Student Blog: Why The Lighting Thief is The Perfect College Musical

If you haven't figured this out yet, I am a massive nerd. I love all things Disney and Star Wars and Marvel, but my biggest obsession is Percy Jackson. I was so excited for the musical to come out, and now that the rights are out, I think it would be a perfect musical for colleges to do.

First off, there is a shocking amount of crossover between theatre kids and Percy Jackson kids. I think it might be, due to the fact that a lot of us, myself included, feel like outcasts and struggle in none-arts subjects. The themes of The Lighting Thief are really relatable to college students. We all want to feel like we belong. A lot of us feel pressured to please our parents. A lot of us have blind ambition and struggle with relationships. It is easy for college students to relate to these characters, even though they are fighting monsters and Greek gods.

It is also perfect for any budget. Schools with a large technical budget can really play up the fantasy of the musical. They can do high tech transformations and amazing monsters. Schools with a smaller budget can really play up the camp factor of the show, and have more simplistic sets and special effects. The same goes with cast size. The chorus of this show can be huge or small, depending on the needs of the school.

It is also a show that features both powerhouse men and women. I think especially when choosing musicals, there is a tendency to either feature strong men or strong women characters, rather than a diverse group. With The Lighting Thief, you need a powerhouse woman to play the roles of Percy's Mom/Medusa/Ms. Dodds. This actor needs to both play evil and manipulative characters and the loving and caring character of Percy's Mom. The actress who plays Annabeth needs to be able to be both sensitive, but strong. The men has one of the most complex roles, in the role of Luke. Spoiler alert, Luke is the villain of the musical. The audience doesn't even suspect that he's a villain because he's the charming big brother figure in Percy's life. This actor needs to play evil, without the audience realizing it.

This musical is also super hilarious. "Another Terrible Day" is a great example of this. It's literally just Mr. D (Dionysus) complaining about his job for a solid four minutes, while Percy is trying to figure out what the heck is going on. "The Campfire Song" is also hilarious, due to the bizarre complaints the demi-gods have about their godly parents.

There are also opportunities for emotional moments within the musical. Towards the beginning of the show, Percy and his mother have a tender moment of encouragement after Percy gets expelled for the six time. Another emotional moment is the song, "My Grand Plan." This is really the first time in Annabeth's life that she is willing to open about how pride is her fatal flaw. She hates weakness and is afraid to show it. The pinnacle song of the show is "Good Kid." In this song, Percy reveals how all he ever wants is to be a good kid and do things right. He feels like a failure instead.

This show is also a vocal challenge for theatre students. "Put You in Your Place" is vocal gymnastics for the actresses Clarisse and Annabeth. They are both belting basically the entire song, which is hard to do. The actor who plays Percy has the challenge with dynamic levels of "Good Kid" which has both tender piano moments and aggressive forte moments.

Overall, I think this show has great audience appeal and would make the perfect show for college students. It would bring in audiences young and old, challenge actors and actresses, and also create challenges and adventures for tech majors.

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