Is this technically about a book? No. Is this a book blog? Yes. But it's a book adaptation, and a very good one at that, so I think it counts.
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, a stage production adapted from the book of the same name by Rick Riordan, premiered in 2014, four years after the release of the Movie-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named (directed by Chris Columbus). Written by Rob Rokicki, it gave Percy fans the adaptation they had been waiting for after the disappointment regarding the film. The musical started with a US tour, and in 2019, it graduated to Broadway with a revised soundtrack and new cast starring Chris McCarrell, Kristin Stokes, and Jorrel Javier. With its energetic and well-written soundtrack, the musical delivers what The Lightning Thief movie did not: well-developed characters, references to the book series as a whole, and a tone that reflects the source material.
The famous issue with the Percy Jackson films is the protagonists’ age and appearance. The actors playing the main trio (Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, and Brandon T. Jackson) were young adults during filming and could not successfully pull off acting like preteens. The actors of the musical, however, have an entirely different feel; even though they are also adults, they are in touch with their twelve-year-old selves and have the entire audience laughing with their slapstick humor. Also, while the film threw physical appearance to the wind, the musical didn’t fall short. As the musical’s Twitter account replied to a fan’s comment about how it would probably be just as inaccurate as the movie, “We’ve already got a blonde Annabeth so we’re ahead of the curve.”
How does a low-budget theater production manage to preserve the lighthearted, sarcastic humor that dominates the tone of the novel better than a $95 million-dollar movie? Firstly, the movie score is majestic and fantasy-typical, contributing to new viewers seeing it as a ‘knock-off Harry Potter.’ The musical soundtrack, however, has a rock’n’roll vibe, differentiating it from more classic modern Broadway shows like Wicked or Hamilton, which have a more serious tone. Simple effects and double casting only contributed to the overall charm and zany, middle-grade style. For example, during the scenes that involve flooding, rather than using actual water, McCarrell has a toilet paper gun shoot toilet paper off the roll using a leaf blower. For the Minotaur fight, Stokes stands on another cast member’s shoulders wearing a giant plaster Minotaur head, a similar setup as Mrs. Dodds’ Fury costume.
The fundamental difference between the movie and the musical was that Chris Columbus did not take the necessary time to develop the characters’ backstories or personalities, which is ultimately what makes each fantasy/action movie unique. When writers Rob Rokicki and Joe Tractz extended the soundtrack for the two-hour Broadway version, some songs were added, and some were replaced by different versions. In a YouTube interview with BUILD, Rob mentioned how “part of the fun of expanding the show was being able to sit in emotional moments with the characters rather than just cram more plot…so we ground them a bit more” (22:18). Several scenes from the main quest do not make it into the musical at all or are just hinted at, such as the Lotus Casino, the Gateway Arch, or Crusty’s Waterbeds. But Percy, Annabeth, and Grover each get a song that gives us a picture of who they are and their character arc throughout the story: “Good Kid,” “My Grand Plan,” and “The Tree on the Hill” respectively, as well as “The Campfire Song,” which briefly introduces the other demigods at Camp Half-Blood.
Finally, the musical and its deleted tracks feature many Easter eggs and running jokes from the whole Percy Jackson series, not just the titular novel. The most widely known element is Percy and Sally’s love of blue food. Within the fandom, blue food became one of Percy’s trademarks, and the musical pays homage to this in the song “Strong.” In contrast, in an interview with the movie cast, the actors revealed that none of them knew the significance of ‘blue food.’ The musical, however, doesn’t disappoint its fans: in “Put You in Your Place” Clarisse sings the line “She could capture your heart, I’m gonna capture the flag” to Percy about Annabeth, referencing the fact that they get together as a couple in The Last Olympian. The bonus track “Take the Weight” is itself an allusion to the end of The Titan’s Curse when Annabeth is literally holding up the world on her shoulders. The song doesn’t really fit anywhere in The Lightning Thief’s narrative, but when interpreted metaphorically it dives even deeper into her fears and her relationship with Percy, especially in the fourth and fifth books. Another deleted track, “Pick A Side,” is a dynamic number that takes place at Camp Half-Blood with Luke, Silena, and Clarisse arguing about the impending war. There are multiple quotes from later books in the series, like “Percy couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag” (Clarisse), “Whoever says love is worthless, I’ll pulverize them” (Silena), and more.
In May 2020, author Rick Riordan announced that Disney Plus would be making a TV show based on the Percy Jackson & the Olympians book series. Since then all the main roles have been cast, we've gotten a teaser trailer, and the filming of the eight-episode season one is wrapping this week! S1 will follow the story of – you guessed it – The Lightning Thief. Hopefully, the show will combine the heart the musical demonstrated with the cinematic opportunities filming provides to give the legendary series the adaptation it deserves.
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