The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical - Review

Review by Sarah

Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review

I don’t know where I have been, but somehow I have missed the Percy Jackson phenomenon, so when I discovered this was a ‘thing’, I asked my friend’s 13-year-old son to accompany me to help me unpick this wonderful new fantasy world that I was entering.

Photo by Johan Persson.

This fast-paced story is based on the first book of the seven stories currently in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, written by Rick Riordan, and has a huge fan base on Netflix and Disney+. It first made its claim on stage as a 60 minute performancel in 2014, which toured the US and subsequently expanded into a full-length musical show. There is definitely an audience following defined by the whoops and cheering as specific characters made their stage debut. 

The show opens with us meeting a dysfunctional teen, struggling to fit in, yet again excluded from school, living with his mum and ‘stinky’ stepfather, believing his ADHD and dyslexia are the cause of his trouble. His mum sends him off to summer camp, telling him it will ‘help him discover himself’. As the story unfolds, he discovers far more about himself than he expected and the real reason as to why he is a misfit. Percy Jackson is a half-blood - a Demi-god - a half god, half child. He is the son of Perseus.

Percy finds himself on a quest, accompanied by his 2 friends Annabeth and Grover, to the underworld to find his Dad and call out ‘The Lightning Thief’. Together this trio delights the audience, young and old, with powerhouse songs, and a story in which we are rooting for Percy to calm the brotherly family feud of the 3 powerful gods, Zeus, Perseus and Hades. Vasco Emauz (Percy), currently with limited credits to his name, commands the stage with his vocal delivery and will be remembered for his outstanding performance of Percy and a sensational leading role.  I would return to watch this show purely for a second helping of his performance. Kayna Montecillo (Annabeth) is the ultimate triple threat. She captures the audience with her powerhouse singing, small but mighty frame and drives the narrative alongside Cahir O’Neill, who brings the well-timed humour and likable character within his outstanding performance as Grover. 

Photo by Johan Persson.

The majority of the cast have not been long out of training, and for some, it is their debut professional show and I wonder if this is why the show works so well. The whole cast gives their all, and it is truly outstanding. The energy and youthfulness of the cast bring joy to a dark and gloomy story. At times, the theme and melodies give Evan Hansen Vibes yet this story stands for itself and through audience reactions, it was clear that writer Joe Tracz has managed to hold onto the familiar wording and inner themes of the initial story that the Percy Jackson fans love so much.

There were a couple of moments that didn’t stand their course for me. The gods had been described as all-powerful and all-encompassing, so the underwhelming costume of Medusa and the Hawaiian-shirted Perseus left me disappointed. Danny Beard, RuPaul’s drag talent, gave a wonderful performance as the camp leader, Mr. D, but the sparkly shoulder-padded suit and bright orange wig felt disjointed from the otherwise darker staging and clothing. 

The staging design by Ryan Dawson Laight is well executed; moveable staging, rotated in various places, created a playground of props for characters to climb and leap on and the AV and lighting by Tim Deiling is well used to create the effects, including the formation of an enormous minotaur. Whilst I didn’t leave singing any catchy melodies, Rob Rokicki, through his lyrics and composition, put together a strong musical production with a live band, which gave a large number of opportunities for the performers to shine on stage.
 
This is one for all those Percy Jackson fans and an incredibly inspiring watch for any aspirational young people out there who are planning a career in musical theatre.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical plays at Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 28th February 2026. The tour continues visiting Peterborough's New Theatre, Darlington Hippodrome and Curve in Leicester. For dates and booking information visit https://percyjacksonmusical.com/uk-tour/

Photo by Johan Persson.