Off-Broadway's THE LIGHTNING THIEF to Celebrate Rick Riordan's New Novel with Pop-Up Shop 5/2

Off-Broadway's hit show, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical and NYC's Books of Wonder (booksofwonder.com) will celebrate the release of Rick Riordan's newest book by creating a Book of Wonder pop-up shop at the Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street).

They will be selling signed copies of The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy for $19.99 to those with tickets to the The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. Also available at the theatre are official t-shirts of the Off-Broadway musical.

Percy Jackson has newly discovered powers he can't control, monsters on his trail, and he is on a quest to find Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a war between the Greek gods. Normal is a myth when you're a demigod.

Based on the best-selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Rick Riordan, featuring live music, The Lightning Thief:The Percy Jackson Musical is an action-packed theatrical adventure that will rock your world.

In The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy, Zeus has punished his son Apollo-god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more-by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered 16-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. What is affecting the Oracles, and how can Apollo/Lester do anything about them without his powers? After experiencing a series of dangerous-and frankly, humiliating-trials at Camp Half-Blood, Lester must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he's gaining in new friendships-with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series. Come along for what promises to be a harrowing, hilarious, and haiku-filled ride.

The cast includes Chris McCarrell (Les Misérables) as Percy Jackson, Carrie Compere (Broadway: The Color Purple, Holler If Ya Hear Me) as Sally, Sarah Beth Pfeifer (Nat'l tour: Legally Blonde: The Musical) and Clarisse, Jonathan Raviv (The Band's Visit) as Brunner, James Hayden Rodriguez (National Tour: Spring Awakening) as Luke, George Salazar (Broadway: Godspell. Nat'l tour: Spring Awakening) as Grover, and Kristin Stokes (NY: Fly by Night. Regional: Diary of a Wimpy Kid) as Annabeth.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical creative team includes Lee Savage (Set Design), Sydney Maresca (Costume Design), Ryan Rumery (Sound Design), David Lander (Lighting Design), Jason Blitman & Greg Uliasz (Casting). It is being presented by Theatreworks NYC (Ken Arthur, Producing Director, Barbara Pasternack, Artistic Director) in arrangement with Rick Riordan and the Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical began performances on March 23 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street) and opened on Tuesday, April 4 and will run through May 6, 2017.

The creative team includes a book by Joe Tracz (Netflix "Series of Unfortunate Events"), music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki (Strange Tails), directed by Stephen Brackett (Buyer and Cellar), choreography by Patrick McCollum (The Band's Visit) with musical direction by Wiley Deweese (The Wildness), orchestrations by Wiley Deweese & Rob Rokicki, and fight direction by Rod Kinter (More Than All the World).

A one hour version of The Lightning Thief with a smaller cast, was introduced to NYC by Theatreworks USA in 2014 as part of its FREE theatre series, and has successfully toured the country. This is a brand-new production, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, has a new score, an updated, expanded script including a second act, a larger cast and features a live band.

Books of Wonder is New York City's oldest and largest independent children's bookstore. Established 1980, the store carries a vast selection of the finest in modern children's books - both classics and new - as well as featuring a sizeable display of old, rare, and collectible children's books and original art from children's books. The store also hosts an active schedule of events including twice-weekly storytimes and two to five author and artist events each week. As a result, the store always has a large selection of books signed by their authors and artists. Books of Wonder also served as the basis for the children's bookstore Meg Ryan's character owned in the film, You've Got Mail. The store is located at 18 West 18th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) and is open seven days a week.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniels