Theatreworks USA at The Kaye Playhouse Series to Continue with THE LIGHTNING THIEF This Sunday

Theatreworks USA (Barbara Pasternack, Artistic Director; Ken Arthur, Producing Director) will continue its 2016 weekend family performance series this Sunday, January 31st, with The Lightning Thief, a musical adapted from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The Lightning Thief features a book by Joe Tracz with music, lyrics, & orchestrations by Rob Rokicki. The Off-Broadway premiere of The Lightning Thief was nominated for Outstanding Musical by the Lortel Awards in 2015. This 60-minute musical is recommended for audiences age 8 and up.

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy has ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

The Lightning Thief will be directed by Sherri Eden Barber, with choreography by Chloe Treat and fight direction by Martin Boersma. The show features costume design by Sydney Maresca and scenic design by Lee Savage. The original Off-Broadway production was directed by Stephen Brackett (Buyer and Cellar) and choreographed by Sam Pinkleton (Machinal; Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812). Original fight choreography is by Turner Smith.

Featured in the cast are Aurie Ceylon, Patrick Clements, Carter Easler, Kelly Karcher, Todd Tuchek, and Wesley Zurick as Percy.

Joe Tracz is a playwright and screenwriter whose work has been developed with Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout, and Second Stage, and published in Best American Short Plays. Joe is currently working on the first season of the Netflix series "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" and Poster Boy (music and lyrics by Craig Carnelia). Film/TV credits include Epic (20th Century Fox) and Lights Out (FX). His musical Be More Chill (with composer Joe Iconis) premiered at Two River Theatre in 2015. Joe is a former Playwrights Realm writing fellow and an Ars Nova Play Group alum. He has a BA from Kalamazoo College and an MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Rob Rokicki is a songwriter, performer and music director in NYC. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Actor's Equity, and alum of the Tony Award-winning BMI workshop. Rob is the co-author (with Michael Ruby) of two award-winning musicals: Love, NY and Strange Tails and is hard at work on others including Relativity and the multi-media Monstersongs. Martha & Me (NY Fringe), Samson's Fire (The Cell), Gingerbread House (NYFA). Rob has performed in national tours, at Carnegie Hall and is a frequent performer with Joe Iconis & Family. Music Directing: Departure Lounge (Public); ReWrite (Goodspeed); Hairspray, (Engeman). He recently released his first studio album featuring wonderful Broadway friends available on itunes. www.robertrokicki.com Camp Half-Blood!

Theatreworks USA at The Kaye Playhouse Series will feature eight different productions over 11 weekends, each offering one-hour weekend performances recommended for children four and up. Upcoming performances will be:

February 13: Henry and Mudge? was adapted by bookwriter/lyricist Kait Kerrigan and composer/lyricist Brian Lowdermilk (Jonathan Larson Award-winners) and is based on the best-selling books by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Suçie Stevenson. Henry and Mudge premiered Off-Broadway in July 2006 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

February 27: Charlotte's Web is a play by Joseph Robinette (A Christmas Story) based on the Newbery Medal-winning book by E.B. White with an incidental music score by Jeffrey Lunden (Winner of the Lortel Award, Rodgers Award, and Jonathan Larson Award).

March 13: Page Turner Adventures' The Mixed-Up Fairy Tale presents hilarious storytelling with a touch of vaudeville, featuring Riley Roam as?"World Famous Storyologist" Page Turner and former Ringling Bros. clown Kenny Mikey as her bumbling assistant.

March 19: Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School

March 26: Seussical

April 3: Henry and Mudge

April 24: Skippyjon Jones Snow What based on the book by Judy Schachner, features a libretto and lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila and a score by Eli Bolin. Skippyjon Jones Snow What premiered Off-Broadway in July 2015 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.?

May 1: Curious George: The Golden Meatball, a musical based on the books by Margaret and H.A. Rey and the play owned by Universal Stage Productions, features a book by Jeremy Desmon with original music by John Kavanaugh.?

The Kaye Playhouse is located at East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues. Tickets for all performances will be $25. Discounted rates for groups of 4 or more are available as well. Tickets may be purchased online: www.hunter.cuny.edu/kayeplayhouse, by phone at 212/772-4448, and in person at the box office, which is open from Noon-6pm, Monday through Saturday.

Theatreworks USA is America's foremost professional theatre for young and family audiences. Theatreworks USA's mission is to create imaginative and sophisticated shows that are educational, entertaining, and thought provoking, and to ensure that these shows are accessible to audiences across America regardless of geography and socio-economic status. Since 1961, Theatreworks USA has reached over 93 million people in 49 states and Canada, and the company now performs for about three million young people annually. Every year, the company tours approximately ten shows from its ever-growing repertoire of 133 plays and musicals. In addition, Theatreworks USA has an extensive guest artist roster of multi-cultural storytellers, musicians, puppeteers, magicians and more.

Theatreworks USA's honors include a Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award, the William M. Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence given by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and the Medal of Honor from the Actors Fund of America. Past Free Summer Theatre productions at the Lucille Lortel Theatre include The Lightning Thief (Lortel Award nominee: Best Musical); Skippyjon Jones (Lortel Award nominee: Best Musical); The Yellow Brick Road (Callaway nominee: Best Choreography); We the People: America Rocks! (Lortel nominee: Best Musical); Click, Clack, Moo (Lortel nominee: Best Musical, Drama Desk nominee: Best Lyrics); and Seussical (Lortel and Drama League nominee: Best Revival of a Musical). Free Summer Theatre is entirely underwritten by charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and public support.

This program from Theatreworks USA is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

For more information on this series or the other programs offered by Theatreworks USA, visit www.TWUSA.org.