The Lightning Thief, The Other Palace Review
Max Harwood in The Lightning Thief. Photo: Manuel Harlan
Written by Kennedy for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
When neurodivergent outcast Percy Jackson discovers he's a demigod, his life takes an extraordinary turn. Accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt, he sets off on a heroic journey to prove his innocence and settle a fight between the gods.
For us fans, Percy Jackson and the Olympians was an exciting fantasy alternate after the Harry Potter series ended. Instead of wizards and magic, Rick Riordan’s beloved book series explores Greek myth, gods, and monsters in New York City. Following the success of the film and TV adaptations, The Lightning Thief made its debut off-Broadway in 2014 as a pop-rock musical.
Spearheading its professional UK premiere a decade later as angsty pre-teen Percy, Max Harwood’s (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie film, Stranger Things: The First Shadow) youthful spirit illuminates the stage. From a somewhat dweeby misfit to a daring hero, Harwood’s striking performance and soaring alt-rock vocals land with precision. And yes, his pen does transform into a sword!
The Lightning Thief is supported by a powerhouse creative team and a star-studded cast whose high-energy performances reach above and beyond The Other Palace’s stage. With Scott Folan (Be More Chill) and Jessica Lee (Miss Saigon, Les Mis) as best friends Grover the Satyr and Annabeth daughter of Athena; Paisley Billings (Six, Queens of Sheba) as his compassionate and protective mortal mother Sally; Camp Half-Blood champions Samantha Mbolekwa (The Bodyguard) as Clarisse, and Joaquin Pedro Valdes (Death Note, Heathers) as Luke; Greg Barnett (The Duchess of Malfi)as Chiron and Joe Allen (The Grinch, The Rocky Horror Show) as Dionysus.
Ryan Dawson Laight's Y2K-themed, mythical creature-inspired costumes and imaginative set design create a world where the metropolitan city and mythological terrain collide. Using impressive stagecraft, illusionist Richard Pinner conjures visuals that portray the blurred lines of “the mist” and the mortal landscape in high fantasy scenarios; a minotaur emerges in the form of a combusted cage; high priestess oracle Delphi levitates while foretelling Percy’s prophecy; and beastly shadows project onto umbrellas as Percy and friends go through trials on the way to Hades, the effects of which are enhanced by Charlie Morgan Jones' dramatic lighting.
Director Lizzi Gee and fight director Lisa Connell conduct hard-hitting dance choreography and warrior embodiments in action packed scenes. Notable combat sequences at Camp Half Blood’s game of capture the flag and the groovy Underworld path (suitably set in Los Angeles) have a fun and innovative twist. The expert movement and scene transitions of this show felt astronomical and deserving of a bigger stage.
Despite the impressive technical elements and truly powerful performances in this production, the show’s Achilles heel is its not particularly memorable musical score and convoluted plot. Written by Rob Rokicki (music and lyrics) and Joe Tracz (book) the songs emulate the feeling of the pop rock genres with electric guitar power chords and overdrive tones but lack differentiation. Opening the show with “The Day I Got Expelled” we’re thrust at the speed of light through entire chapters and a series of intended climaxes within the first five minutes. This makes a narrative filled with twists and turns seem straight, narrow, and monotone. Yet somehow it’s still difficult to follow and overstimulating. As an audience member who knows and loves the story, it seemed lost in the dissonance of indistinctive sound and exposition.
Even with this flaw in the music, I cannot express enough how blown away I was by the force of The Lightning Thief’s cast. Between playing multiple roles as demigod teens, monsters, and dead beat dad gods, there were stand out performances from all who graced the stage. Particularly moving was Paisley Billings and Max Harwood’s sweet acoustic duet in “Strong”. It’s a difficult conversation between mother and son about an absent father, struggling to feel good enough living with ADD and dyselxia, and embracing individuality. In a high voltage blues rock jam, Samantha Mbolekwa and Jessica Lee go head to head in “Put You In Your Place” as they fight to prove themselves as winners to their parents Aries and Athena. My personal favourite was “Good Kid” where Harwood is emotionally impactful as Percy wrestles with his childhood trauma and desire to belong, in a cathartic melodic rock ballad.
Closing The Lightning Thief with an epic progressive rock anthem “Bring on the Monsters” which seems to promise more to come, I’m more interested in seeing further developments to the current production and wary of the idea of creating a second instalment to form an adaptation musical series.
★★★★