The cast of ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ has been announced and all but one of its 10 stars will be making their Broadway debuts! The one veteran is Chris McCarrell who is playing Percy Jackson himself, after originating the role back when this show was first mounted off-Broadway in 2017. (McCarrell appeared on Broadway in 2014 as Marius in ‘Les Miserables’.)
The show is being mounted by TheaterWorksUSA and Martian Entertainment, who announced the cast on Monday. There are no surprise castings, as the entire group, including McCarrell, just finished the 32-city touring production of ‘The Lightning Thief’. This is no ordinary show– even though there are ten cast members, between them, they play 47 different characters! Joining McCarrell are Izzy Figueroa, Jorrel Javier, Ryan Knowles, Sam Leicht, Sarah Beth Pfeifer, James Hayden Rodriguez, Jalynn Steele, T. Shyvonne Stewart, and Kristin Stokes. It’s probably best to stick with a cast that is already accustomed to playing so many different characters, and the quick-changes that go along with them.
RELATED: ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ Will Electrify Broadway With A 16-Week Run
‘The Lightning Thief’ will make its Broadway debut with previews beginning on September 20 at the Longacre Theatre, and opening night being October 16. The show will play only run for 16 weeks and must close on January 5, as ‘Diana’, the musical based on the life of Princess Diana is scheduled to open in the Longacre Theatre after that.
‘The Lightning Thief’ was crafted by the team behind the hit ‘Be More Chill’, Joe Tracz and Stephen Brackett, with music and lyrics by Broadway newcomer Rob Rokicki. Tracz wrote the book, while Brackett will direct. Choreography is by Patrick McCollum. ‘The Lightning Thief’ ran for six sold-out weeks in 2017 off-Broadway, before the touring production kicked off. The cast recording hit #1 on iTunes’ soundtracks chart.
The musical is, of course, based on the novel ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ by Rick Riordan, which was book one in a best-selling series. A non-musical film adaptation was released in 2010, followed by the sequel ‘Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters’ in 2013. Neither movie was a massive hit, even though 20th Century Fox was hoping this would be their ‘Harry Potter’. Now that Disney owns Fox, there are rumblings that they may revive the franchise.
You can purchase tickets for ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ at lightningthiefmusical.com.
Source: Deadline
