LACS Lights Up Kulp Auditorium with The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

LACS Lights Up Kulp Auditorium with The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

By ZADIE WANG

Author’s Note: This article contains spoilers for The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.

    In late February, I had the pleasure of attending Lehman Alternative Community School’s (LACS) production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, an adaptation of Rick Riordan’s mythology-inspired book The Lightning Thief. The show was directed and music directed by local theatre practitioner Ayana Del Valle, choreographed by IHS school counselor Danielle Enos, and conducted by ICSD band teacher Jonathan Aldave.

    The show’s opening number, “The Day I Got Expelled,” showcased student talents across singing, dancing, and acting. Performing as Percy, Olivia Makepeace ’28 brought strong vocal clarity and stage presence to the role. Makepeace’s ability to translate layers of emotion from script to stage was highlighted in this number and in the following duet, “Strong.” In “Strong,” Percy sang opposite Sally Jackson (played by Vinda Phillips ’28), his mother; Phillips’s melodic voice made for a heartstring-tugging chemistry between them.

    Sally decides to tell Percy who his father really is—a Greek god. During their conversation, however, they run into Percy’s friend Grover Underwood (played by Lena Rundels ’28), a satyr (a half-goat, half-human creature). Grover brought a comedic flair throughout the show, with Rundels adding an irreplaceable charm to the character.

    Suddenly, they are chased down by a Minotaur (played by Noga Chupak ’31), and Sally dies while trying to save the boys. Falling unconscious during the ordeal, Percy dreams of a man in a Hawaiian shirt (“The Weirdest Dream”) before waking up at Camp Half-Blood, a camp for half-blood children. The camp’s director, Mr. D (played by Julian Keeler ’30), informs Percy that he is the son of a Greek god in “Another Terrible Day,” another brilliant moment in the show. Percy’s teacher, Mr. Brunner (played by Gavin White ’29), tells Percy his godly parent will send a sign to claim him; another half-blood, Luke (played by Tommy Mitchell ’26), gives a more pessimistic view of the situation in “Their Sign.” Keeler, White, and Mitchell’s character work was truly commendable and made for fantastic interplay on stage.

    Percy then meets Annabeth Chase (played by Esmée Cederstrom ’27), the daughter of Athena, who plays a game of capture the flag against Ares’s daughter Clarisse (played by Indigo Sorrentino ’29). In “Put You in Your Place,” Sorrentino’s Clarisse delivered a wonderfully antagonistic message to Percy as she finds him hiding in a bathroom stall. Percy, however, fends off Clarisse by spraying her with water from the toilet. This control over water confirms Percy’s lineage as the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. It also frames him as the thief who stole Zeus’s lightning bolt, and Percy is left with no choice but to find the bolt and prevent a war between the gods.

    Before beginning his journey, Percy visits The Oracle (played by Ash Anderson ’29), who tells him a friend will betray him (“The Oracle”); Anderson portrayed the role of The Oracle with powerhouse vocals and plenty of gusto. The act closed with “Good Kid,” Percy’s reluctant acceptance of the challenge ahead of him.

    Act Two opened with “Killer Quest!,”, an upbeat sendoff for Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Enos’s intricate choreography added energy to the beginning of the act and gave the small but mighty ensemble a shining moment. Then, as the trio heads farther from camp, they stumble upon Aunty Em’s Garden Gnome Emporium. When Aunty Em (played by Emma Falcon ’32) is revealed to be Medusa, Percy fearlessly fights back, cutting off her head. 

     After the threat is eliminated, Grover tells the story of Thalia (played by Ryan Yates ’31), a half-blood who was killed and now guards Camp Half-Blood premises (“The Tree on the Hill”). Annabeth then discloses her plans to prove her worth to her mother in a mesmerizing and sophisticated vocal performance from Cederstrom (“My Grand Plan”). The three continue toward the Underworld (“Drive”), but Percy has another dream (“The Weirdest Dream (Reprise)”). This startles him as he approaches Hell. 

    In a pivotal moment, Percy nearly gets sucked into Tartarus, a dungeon of torment for the Titans. Looking to explain his near-demise, Percy realizes that the lightning bolt has been in his backpack all along. Hades (played by Nova Mooney ’28) appears (“Hellivator”/“Hello, Hades”) and offers Percy the chance to revive his dead mother in a snappy and engrossing encounter, but Percy outwits him and escapes the Underworld.

    Back from the Underworld, Percy soon realizes that Ares (played by Boat Gershen ’28) was the one who planted the lightning in his backpack. To get revenge, Percy affirms himself as the son of Poseidon, and finally meets his father (played by Neo Tai Klein ’30) in “Poseidon Finally Shows Up.” After beating Ares, though, Percy confides in Luke that he still feels lost. Luke then admits that he was instructed by Kronos to steal the lightning and get revenge on the gods before fleeing the scene (“The Last Day of Summer”). With Luke gone, Percy announces in the show’s finale that while his story isn’t over, he and his new friends will be prepared to take on whatever comes next (“Bring on the Monsters”).

    LACS’s musical provided not only a night of family fun, but also an engrossing mythological story complimented by a wonderful cast of kids. Makepeace and Cederstrom made for the perfect pair to lead the show, and the rest of the ensemble each added something special to the performance. With an energetic, pop-forward score and a musically talented cast to perform it, the show was truly something out of a myth!

    If you want to support LACS theatre, be sure to follow their official Instagram page (@lacstheatre). Their next show, a series of one-acts, will be performed in Spring 2026.