Demigods all around the country can rejoice, because The Lightning Thief Musical begins its national tour this week!
Almost two years ago, The Lightning Thief had a brief and glorious run Off-Broadway, and we told you what a fantastic job they did adapting the book. If you’re like us, you’ve spent 2017 and 2018 listening to the cast album on repeat and wishing to see the show (again). Now Percy Jackson’s fans will have that opportunity, as the musical kicks things off in Fayetteville and Chicago before traversing the country. (For all the tour dates, go to their website.)
Half of the Off-Broadway cast is returning for the tour: Chris McCarrell (Percy), Kristin Stokes (Annabeth), James Hayden Rodriguez (Luke/Ares), and Sarah Beth Pfeifer (Clarisse/others). While we at Hypable won’t get to the see the tour until it returns to NYC, we saw a preview at their Meet-the-Press event last month. We are happy to report that the new cast members (Jorrel Javier as Grover/Mr. D, Ryan Knowles as Chiron, and Jalynn Steele as Sally) are definitely up to snuff. We look forward to seeing what they do with the characters!
We spoke with Percy and Annabeth themselves, Chris and Kristin, to get the scoop on the tour. Of course, the first question we had was what would be different on the tour versus the Off-Broadway production.
Kristin Stokes (KS): We’re kicking up the fights. We’re adding in some more stuff for the monsters, we’re making them scarier than last time. I’m telling you, they’ll come into a room, and I’m like “Eeeeeee!” It’s so scary. We’re cranking up the danger. We [have] the humor, we know the tone, and now we want the monsters to really be a threat, and the fights to be really intense.
Chris McCarrell (CM): The monsters are scarier and I’m so excited about it! They really upped the whole monster game, which puts a whole new style on the show, completely. The more fantastical elements add this kind of ragtag theatricality to them, and now when the monsters come on, they look real! Which adds a hyperrealism to more of the crazy stuff.
We can definitely vouch for that: we saw the new Minotaur costume, and it was very intimidating!
There are also little bits from the book being added to make sure it’s a more faithful adaptation than ever. For instance, during “Another Terrible Day,” Mr. D’s big musical tantrum, Mr. D is now drinking Diet Coke, exactly the way he does in the book. For the accuracy of this little detail, we can actually thank Kristin Stokes: “So they were like, ‘Doesn’t he drink Pepsi or something?’ And I’m the resident dramaturg because I’ve read all the books: ‘Um, actually…’ It’s very Annabeth.”
We asked Chris and Kristin what keeps them coming back to these roles after all this time, and the answers were remarkably similar: the way their characters empower people.
CM: My favorite part about Percy is the people that he empowers. The audience members that come up to me and say that the books truly got them through middle school, learning disabilities, kind of being scattered… I can definitely relate to that, and just being so unempowered and misunderstood by the adults in your life when you’re a kid in the school system. The fact that I can make them feel like they can be rock stars, and there’s a world that they belong in… I can do that eight times a week for the rest of my life.
KS: I love how outspoken and unapologetic she is. Like, “I know the most!” There’s no false humility about Annabeth. She’s so strong. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. There’s always more to discover with Annabeth. I always get to find deeper meaning in her. Especially right now, with this whole new re-rise of feminism that’s happening. Annabeth is so classic feminist: she’s all about putting herself forward and not being hid in the shadows, not being invisible. I’m really going to tap into that this time.
That quote got us talking about “My Grand Plan,” the epic Annabeth anthem that is this writer’s (and composer Rob Rokicki’s) favorite song in the musical.
KS: Before, she was figuring it out, like she was discovering these feelings. This time, I’m like “Oh no, Annabeth knows these feelings, and now she has an audience to actually say everything she thinks.”
[“My Grand Plan” moved around a lot in the show, so we asked if Kristin thought it was best where it is now, with Annabeth saying it all to Percy as she trains him.]
KS: Absolutely. I love that. At the beginning of the show, they’re not enemies, but they don’t know who the other person is so they’re kind of antagonistic to each other. This is the moment they come together, [realizing] they can actually find strength in each other and in this friendship.
Being able to tell it to Percy… because he’s a guy, and she gets this off her chest. And that’s a great thing about their relationship in general: Percy is always there to listen and to be there for Annabeth no matter what, and it goes both ways. It’s the first moment when they understand what their relationship could be.
There’s nothing quite so satisfying for PJO fans as being sure that our beloved characters are in good hands, and it’s clear just how much everyone involved in this musical cares about the show and the characters. When asked about his dream role, Chris had the perfect response.
CM: My dream role is something like this, like Percy Jackson: I wanted to create characters. I wanted to step into the show when it wasn’t a huge deal, and watch it turn into something that no one expected. And that’s what this process has been, the show keeps getting bigger and bigger. It started out as us in this little room, just playing and coming up with the most creative and perfectly stupid ways to solve the problems the show presented. To have such ownership of a show is so rare, so I’m living the dream right now.
We highly recommend checking to see if The Lightning Thief Musical is coming to a city near you, and getting tickets if you can. You can find all the details on their website.
Thanks to the Lightning Thief team for speaking with us!
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