Musical

If my timing is right, The Lightning Thief has recently concluded its seven-month first national tour. I saw it on its penultimate weekend in Boston, Massachusetts, and it was quite an experience. I haven’t mentioned this very much, but I was a huge fan of the Percy Jackson books in middle school, so as soon as I knew this musical existed, I had added the cast album to my musical lexicon, and before long had all the lyrics memorized. And naturally, when the opportunity to catch it on tour presented itself, I jumped on it, and was not disappointed. So let me attempt to revisit this, and share my opinion on it.

Plot

For those unfamiliar, The Lightning Thief is about a preteen boy named Percy Jackson (Chris McCarrell), who discovers that he is the half-blood son of Poseidon, and the prime suspect in the theft of Zeus’s master bolt. As a result, he must embark on a quest to find the bolt before the summer solstice, clear his name, and stop the gods from going to war. Joining him on his quest are Grover Underwood (Izzy Figueroa), his best friend from school and secret guardian satyr, and Annabeth Chase (Kristin Stokes), the know-it-all daughter of Athena. It’s a wonderful send-off to the ancient Greek legends, and is surprisingly well-suited to the musical stage. It didn’t come through completely unscathed from book to play, but I feel the changes ultimately help the story. Percy’s two encounters with Clarisse are condensed to one, and much of the long journey is condensed into a single musical number (though this does come at the cost of the Chimera fight and the Lotus Hotel scene, but they’re at least referenced), while the campfire scene gives us a glimpse into the life of a half-blood, while still fitting seamlessly into the story. Aside from that, it’s the same great story we’ve come to know and love over the past decade. I can’t think of much to complain about.

Cast/Characters

Let’s get this out of the way: the main cast are way older than the characters they play. For example, Percy Jackson is 12, while Chris McCarrell is 28. This doesn’t bother me as much as it did in the movie, though. For one, the medium of off-Broadway theater doesn’t lend itself especially well to the use of child actors. And for two, these actors capture the role so well, you barely notice the age difference. Percy is a dimwitted joker, Grover is a neurotic glutton, Annabeth is a know-it-all with abandonment issues, and all three actors capture it really well. Special mention goes to Izzy Figueroa, by the way. He had some big shoes to fill when George Salazar left the show, but he still managed to pull it off at least as well, if not better.

But I really do need to give mad props to the rest of the cast. James Hayden Rodriguez, T. Shyvonne Stewart, Jalynn Steele, and Ryan Knowles all play multiple characters, and even Izzy has an extra role as Dionysus, aka Mr. D. And all of them pull it off perfectly. I really liked Ryan Knowles as Poseidon. But James Rodriguez is probably my favorite of these multicast players. He does a great job as both Luke, the jaded son of Hermes, and Ares, the badass, loudmouth god of war. At no point did I feel I was watching people pretend to be these characters: they felt like the real people, jumped out of the pages. It was a stellar performance all around.

Music

But what is a musical without good music? Not much. And does The Lightning Thief have good music?

Boy. Did you not read the introduction?

The moment I listened to this cast album, it went right on my frequent listening list. What can I say? The music slaps. From earworms like “Another Terrible Day” and “Lost”, to emotional powerhouses like “Strong” and “Their Sign”, to rocking jams like “Put You in Your Place” and “Bring on the Monsters”, it covers all its bases. You also get some stand-outs, like “The Campfire Song”, which is exactly what it sounds like; a campfire-style song about all the gods from their children’s perspective. If I had to pick a top three, it would have to be “Strong”, for its powerful message that speaks to me as an autistic individual, “The Tree on the Hill”, for being such a gut-punch that I nearly cried in the theater, and “Good Kid”, for just being a catchy glimpse into Percy’s psyche. That said, there’s not a bad song on this album, and even if you never get a chance to see this show, at least give it a listen.

Tech

The technical elements of this show were really impressive, as one would expect from a musical based on gods and monsters. The creature effects in particular amazed me, partly because I hadn’t seen any pictures of this production prior to going to see it. The two that stand out to me in particular are Mrs. Dodds and the Minotaur, who are both played by large puppets that ended up being surprisingly terrifying. I also found the Oracle rather interesting: Jalynn Steele stood on a platform, wearing a dress that draped over several other actors, creating this weird multi-armed effect. Medusa was about what you’d expect, being just Ryan Knowles wearing a snake wig, but they also gave her LED eyes, which helps get across the magic eye effect, as well as making her fit with the other monsters. As I mentioned, the gang doesn’t fight the Chimera in this version, but it does make an appearance... kind of. They put a pair of LED’s in the dog crate Echidna was holding, and played some growling noises. Cerberus is... weird in this version. He makes an appearance in “D.O.A.”, a song and dance number led by ferrywoman Charon, as a deadmau5 style DJ. It was kind of funny, really, but still a strange choice.

The lighting setup was pretty clever as well. The grid consisted of several LED light fixtures mounted on universal pivots, which made for some clever lighting effects. There was also a row of lights on the edge of the deck, which could either be angled towards the actors as additional lighting, or angled forward for effect. I don’t know how common this is in professional theater, but I found it to be a really cool setup, that definitely made up for the minimal set design. The effect that really stood out to me was the lightning. It was incredibly lifelike, almost to the point where I’d caution those with sensory issues before seeing this show.

Final Thoughts

This show was amazing. From start to finish, I was geeking out at watching one of my favorite childhood stories being brought to life. Even putting my nostalgia aside, this felt like an entertaining musical, with spectacular effects, stellar acting, beautiful music, and a compelling narrative to hold it all together. Now like I said, this show is just now concluding its first national tour, and has not announced any future theatrical runs, so sadly, you may not have a chance to see it with this cast and crew. Even so, I’d still recommend you check this musical out, or at least listen to the cast album. And when Percy's back next summer, I’ll definitely see him again.

[kristinstoked]

chosenmelody: Signing off Chicago! Thanks for the great times. Last show ever at what is now the Oriental Theatre. @ltmusical#thelightningthiefmusical #tourlife#understudy #broadwayinchicago

[kristinstoked]

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From Kristin Stokes’ Instagram story (January 21 2019)

[kristinstoked]

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From Kristin Stokes’ Instagram story (January 30 2019)

[kristinstoked]

The Lightning Thief Broadway cast!

[kristinstoked]

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From huntingtontheatreco’s Instagram story (July 18 2019)