George Wellens, Willa Breen, and Carter Kue Photo by Amy Rondeau Photography

So, I arrived at Stages Theatre Company's production of the stage adaptation, title The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, unversed in the exploits of Percy, his friends and foes, and their respective linkages to ancient mythology. My own knowledge of Greek myths has lapsed considerably over the passing decades, save the refresher provided by Hadestown, but this show does a good job of reminding audience members such as myself which gods holds domain over which realms of the world, and their relationships to one another.

What is a little harder to follow are the ways Percy and company overcome one obstacle before moving on to the next. The show's book, by Joe Tracz (Be More Chill), moves swiftly, which is great for the majority of its primary audience. (Full disclosure, I attended a 10:00 a.m. performance, with an audience almost completely made up of field-tripping middle school students, who loved, loved, loved, loved the show.) As a neophyte in the Percy Jackson universe, I admit to having trouble keeping up–if only I'd had a savvy 12-year-old beside me to explain everything. Nonetheless, I had no problem following the gist of the somewhat episodic plot–and aren't action stories supposed to be about one exciting episode following on the heels of another? Further, the performances are all strong enough to impart a clear sense of each character's nature and the bonds that form among them.

Rob Rokicki's music and lyrics are thoroughly engaging, though not memorable in the least, as they follow the familiar patterns of rock-musical songs, allowing the key performers a shot at a power ballad, with several numbers geared for the large cast to break out in dance. The choreography by Krysti Wiita is well suited to work with performers of a range of abilities, construed so that in totality, the ensemble looks fabulous.

Percy Jackson–Percy is short for Perseus–is a twelve-year-old with ADHD and dyslexia, which he blames for his repeated difficulties in school that have caused him to be expelled from one school after another. The show opens with him being kicked out of his sixth school, this time for fighting with a sword–well, it was actually a pen given to him by his teacher, Mr. Bruner, but somehow it turned into a sword so that he could defeat an evil teacher, who nobody but him saw. At least that's Percy's account of what happened on a school trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at classical sculptures of the ancient gods.

Percy's mother is unfailingly supportive, even though she has saddled him with a despicable step-father. She has never told him about his real father, who, Percy assumes is a deadbeat, but she assures Percy that the things that make him different will make him strong in the end. Easier advice to give than to follow. Soon after this, in rapid succession, she tells him that he is going to camp for the summer, Percy discovers that his best friend Grover is a satyr, and a minotaur appears in attack mode, poised to attack Percy. In the fray that follows, Percy passes out and has an extraordinary dream.

He awakens at Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods. Percy learns that his father is Poseidon, god of the sea, but he remains scornful of his absentee dad. Grover is also at the camp, as is Mr. Brunner, now revealed to be Chiron, the most supreme of all centaurs. Percy meets Camp Half Blood's director, who goes by Mr. D. but is actually the god Dionysus, his counselor; Luke, a son of Hermes; Clarisse, a daughter of Ares; and Annabeth (a daughter of Athena), who becomes Percy's puppy love interest. After a rough game of Capture the Flag, Percy begins to settle in at Camp Half-Blood when news arrives that someone has stolen Zeus's lightening, his most powerful weapon–and signs point to Percy as the thief. Fortunately, his new friends believe he is innocent and join him in his quest to clear his name and find the real Lightning Thief.

Travelling by foot, car, motorcycle and bus, the band fight off Medusa, journeys to Hades, and are almost drawn into Tartarus. Percy learns about courage, leadership, and being part of a team, and by journey's end he embraces his identity as the son of Poseidon. The Lightning Thief is still at large–but wait, one of the half-bloods is shown to be a betrayer, and Percy proves himself a hero. Percy and company pronounce themselves ready and willing to wage more fights, as they sing "Bring On the Monsters," the perfect way to end the show poised for a sequel.

The cast of The Lightning Thief is full of energetic, talented performers, the majority of whom have appeared in previous shows at Stages. These young people have the theatre bug, and they work hard to hone their talents under the steady guidance of the show's director (and Stages artistic director) Sandy Boren-Barrett. The three adult actors–Logan Bitz, James Lane, and Ashley O'Connell–all do fine work in their roles, without ever stealing the limelight from their younger castmates.

I can't help but give praise to George Wellens in the lead role of Percy Jackson. Wellens has a melodious and strong singing voice, with a range that leans into rock-star balladry, his acting chops are impressive, and he holds himself on stage with authority. The Lightening Thief is his sixth appearance in a Stages show, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him a few years down the road appearing in other local theaters, not limited to youth theatre, should his interests lead him there.

The production benefits from Joe Stanley's spare but flexible set design, which provides just enough detail to each scene to establish its location, the elaborate lighting design by Tony Stoeri that sets the tone for the intensity of encounters with mythical characters, Gretchen Katt's effective sound design, and Samantha Fromm-Haddow's costumes that range from the motley attire worn by middle school kids to elaborate, inventive costumes suitable for mythical beings–I was especially impressed by Chiron's centaur costume.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 70-minute-long production. The musical was originally commissioned by TheaterWorksUSA, a youth theatre company based in New York City, who mounted an Off-Broadway production in 2014, followed by a national tour. In 2017, an expanded two act version of the show was produced Off-Broadway, and another national tour launched in 2019 that included a 16-week limited engagement on Broadway. Stages' production is the shorter, one-act, which may explain why a few plot points feel underdeveloped (for example, Percy's horrible stepfather is introduced, by way of an unseen, off-stage voice, but then we never hear anything further about him, and some of the plot points feel a bit truncated). Nonetheless, the short version is probably the right one for the young audiences who will flock to see their literary hero on stage, and works well for field trip outings, allowing many students who would otherwise never see professionally staged live theatre to have that experience.

The Lightning Thief is a great show for families, though Stages suggests that it is best for ages 9 and up, owing to the intensity of some of its content, and perhaps the capacity to understand the notion of gods having sired unclaimed children. The show impressed me with the wit and adventurous spirit of the characters, the robust staging, and the high-performing cast, and I can heartily recommend it to anyone with a taste for youth-oriented fantasy fare.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical runs through May 11, 2025, at Stages Theatre Company, Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Main Street, Hopkins MN. For tickets and information, please call 952-979-1111 or visit stagestheatre.org.

Book: Joe Tracz, adopted from the book The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical by Rick Riordan; Music and Lyrics: Rob Rokicki; Director: Sandy Boren-Barrett; Music Director: JC Lippold; Choreographer: Krysti Wiita; Assistant Choreographer: Sayer Keeley; Set Design: Joe Stanley; Costume and Makeup Design: Samantha Fromm Haddow; Lighting Design: Tony Stoeri; Sound Design: Gretchen Katt; Prop Design: Marc Berg; Fight Choreographer: Heidi Hunter Batz; Technical Director: Justin Anderson; Production Manager: Melanie Salmon-Peterson; Stage Manager: Emily Carey; Assistant Stage Manager: Hailey Ballard.

Cast: Zachary Bergman (Minotaur/ensemble), Willa Breen (Annabeth), Logan Bitz (Mr. Brunner/Chiron), Edric Duffy (u/s Grover), David Gamache (voice of Kronos), Eliana Garrick (Ares/ensemble), Charlie Gold (ensemble/,u/s Percy), Henry Halverson (Luke), Baron Heinz (Uber Driver/Camper/ensemble), Shaniya Johnson (Bus Driver/ensemble), Leo Johnston (ensemble/, u/s Luke), Caidance Kue (ensemble/, u/s Thalia), Carter Kue (Grover), James Lane (Mr. D./Poseidon/Hades), Luca Larson (ensemble/, u/s Medusa), Stella Marley (ensemble/, u/s Annabeth), Elinor Mulhern (ensemble/, u/s Clarisse), Ashley O'Connell (Sally/Mrs. Dodds), Julianna Pacheco (Thalia/ensemble), Zola Renfroe (Oracle/ensemble), Leah Rimstad (Bianca/Camper/ensemble), Lana Rowan (Charon/ensemble), Nicole Rush-Reese (Camper/ensemble), Daija Scott (Clarisse), Addica Sharbono (Medusa/ensemble), Penelope Talatinick (Camper/ensemble), George Wellens (Percy).