The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical at The Regent Theatre, Stoke on Trent Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by H Chan
This evening, my family and I visited The Regent Theatre, in Stoke. It is a gorgeous theatre, nestled within the town, with good links to public transport and wonderful staff. It is very accessible, and my daughter, who is a wheelchair user, had no issues at all getting to her seat or to the toilets.
We were invited to watch The Lightning Thief, the Percy Jackson Musical, based on Rick Riordan’s best-selling books. It has been cleverly adapted for the stage by Joe Tracz and Rob Rokicki. This musical follows the first book, and whilst it does miss a lot of important events from the book, the way they skim over them in song form worked well. I loved the cast, they seemed perfect for their roles and I loved that it is mostly a younger cast. As a fan, I was really pleased with the storyline and loved the catchy, memorable songs. It definitely exceeded my expectations.
I need to begin with my daughter’s comment, that the opening to the show was one of the best she’s seen. It brought that fun, high energy to the stage straight away and set the scene. We particularly loved, The Day I Got Expelled, sang by Percy Jackson himself, played by Vasco Emauz. It was angsty, funny and really gave us a feeling for Percy’s life up to that point. Vasco is an incredible vocalist, and he smashed every song this evening. The song by Mr D, Another Terrible Day, played by Joseph Conner gave a feel for Camp Half Blood, an amusing, fast paced song was perfect at this point in the show. I believe that he learnt this role in a very short amount of time too, which made it extra exciting to see. He nailed it. Ellie-Grace Cousins was perfect as Clarisse, Ares daughter. She brought a feisty fury to the stage with an impressive vocal range in the song Put in your Place.
The show couldn’t have been brought to life without Percy’s best friend and protector, Grover, played by Cahir O’Neill. His humour and warmth brought a perfect balance. He became a favourite very quickly, with the way he continued to act the character even when the focus wasn’t on him. Of course there is also Annabeth, who was played by Kayne Montecillo. Her voice is amazing, and she almost had me in tears at one point.
Act one set the pace of the show, bringing you up to the point where the main trio head off on their heroic quest, and the second act was packed with adventure. The whole show lasts around two and a half hours. My two favourite songs were in the second act, Lost, which was sang by Percy, Annabeth and Grover, was brilliant and had me grinning like a loon. DOA, sang by Simone Robinson, who’s main role was Percy’s mum Sally, wowed the crowd, one of the best scenes in the show. Paolo Micallef was great as Luke, you could really get behind his story, he made it believable. Niall Sheehy had the best costume in the show playing Mr Brunner. He also played Hades, who was my favourite God of the show, so funny.
The costumes were fantastic, as was set design. The use of props and the stage was really clever, especially for the monster scenes. The live band can’t escape a mention. I do love a show with live music, and they didn’t disappoint. The choreography brought the whole thing together, with flawless performances from the ensemble. The ensemble for this show were one of the best I’ve seen for a while.
I definitely recommend this musical, not just for fans of the books, movie or TV show, but for those who are new to the franchise too. It is a great way to meet Percy and his friends for the first time. Well done to all involved.
I took my children, aged 16, 13 and 10. Saying that though, any fan, any age should see it, even those who haven’t heard the story. My family and I give this show 5 out of 5 stars. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and although there could have been another couple of scenes added to make the story flow a little better, it wasn’t hard to follow at all. The great songs carried it forward, and there were no boring or slow parts at all. Overall, it was fun, emotional and it was very clear that everyone on stage was passionate and gave their all.
Our family was split between row G in the stalls, which were great seats with a really good view of everything going on, on stage. We didn’t miss anything at all. Although, if you want to get a few 4d surprises (think glitter and bubbles) then the front few rows are for you, personally I like to be a little further back). The rest of our family, sat in rows A and B of the circle. An absolutely perfect spot if looking for accessible seating, and the view is wonderful.
On one final note, I thought it was worth mentioning that you can request to borrow a sensory bag for each performance at The Regent, it has ear defenders and some fidget toys. There are some louder scenes, and the ear defenders helped us out lots.
Rating: 5/5
The Lightning Thief is showing at The Regent from Tuesday October 7th, to Saturday October 11th. You can find tickets here www.atgtickets.com and prices begin at £15.