The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical celebrates its Broadway premiere at the Longacre Theatre for a special 16-week limited engagement from September 20, 2019 through January 5, 2020.
The Lightning Thief is the first book of Rick Riordan’s "Percy Jackson & the Olympians” pentalogy and was published in 2005. It has spent over 500 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list and even spawned a Hollywood movie adaptation in 2010.
This musical adaptation first premiered off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the spring of 2017, enjoying a sold-out, six-week run and earning three Drama Desk Award nominations, including "Outstanding Musical." In addition, a North American National Tour was launched in January 2019 in Chicago and played a total of 32 cities, culminating in Boston in July 2019.
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical features a book by Joe Tracz, who made his Broadway debut in the 2018-2019 season with Be More Chill, and an original rock score by Rob Rokicki, which features such musical numbers as “Killer Quest!” and “Bring on the Monsters.” Indeed, due to its initial Off-Broadway success, a cast recording of the musical was released in July 2017.
This Broadway production is the perfect opportunity to introduce youngsters to the wonderful world of the theatre, in the same way that the books have introduced millions worldwide to the grandiose world of Greek mythology. The production uses innovative ways to bring to life 47 characters through its 7-member cast, encouraging youngsters to use their imagination and get lost in the exciting theatricality of it all. For those not in-the-know, our protagonist Percy Jackson is a teenager, who discovers that he is in fact a demigod, a son of Poseidon. In Mr. Riordan’s first novel in the series, Percy embarks on an epic quest to retrieve Zeus’ missing lightning bolt and in doing so, prevent all-out war between the Greek gods.
So, we say “Bring on the Monsters” and bring on this family-friendly musical of heroic proportions!
(Photos by Jeremy Daniel)