CTORA brings The Lightning Thief to the stage May 18-28
Packed with Mythology, Music, and Magic, CTORA Theatre (formerly known as Children's Theatre of Richmond) is bringing The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, to the the JCC Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre, 950 W. 41st Ave. The electrifying musical stage adaptation of the best-selling novel by Rick Riordan, with book by Joe Tracz with Music and Lyrics by Rob Rokicki, runs from May 18 to 28,
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical follows the story of Percy Jackson, a half-blood son of a Greek god, who discovers that he has extraordinary powers he cannot control. As if that wasn't enough, Percy embarks on an action-packed adventure to recover Zeus's master lightning bolt, which has been stolen, and prevent a devastating war between the gods.
The two-act full-stage musical with intermission features adult performers, a 5-piece live orchestra, Ancient Greek and modern-day scene changes, lightning & sound effects along with giant puppets, bringing the world of Percy Jackson to life on stage.
“The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is a captivating story of courage, friendship, and self-discovery that will inspire audiences of all ages," says Director Mark Carter. "We are thrilled to bring this electrifying production to Vancouver, and we invite all theatre enthusiasts to join us for a truly magical experience." CTORA Theatre is a not-for-profit organization providing opportunities for emerging artists to perform in professionally staged productions.
For more information and to book tickets for The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical visit ctora.ca online.
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A few reasons I like and dislike the the new Percy Jackson show (and why I think the musical is better) - initial reaction
To start, I think this new PJO show is a million times better than that dumpster fire of a movie (though I love logan lerman <3). I like that it is quite faithful to the overall arcs and major plot lines of the book. I love the diversity and high caliber of actors (though I def have some Viria-art inspired character images in my head that are god-tier). I love some of the characterizations/portrayals, especially when it comes to making the character more complex (I really appreciate TV Sally for being a real person with complex emotion, though of course book Sally is my fav). And I love that it's so high budget and hgihly-anticipated (great marketing) that it is bringing this beloved story to a greater audience, especially the younger generation and older generation (as parents/grandparents) than those of us who grew up with the series.
I can boil down all of my dislikes of this show into one overarching but very essential part of the show: I don't like that it is a drama. The characters are way too serious and too every-other-moment-we-need-an-instense-heart-to-heart. What I think this show should have been is a comedy adventure with drama/melodrama sprinkled in. In the books, it's all about the banter. And the TV show does some good one-liners, but it's always so serious. I think the best part of the book is that the characters can stay light-hearted and fun despite the horrors and terrors they face. In the show, the gods spoon feed the trio most of the answers, so when they do have a good realization (SPOILER: e.g. Kronos being the orchestrating force) it kind of comes out of nowhere. TV Annabeth is so serious (I know in the first book she is her most serious, but not to this degree) and a lot of the moments when she has time to use her smarts are gone or approached differently. Percy, too. He's not just self-sacrificing (which they really lean into in the show) but he's also incredibly smart and silly. In the books he's kind of a surface-level himbo with great critical thinking, but in the show he's kind of left in the dark and doesn't get opportunities to make his own plans (also, he doesn't seem to know how to control his power (by the 7th episode); whereas in the book he def did at this point. Then there are just dumb changes to make the show more "serious" like not mentioning that cell phones attract monsters or that monsters just smell demigods and not have a 6th sense for them. I'm finding that by trying to change these small details to make it something more exciting or interesting, it's distancing us existing fans by not letting us relate to the small details that really don't matter. For the cellphones, they still use Iris messages rather than getting a payphone or something, so that's kind of a plot hole in the show that is answered by the book.
Anyways, those are my main takeaways. Now, when I say "the musical" I refer to The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical by Joe Tracz and Rick Rokicki which first premiered in 2014 but got revamped and redebued in 2017 (which is when it came into my life). I got to see it live in Toronto in 2019 with my middle school best friend, but have been an avid listener of the soundtrack since 2017 (the day it came out on streaming platforms).
The musical in my eyes is a nearly-perfect adaptation of the book. It's soo funny - def the action comedy I'm after, but does have the meaningful emotional moments (ballads, which are essential in musicals). The show itself if the full package; however, even just listening to the soundtrack gives you the whole gist. Here's a link to hte soundtrack on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFwX6FWeUFQ&list=PL0hK1fYMaqXbtZ0Fhm48TYcLJl7ikNX7Q&ab_channel=TheLightningThief%3AOriginalCastAlbum
Anyways, I want to hear more thoughts and pls tell me what you think of the show (and the musical!!)
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I read from somewhere that this was a deleted chapter from The Lightning Thief, with a title "I Kiss Something Ugly". But whether this was actually a deleted chapter/scene by the author, Rick Riordan or this was just made by fans, it is quite worth reading. It's beautiful, the sense of humor is still present, and it definitely justifies Percy's statement: I didn't feel like anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt like I was home.
Also, I am fairly certain that this is not a whole chapter because the first few lines and the last few lines (I highlighted it in color red) corresponds to what is already written in Chapter 7: My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke.
Now, here it is.
When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.
Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director Chiron says the next capture-the-flag is Friday. Cabin Five presently holds the laurels."
A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table.
"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I could care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."
Chiron murmured something.
"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now do your silly little welcome tradition. Go on."
Cabin Eleven started a chant, pounding on the table and doing a series of hand-gestures I didn't understand any better than the words:
Half-blood, half-blood, rak-a-sak-a-soo.
Gitcheegumee, ratatooie, whose child are you?
Throw him in, throw him in, welcome to the camp,
No one's a half-blood until they're damp!
Then the tempo changed and everyone in the pavilion drummed their fists on the tables:
Ohhhhhh ---
Percy kiss the boar! Percy kiss the boar!
Percy kiss the boar! Percy kiss the boar!
The bigger guys in Cabin Eleven grabbed me and lifted me over their heads. I struggled a little at first, but I realized there wasn't much point, so I let them carry me down to the cabins, the whole camp laughing and singing and jostling each other.
We went down to Clarisse's cabin, the one with the wild boar mounted above the doorway. Luke lifted me on his shoulders so I could reach it.
"Go ahead, Percy!" he yelled. "A big wet one on the snout!"
The thing was disgusting – moldy and smelly and ugly like you wouldn't believe. The snout was all peeling off and nasty.
"Percy kiss the boar! Percy kiss the boar!" everybody shouted.
Before I could think about it too much, I kissed the boar's nose.
A roar of approval went up from the campers, and I felt . . . weird, like I'd been accepted. I couldn't remember the last time anybody had cheered for me, much less a hundred people and satyrs and wood nymphs.
Before I could start feeling too warm and fuzzy, or even wipe the snout-grime off my lips, the stuffed boar's mouth opened all by itself and let loose an enormous belch right in my face. Everybody roared with laughter. It was a practical joke – a trick boar.
A new chant started: Throw him in! Throw him in!
The guys carried me down to the canoe lake.
I saw what was coming, but I wasn't worried about getting wet. I was thinking: Please don't let this be like the bathroom. Don't hose everybody down.
I didn't need to worry. I went straight in – SPLOOSH! – and right down to the bottom.
When I came up gasping, everybody cheered. Luke and some of the other guys hauled me out and clapped me on the back.
We all headed down to the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led the sing-a-long. We sang camp songs and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel like anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt like I was home.
Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.
My fingers curled around the minotaur horn. I thought for a moment about my mom, but they were good thoughts – her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.
When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.
That was my first day at Camp Half Blood.
I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.
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