Aliana Lloyd and Israa Malhouni also contributed to this article
What happens when all your life you consider yourself to be an ordinary person with normal problems, but the next day, while on a field trip, your Latin teacher turns out to be a centaur, your math teacher tries to kill you, your best friend is half-goat, and you just happen to be the child of a Greek God?
These peculiar and head-turning events describe the beginning of the fantasy-adventure novel series based on Greek mythology, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (PJO), created by the renowned author Rick Riordan in 2005. This year, Malden High’s Play Production, led by Todd Cole, Ariana Messana, and orchestrated by Lauren Foley, performed the two-hour-long The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical on November 21st and 22nd in the Jenkins Auditorium.
“The rehearsal process of any show can be daunting, but a musical is especially time-consuming. Our process was made even more difficult because we didn’t have Mr. Cole teaching the class alongside Ms. Messana this year, so all vocal rehearsals had to be scheduled after school,” explained junior and Managing Editor for The Blue and Gold, Alexia Maciel Lima.
Each year, the fall musical is revealed to the Play Pro students before summer break and after vacation: auditions take place, roles are selected, and after weeks of dedicated prop-building, costume arrangement, rehearsals, and preparations, the tech team, actors, and orchestra members become ready to deliver a dazzling performance to their audience.
“We spend a lot of time thinking about what would be the best-suited musical for our incoming groups of students, and knew beforehand that many had an interest in Greek mythology, ultimately deciding to roll with the infamous Percy Jackson,” voiced Messana.
The Lightning Thief is an adaptation of Riordan’s first novel, with music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki and a book by Joe Tracz, split into Act I and II, about a teen named Percy Jackson who must go on a quest to retrieve Zeus’s lightning bolt after discovering he is a demigod.
Senior Kail Boswell, who played the protagonist Percy Jackson, shared his personal challenge to be his “singing” abilities, while tackling his last musical. He explained how he never considered himself “a good singer,” however, with help from Cole and “self-training,” Boswell was able to deliver the performance of a lifetime.
Act I began with the “Prologue/The Day I Got Expelled”, where Percy was on a field trip at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, where his substitute math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, played by sophomore Sofia Rivera, transformed into a Fury and attacked him. Fortunately, with the help of a pen that was a secret sword, thrown to Percy by his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, played by senior Kenny Wong, Percy bested Mrs. Dodds.
However, having strayed away from his group during the field trip while being on probation, Percy was expelled. When trying to explain the events at the museum, he is baffled to find that Mr. Brunner, his best friend, Grover Underwood, played by senior Moisha Howse, and no one else, remembered Mrs. Dodds.
Blaming himself and his history of behavioral issues, ADHD, and dyslexia, Percy bids goodbye and heads home for summer vacation. At his apartment, Percy’s understanding mother, Sally Jackson, played by sophomore Lyra Heining, forgave his expulsion from school and decided it was time for Percy to learn about his father, and took him to the beach where they first met.
There, she revealed that Percy’s father had left before he was born. When he became upset at his constant expulsions and failures, his mother reminded him that his differences made him unique in the touching performance of “Strong”.
At the beach, Percy ran into Grover, who turned out to be a Satyr and his designated protector. Still recovering from the shock of his best friend being half-goat, a minotaur, played by senior Matt Jason Chan, suddenly appeared and charged at the trio, where Sally sacrificed herself to save her son. In a fit of rage, Percy slayed the beast; however, he soon fell unconscious after a hit to the head, and dreamt of a man in a Hawaiian shirt giving him a seashell in “The Minotaur” and “The Weirdest Dream”.
When Percy gained consciousness, he found himself in a place called Camp Half-Blood. For a brief moment, Percy refused to believe the previous events ever took place and claimed it to be a dream, but was reluctantly told by Mr. D, the God of Wine and Drama, played by Chan, in the hilarious play out of “Another Terrible Day” that he was a demigod in a camp full of other demigods, explaining that his “dyslexia” was just his brain being “hardwired” to comprehend Ancient Greek and his “ADHD” came from his “impulsiveness.”
At the same time, Mr. Brunner revealed himself to be Chiron, an immortal centaur, illuminating his need for a wheelchair in the outside world, and told Percy he would soon be claimed by his godly parent. Despite this, Percy remained discontent with being ignored by his father and found comfort in Luke Castellan, played by sophomore David Ruprecht, the son of Hermes, in “Their Sign”.
After settling into camp, the half-bloods decide to play a game of capture the flag in the thrill of “Put You In Your Place”, during which the teams are split into two: Annabeth Chase’s, the daughter of Athena, played by Lima, and Clarisse La Rue’s, the daughter of Ares, played by sophomore Minerva Davenport. Annabeth, not wanting Percy to ruin her team’s chance at victory, told him to wait in the boys’ bathroom; however, Clarisse found his hiding spot and attempted to crush him, but ended up soaked when the toilets burst.
Things calmed at night, when the campers settled around a campfire while Luke played the guitar and sang about their complicated relationship with their godly and mortal parents in “The Campfire Song”.
Lima claimed that this song was her favorite as it did “a fantastic job” at portraying the actors, but also acting as “an ensemble track that united the cast and brought many fond memories.” She elaborated by sharing how Messana believes the song showed their “inner theater kid” by “dancing” and “singing about friendship with each other,” which she “could not agree with more.”
Sophomore Lillyanna Keogh, who played Silena Beauregard, shared the “thrill and excitement” of performing for the very first time. Yet, because of the “connections” made along the way, everything was “worth it.”
The next morning, Percy was claimed by the sea and discovered he was the son of Poseidon, played by senior Oscar Luc; however, he was rumored to have stolen Zeus’s lightning bolt, causing him to go to the Oracle of Delphi, played by Heining. In “The Oracle”, Delphi prophesied multiple aspects of his journey, the most ominous being, “you shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.”
At first, Percy refused to go on a quest to the Underworld—after it was said that Hades, played by Luc, is the thief—that would he only fail in “Good Kid”, but after Luke hinted at finding Sally, Percy is joined by Annabeth and Grover to head to the Underworld in Los Angeles, with no help or guidance, just a pair of winged shoes given to them by Luke in “Killer Quest!”, marking the end of Act I.
“I recognize that it was my last musical, but I don’t know if my brain has fully taken in that fact. Either way, I can confidently say that it was one of my best experiences in high school in general, not just theatre itself. The community is amazing, and they enhanced my experience with the show tenfold. I wouldn’t have wanted to end my musical career any other way,” Boswell added.
After a ten-minute intermission, Act II began with the trio on the Greyhound bus, but were soon attacked by three furies, including Mrs. Dodds, merely escaping before the vehicle exploded. The trio expressed their hopelessness and confusion in “Lost!”, having no clue how to reach Los Angeles.
Auntie Em, played by sophomore Sabrima Bhattarai, then appeared on stage and invited the protagonists into her Emporium, where lifelike statues adorned the interior. When she began to comment on Annabeth’s eyes, drawing their similarity to Athena’s and her wish to “immortalize” them through art, it is revealed that Aunty Em is none other than Medusa herself. As she attempted to turn the protagonists into stone, Percy cut off her head with his sword and sent it to the Gods as a joke, which is later shown to be received by Poseidon and given to Sally Jackson.
“I’ve been performing since seventh grade, but performing with such a big production for my first musical on opening night was nerve-racking, yet once I got on stage with my friends, I felt rewarded after spending months preparing for this one thing,” expressed Bhattarai.
For some reason, Annabeth became very worked up about the encounter and confessed that all her life she had been grinding tirelessly to prove herself to her mother and achieve glory in the powerful rendition of “My Grand Plan”. The next portion of the musical showed the trio attempting to reach Los Angeles amid several challenges before finally securing bus tickets and continuing their journey in “Drive”.
In a reprise of “The Weirdest Dream”, Percy fell into a slumber while on the bus ride and dreamt of a mysterious figure plotting with Kronos, played by senior Erin Grondin, about Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt, and mentioned the name “Thalia”, played by senior Christina Robinson-McCaskill. Jolting awake, Percy questioned Grover about who the girl was and learned of a tragedy that took place before his arrival.
Grover narrated in “The Tree on the Hill” about an attack on Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia as they returned to camp, and her sacrifice to save them. With a beautiful, yet sad demonstration, the actors mimicked a tree as it is told that Zeus, her father, could not arrive in time to save her, and instead turned her into a tree to protect Camp Half-Blood. Burdened by his failure, Grover claimed to understand if Percy wished him to leave; however, Percy refused to leave his best friend behind.
After a series of bumps in the road, the trio arrived in the Underworld and were greeted by Charon, the realm’s guide, played by junior Esther Mei Noche. In a bone-chilling, but enthusiastic performance of “DOA”, Charon and dead musicians, such as Kurt Cobain and Mozart, warned that the three will “never get away.”
Percy soon realized the lightning bolt was in his backpack the entire time, and was confused about how it got there, going as far as to blame Annabeth. However, in that moment, his feet began to move to their own accord and pulled him toward the fiery pits of hell, Tartarus. Percy’s shoes, for some unknown reason, were the culprit and were then discarded by Grover.
Due to the chaos, the group was discovered by Hades, where it was uncovered that the God of the Underworld was innocent. Despite his innocence, Hades attempted to make a deal where he traded sanctuary for Percy, his mom, and his friends for the Bolt, convinced that he needed it to protect himself if Kronos really was rising.
Luc, a first-time performer, explained that he had to “navigate between a chill, surfer dude and channeling anger” and was helped by the welcoming community of peers in Play Pro to achieve that on stage.
Unwilling to give the Bolt, Percy realized that the seashell in his pocket was given to him by his father, Poseidon, and used it to portal to a safe location. Still wondering about the Bolt and his backpack, Percy assumed that Ares must be the villain due to his inclination toward chaos and violence, and with his control over the sea, defeated Ares in the “Son of Poseidon”.
Returning to camp, Percy’s head was still turning over the unanswered questions of his quest despite his success, confiding in Luke to ease the flurry of emotions. Luke shared the feeling and said he felt the same after his quest. Approaching the climax of the musical with the “Last Day of Summer”, Luke unveiled his true nature and confessed to being “the thief.” He was the one who gave the shoes to Percy; he was the one who put the Bolt in Percy’s bag; he was the mysterious stranger working with Kronos, and he was the friend who “betrayed” Percy as prophesied by Delphi.
In his reprise of “Good Kid”, Luke aggressively explained that the ignorant and negligent nature of the Gods generated a deep hatred inside him, leading him to team up with Kronos to once and for all put an end to them. He then urged the other half-bloods to join his mission, but was sourly rejected by everyone, including his closest friend, Annabeth. Hurt by the lack of support, Luke stabbed Percy and ran away, while Annabeth magically healed Percy with ambrosia.
Ruprecht claimed that, as Luke, he was meant to be Percy’s “mentor and well-wisher,” but turned out to be the culprit “behind it all,” relieving a weight off his shoulders once his character’s intentions were out in the open.
The musical wrapped up with “Bring On the Monsters,” in which Percy assumed there would be an inevitable war in the future, but declared that he and Camp Half-Blood would always be there to fight against evil. As the curtains closed to envelop the actor, the audience erupted in applause and cheers, finding the play time well spent.
The incredible hard work put in by everyone on and off stage was reflected by the enchanting night, with sophomore Sophia Zhang appreciating the “perfect portrayal of characters.”
Some minor challenges faced during the production were technology and microphones not functioning properly, but these were soon resolved, allowing a smooth run for the rest of the duration.
“Being able to see something come together that my friends put their all into, and people talking about for weeks, was super awesome,” remarked sophomore Gianna Bilodeau.
Bringing The Lightning Thief to the stage was no small feat, and the production team’s dedication shines through in every detail. Their creativity turned Percy’s adventure into a lively performance that captures both the humor and heart of the story.
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