Percy Jackson & the Olympians is a fantasy novel series written by American author Rick Riordan that started back in 2009, but did you know that Percy Jackson has a musical adaption?
Morton West High School is putting on ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ this November. Morton West usually has 1 musical and 1 play a year. First semester this year, ‘The Lighting Thief ’ will run from Thursday, November 14th – Sunday, November 17th to perform a show about friendship and learning how to accept your identity.
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is based on the 2005 novel, “Percy Jackson And The Lighting Thief.”In the story, protagonist Percy Jackson is on the most dangerous quest of his life. With the help of his friends Grover and Annabeth, daughter of Athena, Percy must journey across the United States to catch a thief who has stolen Zeus’ master bolt.
Xavier Barajas, A Sophomore, is playing the lead role of Percy Jackson. This is Xavier’s first lead role here at Morton West High School.
“I feel very excited, very nervous too. A mixture of both feelings,” Barajas said.
But Barajas is no stranger to the Morton West stage. He appeared in last year’s musical, ‘Chicago’, as an Ensemble member and in last year’s play, ‘Clue’, as the Unexpected Cop. Xavier sympathizes with the character of Percy, highlighting that he makes sure to understand how Percy feels even if they are two different people. Barajas thinks people should come and see the show because “It’s a fun coming of age rock and roll musical that combines Greek mythology with the present.”
Evie Drenth, A Senior, plays the role of our protagonist’s best friend, Grover. Evie also has featured in previous Morton productions, such as her role as Agnes in “She Kills Monsters” and Wadsworth in “Clue”. Grover is a goofy, funny character. As part of her study for the role, Evie says she acts silly and tries to make people laugh to get a feel of Grover’s character. Evie has been enjoying working with her other co-stars, she says “I like working with all the people, I like doing Harmonies with them.” Evie thinks people should come see the show because “It is a good story about friendship and finding who you are and is super entertaining.”
I also talked to Director and Fine Arts teacher, Tr. Steinhaus. This year is Steinhaus first musical solo directing, They have said they’re really excited and a little terrified for this show. “I have been wanting this for a very long time, being a theatre student in high school meant alot to me and ever since I wanted to come back here and keep doing this, I’m finally there, I’m living my dream.” Said Steinhaus about directing. I asked Steinhaus on why they chose this show, “since the TV show came out, the conversation of Percy Jackson is back up, even if its been around for a while, I grew up with Percy Jackson and now there’s a new generation too.” Steinhaus wanted to connect with younger audiences as well because they want to build the program for future classes.
