The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
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Cititour.com Review
“Dear Percy Jackson, today is going to be a bad day, and here’s why.”
Yep, those opening lines from “Dear Evan Hansen” were only in my head, as were the many other auditory allusions to Broadway musicals – including “Be More Chill” (there should definitely be a chorus of “Percy in the Bathroom” at one point) -- that sprung to my mind while watching “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical,” now at the Longacre Theatre.
Or perhaps it’s intentional, as this often less-than-exciting if well-meaning adaptation of Rick Riordan’s popular young adult novel continually tries too hard to “please” adults instead of simply trusting its source material. Still, this hit-and-myth affair seemed to delight to enough of the younger people in the audience that it may justify bring this cheap-looking national tour production to Broadway for 16 weeks.
The now-two-act work focuses on Percy (an extremely appealing Chris McCarrell, who seems to have stepped out of a Disney sitcom), a seemingly ordinary, slightly goofy high school kid who discovers in just one day that he is actually the son of Greek god Poseidon -- and is then immediately forced to go on a dangerous quest to save all of mankind. (And how was your day?)
There’s potential in this scenario for a successful show, but unfortunately, director Stephen Brackett and book-writer Joe Tracz (who collaborated on “Be More Chill”) and composer-lyricist Rob Rokicki have created a ridiculously repetitive 60-minute first act. We hear ad nauseum about the complaints of Percy and his compatriots at Camp Half-Blood who all feel abandoned by their too-busy Olympian parents. Really, they should just get over it and get on with it, so Percy and company can set out on his mission, which should be the meat of the piece.
Unfortunately, even that journey seems rushed, mostly due to a few too many diversions: We spend a little too long with a mysterious evil character who’s dressed and sounds like a cross between Norma Desmond and Little Edie; then a minor character performs a Donna Summer-like disco song (unfortunately titled “Dead on Arrival”); and when we finally meet the should-be-terrifying Hades, he acts, looks and sounds like “Hollywood Squares” icon Paul Lynde. Sadly, none of this works particularly well and, worse still, is all-too-indicative of the show’s inability to settle on a consistent tone, which lurches from camp to sincerity at whiplash-inducing speed.
That the game performers don’t lose their bearings on this too-long, strange trip is almost miraculous. The very funny if over-the-top Jorrell Javier (unfortunately directed by Brackett to mimic his “Be More Chill” star George Salazar) shines as both Percy’s good-hearted best friend Grover and beleaguered camp administrator “Mr. D.” Kristin Stokes is suitably plucky as Percy’s would-be love interest, Annabeth. And the hunkily athletic James Hayden Rodriguez and intense Jalynn Steele both ably serve their multiple purposes.
Better still are the show’s two adult performers: The big-voiced, extremely likeable Sarah Neth Pfeifer is a consistently welcome presence, while the shockingly versatile Ryan Knowles can, among other things, horse around like no one’s business. In his own way, Knowles essentially steals “The Lightning Thief” over and over; sadly, though, the charge would be petty larceny.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.lightningthiefmusical.com/
Cast
Chris McCarrell, Jorrel Javier, Ryan Knowles, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, James Hayden Rodriguez, Jalynn Steele, Kristin Stokes
Open/Close Dates
Opening 10/16/2019
Closing Open-ended
Theatre Info
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
New York, NY 10036
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