Review of ‘The Lightning Thief’: “Thunderous theming, but struggling to strike its audience”

The Percy Jackson saga lands on the London stage with the opening of the first book’s musical theatre adaptation. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show, to let us know if this rock-based tale of Grek teenage demigods gets anywhere close to a ten.

It’s another cold day in London town (quelle surprise…). As I take a first sip of my usual cup of English breakfast tea, I start to gather my thoughts for this review. Suddenly, a waitress spots the programme. “Oh, my God”, she says (thank goodness it wasn’t Zeus). “I’m so looking forward to watching that show! What did you think of it?”. I stare at her with a look of compassion in my eyes (don’t listen to whatever my haters have to say…). I take a long breath before articulating. “Well…”, I reply. There is, in fact, a lot of “well” to precede every observation. But sadly, not that much of it can be used to catalogue what we’ve been presented with onstage.

Superhero musicals (if we can consider Percy Jackson as such) are no revolutionary thing. We’ve seen them before, and they will probably keep spreading their web around the musical theatre scene for a few more years to come – no matter how hard some of them may have fallen… literally. The subject is, of course, a bit dubious. Does this genre, even when it pans closer to the magical youngster Harry Potter-esque side, really make a good subject to be told through song and dance? The answer is unlikely to feel confident, to say the least. But I’m a fair supporter of the idea that musicals are like films: they are a media, and as such, everything could be translated into that language. That is, of course, as long as it’s done right.

The Lightning Thief is not that much of a newcomer. London audiences may be rather acquainted with the score – some of them (and I have solid evidence of that) might have put it at the top of their Spotify list. I wonder what comes next, if that’s the case… I’m only joking, though. To be honest, Rob Rokicki’s music is a very nice accomplishment, and probably the strongest asset in the entire piece. It’s catchy, enjoyable and emotionally rich. But when it comes to the flavour you’d expect in a plot about teenage semigods, inspired by ancient Greek mythology, the compliments might start to fade away.

Though always entertaining, and undeniably pleasant to the ear, there’s very little level of individuality all through its repertoire – over reliant on the already saturated light-pop rock style that so many other musicals have used before, and in some way put out of date. It’s just looks too close to other works like Dear Evan Hansen or Spring Awakening. And as much as the recount deals with adolescent struggle, the whimsical side that would bring some degree of uniqueness to its sound feels completely abandoned.

On the other hand, both book and lyrics fail to do much of a good job. In both fields, the lines are missing sufficient subtlety and sharpness – unable to exude much wit in any of their jokes, which unfortunately very rarely land. In a similar manner, the path the writing (and subsequently, the direction) takes is rather confusing, almost as if the creatives themselves couldn’t decide on the approach the show is given – starting as a sort of modern, family-friendly epic, but for some reason taking a parody turn in the most sudden and unexplainable way right at the end. One might argue that that last angle has been its sole purpose from the beginning – but if that’s the situation, their efforts may not be playing in their best benefit.

The are some aspects to be praised in the production, nonetheless – those coming particularly from its visually striking and imaginative set designs, complemented by its rather transporting lighting. Yet, not every component is as polished as it could (and should) – displaying some noticeable weaknesses when it comes to costume crafting, as well as a lack of elaborateness in the execution of some scenes and special effects.

As for the cast, the performances are generally satisfactory – though a few errors in pitch can sadly be spotted, quite recurringly, in some of their vocals. It’s true that the troupe boasts energy and obvious commitment towards their renditions (a trait that’s undeniably laudable), but there’s not much chemistry to be grasped during basically the entire performance. It all looks a bit too mechanical – hinting an absence of exploration and personal connection with the character in their delivery, making their portrayals feel slightly shallow and, all in all, sterile.

Parting from an engaging though somehow tricky concept, The Lightning Thief manages to rise some voltage onstage through its mildly amusing journey and occasionally electrifying acts. Yet, it’s still far from taking audiences by storm by missing too many opportunities to carry out a more electrifying, one-of-a-kind experience – flaunting good intentions, but regrettably incapable of serving them with sufficient dexterity. With a few good elements already in place, the show has some grounds to evolve into a much more compelling experience at some point. But as of now, it’s an Olympian road ahead for this god-themed musical to get any close to divine.

All pictures credit to Manuel Harlan.

The Lightning Thief plays at London’s The Other Palace until 2 March. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara