Opera House catches lightning in a bottle with ‘Percy Jackson’ musical

By Jennifer Goldman Enterprise theater criticc

An electrifying show is now on stage at the Historic Woodland Opera House! “The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical” features a talented cast of actors aged 14-20 and follows the actionpacked young adult best selling fantasy novel by author Rick Riordan. Eric Catalan made his directing debut with this highenergy musical written by Joe Tracz with music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki.

The show follows 12-year-old Percy (Sammy Rosendale), who is constantly getting in trouble at school and subsequently gets expelled for the sixth time. He has many scary encounters with magical creatures and the villainous teacher Mrs. Dodds (Max Symes). These encounters were a bit confusing at first, since it was ambiguous whether he was imagining these confrontations or if they were real. We learn that these episodes are not hallucinations but are actually happening. Soon we discover that Percy is a demigod because his father Poseidon (William Kuykendall) is a Greek god and his mother Sally (Ella Del Favero) is a human. Sally does everything in her power to protect her son and keep him safe while

Poseidon is an absent father. Sally loses the battle with her attacker and Percy moves on without either parent.

Percy is then whisked off to Summer Camp HalfBlood for demigods with his friend Grover (Django Nachmanoff), where they form a trio of best friends with Annabeth (Severin Moreno), who is the daughter of Athena. The reluctant Camp Director Mr. D (Ben García) does a hilarious version of the song “Another Terrible Day” that had the audience in stiches. Head counselor Luke (Leandro Williams) explains that Percy may or may not learn who his father is, as many Gods don’t even bother acknowledging their half-blood children. Percy learns from the other campers how painful it can be to be abandoned by your absent “God” parent.

Soon Percy is sent on a quest given to him by his father. He is to prevent a war of the Gods by trying to recapture Zeus’ stolen lightening bolt and to prove his own innocence.

The action, live rock band, singers and dancers all blended together wonderfully to create a fabulous spectacle. The action never stopped and there were some awesome special effects. One of the coolest scenes was the massive mummy Oracle (Evie Bar- nett), who appeared to be three times larger than life, as she gave her prophecy. Kids will love the toilet paper being shot out towards the audience with leaf blowers. Also amazing was the scene with Medusa’s head being chopped off! Lots of battles being fought with sword fighting and well choreographed dance numbers are sure to delight.

The 20-person cast had multiple roles, countless colorful costumes, wigs and props. All of the actors really put their heart and soul into this entertaining show. I wish I had room to name them all as they really surpassed my expectations. It was nice to be able to hear every word thanks to the microphones on the singers. Great job from music director Jia-Min Rosendale!

This is a fun musical for children over 6, teenagers, and anyone who loves Greek mythology combined with modern rock / pop music. This is a great story, regardless of whether you have read the book. Hats off to new Director Eric Catalan and the Woodland Opera House for another impressive show!

Tickets are available at WoodlandOperaHouse. org and show runs now through June 25; Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.