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The way the Tony voter treated this show was unforgettably reprehensible. At a time when we knew theatres were going to be dark for so long, that they intentionally left one of the only eligible shows out was nothing short of cruel. It may not be a ground breaking musical, but it’s still a great show that struck a chord with audiences. They also managed to taint Aaron Tveit’s win by leaving him as the sole nominee. What kind of achievement is that?
what the tonys did should be banned. if there are 5 spots they should be OBLIGATED to nominate to fill all spots or until there are no more elegible candidates
It's not the first time they did it, either -- Starmites was at least nominated for Best Musical in 1989, but in a year with no other original scores, it still wasn't nominated for best music & lyrics.They just didn't have that award that year.
@@plapln9347 awards shows have always sucked, there's nothing objective or art-oriented about them they're just a bunch of rich famous people circlejerking each other
@@rickyricardo9710 it's always been in the back of my mind, but I didn't want to believe it, yk? I've somehow managed to ignore it and enjoy the Oscars and the Tonys but the very obvious snub of LT made me unable to pull the curtain back.
When you discussed reviewers who changed their minds on the musical, as evidenced by the reviews they wrote and published, my brain went, "You will be betrayed by one who calls you friend."
Big middle finger from the Broadway community aside, this show has been so incredibly important to me. I saw the 2017 off-Broadway production (and barely got in - tickets had been sold out on line), and I walked out thinking "I have to do this one day." Cut to 5 years later, I was approached to direct this show, and summer 2023 I was finally able to cross this dream show off my bucket list. This was one of the final shows I got to do with kids who had been in my very first production as a director, and it was so special to be able to send off so many amazing kids into the real world with this show.
I thought the Tony's treatment of The Lightning Thief was completely uncalled for. Tons of people worked incredibly hard on TLT, and it absolutely deserved the nominations, if only because there were no better options.
I used to be of the mind that shows like LT and BMC were never meant for Broadway, that something would always be lost in translation in the move from smaller off-Broadway venues. But telling this story just proves that producers and critics are determined to gatekeep Broadway. We all understand that Broadway is a business, but the deliberate sabotage of shows like this and the greed of producers keeps young, willing, enthusiastic audiences away. Adoring fans who never got to see this show with their own eyes are the same ones who couldn't afford $80+ tickets. (Not to mention all the extra money you'd have to spend to get to NY/any major touring city if you don't live close by.) And sending a 50+ yr old critic to review a show that is clearly not meant for them will only result in a review bemoaning that they "didn't get it" or it was "too angsty/whiny." Broadway is trying to convince us it's out fault that the industry is faltering, that audiences are failing the art form. But the reality is, the art form has outgrown them.
I work with teens in NYC. A ton of them are fans of theater who have never gone to see a show because they can’t afford it. They live twenty minutes to a half hour on the train away. It’s ridiculous.
If in 30 years time, they'll be op-eds on "why aren't there new young librettists/composers/stories on Broadway"... Well, we can't say it wasn't self-inflicted
I love how intertwined this is with Be More Chill, they're like the two little musicals that could 🥺🥺🥺 Also it just goes to show how little critics understand about good theater - just because something is campy doesn't mean it's bad!
Be More Chill is actually bad though, and not because it's campy. The characters are generic archetypes, the story is a weird mix of high-school cliches and science fiction cliches that don't mix well, it's almost never funny, and the lyrics are absolutely abysmal
it was honestly so foul for the tony awards to leave out the lightning thief the way they did. i understand the show wouldn't have gotten a nomination in a normal year, but in a year where it was one of the only eligible shows, it just felt petty and in bad faith. especially in a year that needed unity and positivity as much as it did. the lightning thief didn't have to win anything, but i think chris should've gotten that shout out, it genuinely wouldn't have done any harm. this show was clearly a product of love and it had so much heart, i will always love it for that.
In my directing class fall 2022 I mentioned The Lightning Thief as part of my “musical Mount Rushmore”(aka top musicals) and our adjunct professor said “oh I know Rob! We’re great friends” and I have never experienced a greater fan girl moment than knowing how close I was connected to one of my favorite musicals ever. I simply have a thing for rock musicals and The Lightning Thief has been such an insane part of my theatre journey, getting into it when it was off Broadway, before it was Broadway bound
I also took a directing class fall 2022 at my university lol, but my Mount Rushmore of musical is definitely fun home, legally blonde, next to normal, and & pippin (with American Psycho & Hedwig holding an honorable mention)
Rob Rokicki is a super talent. His story in regard to this show, and how the pieces fell into place for him after the scuttling of Pump Boys and Dinettes is an example of one of those situations where you can’t always connect the dots until hindsight.
And it’s not just lyrically that the songs shine, it’s also melodically. The way certain melodies and riffs are reprised throughout the show make them even more powerful. I get goosebumps during Last Day of Summer when Luke reprises Good Kid. Percy singing something very similar to Luke’s part in Their Sign during Drive needs to be talked about more often, I think. The “they never listen to me, they never listen” works its way into many of the songs as well, and even though all of the songs are distinct from each other, they feel uniform and made for each other. It is a truly wonderful musical, one of my favorites of all time.
I've been a Percy Jackson fan since I was about 10. I'm 21 now, and this musical is so important to me. It was the first musical I ever watched, and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. I remember watching it on stage and just wanting to cry because I finally got to see a worthwhile visual representation of a character I've loved for years.
I saw a community theater production because my friend's nephew was playing Luke, and I was impressed by the show! It's fascinating to learn the production history, because I truly can't imagine the story without "Good Kid" or "My Grand Plan"
I haven't even started watching the video, but I already wanna state that this musical is one of my favorites of all time. In fact, it's also my favorite adaptation of the Percy Jackson story, Disney+ series and all. I think that's the case because the musical conveys the same feeling/message that the book series managed to get across so well: If you're one of the weird kids growing up, you're not alone. Yes, you have interests considered "weird" by your peers, you've probably been excluded from social spaces, but you're not the only one. There's a community out there for you, one that will understand you and validate you and trust you. It's a heartwarming story of acceptance, friendship and bravery. Your life might feel like a never-ending ancient greek quest, but you have people by your side that will always root for you.
I saw the musical Off-Broadway, and it was delightful. The double-casting as an obfuscation of which characters were the secret villains was brilliant.
Though I never saw this show live, it's one that's very close to my heart. I've been a fan of the books since about 2009 and had recently gotten into musical theatre in 2017. I remember seeing Rick mention the musical on his twitter early that year and seeing a tweet sharing the song 'Good Kid'. I was FLOORED by how well it captured Percy's personality and perspective. I followed the show through the tour and its broadway run all the way to the disrespect of the 2020 Tonys. As someone who was studying theatre production and design at the time, one of the things that always fascinated me about the show was how they managed to do so much with so little, and the creativity that it took to portray such high levels of fantasy with such simple effects. In many ways this was the little show that could, as it did WAY more than it ever set out to do. And not only that, but as Rob points out, it's very dear to the people who do care about it. Also, one could argue that, due to the focus on getting the material out to educational settings, the show has reached much farther than many critically acclaimed broadway shows. It's a show that will always be special to me and every single person who made it possible should be proud of themselves!
“Also, Percy Jackson wasn’t written by a TERF.” Amazing. Went so hard on that delivery. I had to pause the video because that but was so good. Seriously. Paused the video on my tv so I could pull out my phone and write this comment about how hard that moment hit.
I read the books for the first time in 2018, and my incessant talking about them to friends and family meant my sister happened to get a Facebook ad for TLT the day before it came to my city. Nosebleed seats were incredibly cheap, so we thought why not? She hadn't read the books, but for a weekday night it seemed like a fun enough time. We'd assumed because of the look of the short trailer and the price of the tickets we happened to find that it would be a cheap production, but weren't put off by that. We were BLOWN AWAY when we left the theatre! I've seen some incredible musicals, but everything about TLT was SO perfect. The low-budget look didn't feel like the result of actually having little money to fund better effects, it felt like an intentional choice to allow the audience to use their imagination. Chiron turning into a horse by just giving him a tail and having his actor prance around stage was HILARIOUS. The toilet paper rolls were so fun and a genius way to do water effects! And most of all, it felt like the most accurate version of a book adaptation I'd ever seen. Even without being able to include every plot point, it capture the essence of the Percy Jackson books so well. It got to the heart of the demigod's issues with their parents in the OPENING LINES of the play, something the movie didnt accomplish in its entirety! And it was FUN. It was campy, it was goofy, it genuinely felt like the tone of the books. We entered the theatre with tepid interest and left as die hard fans. Even now after watching the adaptation that Rick himself spear-headed, I still think The Lightning Thief is the superior adaptation. A musical is such a good medium for an exposition-heavy story. No parts of the musical drag or feel awkward the way the show sometimes can. Plus the tone of the show has to be darker to maintain the realism and the gravity of their quest, so in choosing that direction they lose the tone and the HEART of the books as a result. Not terrible, but not done nearly as well as TLT. The musical truly is lightning in a bottle. I'm grateful it was made.
ahh! you used my comment at 17:35!! i did in fact see that original theaterworks show at the lortel theatre. i remember it was free and the audience was mostly kids, but my friends and i loved it so much because we grew up with the books. when percy jackson fans online started to trash it bc those publicity photos came out and i was like desperate to defend it (as you can see with my embarrassingly long comment). like, you haven't seen it! the heart of the books is so, so there! anyway, i just love this musical. one of my all time favorite stage door experiences was seeing the show on broadway years later and getting to stage door and show kristin stokes the photo we took together after the theaterworks production. it's so cool to hear someone talk about this musical and include its true humble beginnings. thanks for including me lol and for talking about this true underdog show!
Apparently I used to live under a rock, because despite being a long time Theater and Percy Jackson fan, I didn't lean about the show until mid 2020. However, the show did keep me sane during the lock down. I would make my own costume designs, and staging, and even choreograph numbers because I missed doing all that at my local youth theater. Sad to have been late to the party, but happy to be here nonetheless.
I only discovered TLT the Musical when i took my daughter to see a performance in our city last year as part of the summer children's theater program. I'm a teacher and love the books and the series was one of the first i read to her as bedtime stories. I wasn't blown away by the minimalist staging and stripped down plot of the 1 act kids version, but had thought every song had been a banger. So I started Googling, found the full soundtrack, found some performances of the full show and fan animatics, found the soundtrack as my personal bedtime soundtrack or my kids's driving almost anywhere soundtrack. Man, i just adore this show now, and I'm devastated that i won't get to see a full production. Learning that it has so much backstory is just wild.
I am a huge Percy Jackson fan so it was a complete surprise to me to learn that there was a musical, which I didnt hear about until 2021. And then, a year later, I got to perform for my first professional theatre job in a production of the Lightning Theif. It was an absolute joy to do and I had so much fun. But the best part had to be the children who came to see the show. The theatre is a very small theatre in a very small town, but we had kids come in camp Halfblood tee-shirts and other costumes. But the best memory was when a young girl came up to us and asked the cast to sign her copy of the book The Lightning Theif. I have never felt so much joy in that moment and might never again.
love your analogy of "The Broadway Gods" mistreating and looking down on the play, since this is EXACTLY how the Gods in PJO actually treats Percy... It's literally... fate.
I got to see this show 3x. First on tour at the Beacon in March 2019, then upon opening on Broadway, and finally, the closing performance in January 2020. As someone who knows many Tony voters, it disgusted me how much the Broadway theatre community disregarded this show. The way they only nominated Aaron Tviet in a season where the only other eligible nominee would’ve been Chris McCarrell made it clear they looked down on the show. But Chris is still the best Percy we’ve ever had, and the show is still the best adaptation we’ll likely ever get. Thanks for doing this documentary ❣️
@@Chibbykins the backbone to at the very least stand for what you believe in but for Rowling it would be objective reality. Riordan on the other hand seems solely to just go with whatever is popular burning bridges with his own fans along the way.
I got to play Sally in this show this time last year. It was a beautiful experience, and my best friend played Percy. We were both seniors, and it was one of my favorite memories of our friendship’s history 💙
As well as a high schooler who played Percy Jackson in the musical ended up being a part of the Jimmy Awards! So it made it far as well through the community!
My college recently put on a production of The Lightning Thief and it was such a wonderful experience! Many of my friends were in it and they extended the run a few days since people were literally coming from OTHER STATES to see it! That’s the power of a loved story and passionate local theatre! 🖤
As someone who listens to the album on a weekly basis and works with kids, Percy Jackson has such a special place in my heart and to a lot of my students hearts. I LOVE THIS MUSICAL!!!!
This couldn't have come at a more fitting time. I'm the Understudy for Mr. D/Ares/Minotaur in a regional production of Lightning Thief currently in tech. They unfortunately cut a lot of the songs like DOA, Lost and the Campfire song since it's pared back the runtime for schools (and the multi-casting is switched up so that all the main kid roles are played by young performers). But it is still so fantastic, brings back my youth discovering these books at their age and connecting with the characters and with my own struggles with Autism & ADHD.
I've followed this musical pretty much since the moment the cast album was released, it was the first professional production I EVER got to see, on the national tour in 2019. It was inspiring to little 12 year old me and Kristin Stokes' performance of My Grand Plan singlehandedly pushed me to pursue being an actor. After watching this show have so many ups and downs, I FINALLY got to be in a community theatre production of it, and it was an absolutely dream come true. Rob Rokicki was nice enough to wish our cast a happy opening via video message, which made made my entire year. This show is a beautiful, passionate, and campy production that changed SO MANY LIVES. I'm so grateful for this show accurately representing characters I have loved and related to for so long, and I am so grateful for this video covering it! Watching this made me relive every emotion I felt watching this shows journey unfold, and taught me new things I didn't even know went into the production, so thank you!!
I was able to see the off Broadway and touring versions of the show and I was so happy and immersed in the show each time. Truly an amazing adaptation of the source material. I went to school at the same time as Chris McCarrell and he has friends in the Ohio theatee community, so its always lovely to see him get recognition, even though the Tony's were ridiculous in overlooking all of them. Chris was also in Great Comet in Cleevland last year and was FANTASTIC.
I was lucky enough to go see a production of The Lightning Thief at Baldwin Wallace that Chris himself directed! It was so magical seeing this show live and knowing that Percy himself had a hand in it haha ❤️
I discovered the musical because I was reading the The Lighting Thief for English class in 6th grade. I always saw the poster for the musical on my old subway stop. When quarantine started I decided to continue reading the PJO franchise. I manged to read Sea of Monsters within two weeks and I finished the PJO series by the end of that summer. I started listening to the cast recording during quarantine because I hated the movie version. The Percy Jackson musical and Mean Girls the musical made discover my love of musical theater. My Grand Plan is my favorite song from the musical because I related a lot to Annabeth. Especially in 6th grade when I first read the book because I was going through similar stuff she went through. I'm really glad that they didn't cut "My Grand Plan" and "Good Kid" because I think they accurately represent both character. It's disappointing that the Tony's didn't want to nominate the show because producers always talk about how they want new and creative show but don't like it when these shows make it to Broadway. I understand that only a few shows were eligible for the Tonys that year but still not nominate the Lighting Thief was rude. The fact that they change an either category to make sure the Lighting Thief wasn't eligible. It wasn't fair to Aaron Tveit to be the only nominee for Best Leading Actor that year. Yes, he deserve the Tony especially after many years on Broadway but for him to be the only nominee doesn't seem fair. Either way nominating Chris McCarell wouldn't effect who they picked for the Tony. Anyways, I hope with the new tv-show more people discover the musical. It's nice knowing that the actor who plays Grover in the tv-show (Aryan Simhadri) has listen to the musical. I was 12 years old when I first read the Lighting Thief book and I'm 16 on 17 years old watching the new tv-show. I love the tv show but it'll always be the musical version who I truly love.
The Lightning Thief is such an important musical for me. You can tell how much soul and love was put on this production. Rob Rokicki has been on my spotify wrapped two years in a row due to how much I listen to the cast recording. Glad to see it here!
I'm so glad you covered this show! It's one of my favorites, and I'm so glad to see a deep-dive into the people who made it possible. The Lightning Thief to me proves, yet again, that what really makes a show beautiful is the heart of the people behind it, the love that the writers, cast, and crew have for it, rather than big-budget sets, Tony nominations, and rave critic reviews.
"Also Percy Jackson wasn't written by a TERF." Thank you. As a trans woman who was a Harry Potter superfan and still loves The Wizarding World at Universal Studos, I can't express how disappointing it is to have a woman you admired devote her entire recent career to spreading dangerous misinformation about my community. I wish I could be as in love with the franchise now as I was years ago, but knowing SHE gets a percentage of merch sales just ruins it for me.
I was never a huge Harry Potter fan but it's been encouraging to see so many people switch to fanworks instead of supporting the horrible author. The fanfiction and fanart communities are still thriving, but almost everyone I've spoken to who's a fan tells me they refuse to spend any money on the series anymore. It really sucks to have her taint the series for so many people who grew up loving it.
@@puppykitten1557 that is always nice to see. I'm all about supporting independent artists. And I love seeing the beautiful creations that have come from the fandom.That's how I looked at Wizarding World when I lived in Florida. That real world place is designed, built, and run by artists and Team Members that refer to JK as "She Who Must Not Be Named". I can still appreciate their hard work while I wear my trans pride colors to the parks!
@@puppykitten1557 Most of my friends and family who still like Harry Potter kinda just brush over it cus they refuse to understand that it wasn't JUST some tweets. She actively financially endorses TERFs and her books and Ugh. Doesn't help that I keep getting deadnamed
This musical means so much to me, and I never really knew the history of it before. I first heard this musical in middle school and waited for the off-broadway tour and was lucky enough to see it life when it came to my city. It was my first time really seeing a show at that scale, and it was amazing. I carried the songs with me, and had the opportunity to do it as my spring show my senior year of high school. Production was a mess, but in the end, it was incredible. I got to perform my favorite musical with some of my closest friends, and it was such an honor. I love this musical so dearly, it was so amazing to learn about it's roots. I hid the quote "as long as you are here with me" on my graduation cap :)
this musical has been my dream to do this show for a few years now. my dream role was annabeth. recently, i found a local theatre doing the lighting thief. i immediately joined. it was my first musical with that program. to my surprise, i was cast as annabeth. the show is coming to and end, and the whole time, i felt like i was living in a dream. i made so many friends, all of them loving percy jackson like i did. this musical is one of my all time favorites, even though it’s not as popular.
I saw this play once in Boston, as a long time fan of the Percy Jackson series it was so fun to watch! You’re right, I think this musical captured some of that core energy of sassy, rebellious Percy Jackson.
i listened to this soundtrack so much in 2020 that rob was my top spotify artist😭 he got snubbed so hard, this music has so much heart (AND THE MOTIFS ARE SO!!! GOOD!!)
We saw it in San Jose and had zero expectations but walked away loving it. Still one of the best shows we've seen (and we have annual season tickets to Broadway SF, so...)
I remember seeing the lightning thief musical for the first time when I was 8 at the Westport Playhouse. It changed my life. In 2020, I had the incredible opportunity of seeing it on Broadway the night before it closed. It was a fantastic production. I am a freshman in college now, and for my senior year show in high school, I got to perform as Luke Castellan in my high school’s production of the Lightning Thief the Musical. This show, and the books behind it, have followed me through every step of my life, and have changed the world for me.
Percy Jackson has factored into major moments of my life. The first 5 books when I was young, the movie tickets as a birthday present one year, a series I bonded over with my niece and the fandom a source of friendships. 15 or more books over 20 or more years. "Bring on the monsters" was the quote on my college graduation cap, Drive was on loop as I entered the unknown. For me, The Sun and the Star was a gentle goodbye, and the musical's soundtrack will always be on my playlists. I was so glad I got to see the show, and in hindsight I'm glad I was able to support the people who created it. I've long outgrown the books, but the story and characters will stay with me through the memories, art and music even if I never reread The Lightning Thief itself. I hope that, over time, the musical will be appreciated for how much it was able to accomplish against all odds rather than the backlash that success drew from gatekeeping elitists.
thank you so so much for covering this musical!!! it is one of my favorite book adaptations into any medium, and i still stream the cast recording like it's my job. i was able to see it three times in three different venues and i would happily do it all over again! it was a musical for fans and for musical theatre lovers, and it rightfully shined a light on the beauty of TYA.
this musical will forever hold such a special place in my heart. when i was in 10th grade, my school did it as our fall musical, and i had probably the most fun i have ever had. this show is so wonderfully over-the-top, hilarious, campy, and all of the songs absolutely slap. the friends i made in it and the confidence i gained through performing in it are both something i will never forget, and getting to swordfight my friends, be stabbed, get toilet-papered, and run around like an idiot singing and dancing for 2 hours will forever be the highlight of my life for the forseeable future.
I was in high school when the original 1-hour version of the musical premiered off Broadway and I remember my friend and I making the 1 hr+ long trek from Queens all the way there to see the musical. We fell in love instantly and came back twice more with more friends to see it. We were in high school but we were the oldest people in the audience full of elementary and middle schoolers. I remember at the merch table they were selling hardcover copies of the “Percy Jackson Greek Gods” companion books SIGNED by Rick Riordan and I got myself a copy. Saw the musical on tour, and then once more in its 2 hour iteration. I missed it on Broadway, and felt it to be a little bit of a misguided move considering the “stiff upper lip” attitude Broadway brings, but to see the harsh reviews and the complete shutout by the Tony awards was truly egregious and heartbreaking. Just because the musical was not “conventionally Broadway,” it doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. Chris McCarrell most definitely deserved a nomination as did the Rob and the rest of the cast and creatives. The elitism was disgusting and disheartening to witness
As someone who works at Theaterworks USA, seeing this video from one of my favorite theatre creators was surreal and not unwelcome. Thank you for your work.
I regret everyday not finding a way to see the musical on broadway but I was only in hs but I still listen to it now and get flash backs to middle school it’s a happy Memory
I wanna thank you for making this video. I've learned so much about the early days of this musical. As an avid PJO fan, this musical means so much to me and I didn't know much about the early days of the original iteration. I was there exactly a month before the Broadway show closing and it was not a packed house. Most of the audience for the matinee were school kids who were put up into the balcony. My seat was great and I loved it, but I could have easily moved myself up to the front row cause no one was sitting there. Which made me sad to see honestly. I'm glad to see that once winter breakers started trickling in, that ticket sales grew in the last few weeks though. I remember being EXTREMELY disappointed in the Tony nomination snub. They made it extremely obvious that TLT got snubbed. Now if 2020 had been a normal year, I don't think any of us would have been upset at the snub, but because there was only 4 eligible musicals, it made it extremely obvious. I applaud the twitter account and the actors for not being upset and telling us that it was fine, but still.
I’ve been a massive Percy Jackson fan for years now and the musical is just so important to me. I was surprised to hear that both Joe and Rob wrote samples that would eventually become “Strong” - back when there were only a few concert performances of this show on TH-cam, that was the song I gravitated to. It displayed an incredible understanding of the heart of the story, something that the movies never accomplished. And when they announced the full length musical and released that video of Chris singing “Good Kid” - all I did was watch it on repeat. The song encapsulated Percy’s character more than both movies did. I saw it off Broadway and it was different from regular musicals because of the budget, sure, but it added so many details that were FOR the fans, and I appreciated that so so much. You could tell that the creators put a lot of care into making a good adaptation. I almost wish it had stayed off Broadway and continued to be a secret for the fans, because the way it was treated by reviewers and at the Tony awards was so disappointing.
When I knew that they were doing a musical of this book I was really afraid that it was going to be like the movies all over again. But I was surprised and happy when I listened to the album and watched the bootleg. You can tell they made the musical with love. Got a lot of respect for all this team ❤
I just started reading the books. They're honestly really good and a lot of fun, but I'm such an adult now because I keep going 'Zeus, why do you keep hiring the worst people to look after children!?" I am glad that kids were able to have fun with this.
I was lucky enough to see the show in April of 2019 and I have held it near and dear to my heart ever since I first heard the cast album in my sophomore year at the age of 17. I will forever love Rob Rokicki simply for the fact that when I went to the show I was close to the back of the ground level of the theater by the tech board, and at one point during Another Terrible Day I looked over and saw that he was just sitting in one of the unfilled seats in front of the board, watching the show. He stayed there the entire show. As a 22 year old in my very last quarter of undergrad as creative writer, I still deeply admire that moment because of the clear, heartfelt love for his creation. As any creative knows, your work is like your baby and I so much appreciate that even on what must of been for the upteenth time he still chose to see it, listen to, hear the reactions of the crowd. That's real love. And that, I think, is the dedication that comes across in his parts of this video. Truely a gem of a person.
This musical has to be one of my FAVORITES! I'm an advid and hardcore Percy Jackson fan and I'll admit, i was skeptical at first. I came across the cast recording on youtube one day and decided to give it a shot and i never turned back. It covered the book so well and everyone was phenomenal! It is a shame and frankly appalling that the Tony's and Broadway had such criticism to it and cut it out of many nominations. I'm glad to see that it did well anyway and that many fans, such as I, enjoyed it.
Just my two cents… When I first saw the Lightning Thief I thought, “The music and lyrics aren’t that great but I still find this story very engaging…probably says more about choosing a good story to adapt than it does about writing a good musical.”
I got to see the Lightning Thief musical for my birthday when it toured (thanks, mom!), and it was the first musical i ever saw in person. Its such a good and fun musical, i still love it to pieces and it will forever hold a special place in my heart (as will the tshirt that i now use as a pajama shirt) Will say tho, i never even knew it went on Broadway, but im absolutely glad they did!
Dude I had NO idea!!!! this video is so good!!! it makes me want to cry. The teather gods of Broadway can say whatever they wish, the lightning thief is immortalized in the hearts and minds of many, many of these so called "whiny teenagers" who are after all, the future.
Thank you for your time and effort in recounting the trials and tribulations of this show. Definitely made me tear up and reach quickly for the soundtrack. I hope someday I will get to see it staged (or maybe get to be apart of it)
2 years ago, I was in the Percy Jackson Musical for my high school. I was cast as Poseidon, and I remember how fun not just the performances were, but rehearsals too. This year, my school is doing Seussical, and I am cast as the General. This musical has so many fun songs, interesting characters, and tells a great story. Thank you TheaterWorks.
i’ve been a huge fan of percy jackson for a little over 8 years now and got to see the show during the 2019 tour as a birthday surprise. my bring on the monsters shirt that i got from that show is really faded now but i’m wearing for the show’s season one finale tonight. these books and this show mean so much to me and the show deserved so much more than it got. edit: also forgot to mention that the program i got from the tour resides in my percy jackson shrine :))
I loved hearing the whole story behind this show! I saw it on tour and it's still one of my favorite musicals of all time. They adapted the story so well with the same humor and heart as the book that even the TV show didn't fully hit to me. I have so much love and appreciation for this musical and all who worked on it! This video also reminded me how upsetting the Tony's snub was omg
I got to see this in high school when it was off-broadway and it was my favorite thing in the world, I got pics with the cast after and I had a countdown to when they finally released the cast recording, it was just such a fun show
that’s my great aunt!!! so proud of her and of course saw the 1hr version, expanded one, and broadway run! as a huge pjo fan (and bmc) i basically peed my pants out of excitement every time she updated me
I saw the musical on tour in 2019 and it became everything to me. When they announced their Broadway run I knew I had to go support them. I’d never been to New York so it was my first show to see on Broadway. It was December 2019 and such an amazing time ♡ I love this musical so much and it will forever hold a piece of my heart.
I’ve been in this musical twice at two different theaters portraying Grover and I have to say that they were great experiences. I love this musical so much
i got to see TLT three times, twice on tour in Philly and tampa, and once on broadway. this show means so much to me! it's my favorite show, and I got to make so many friends because of it. i even got to go on stage after the show on bway!
I haven't been lucky enough to see a production of this show, community production or otherwise, but I work with a local community theater group that just did our first musical this year (historically we've done mostly Shakespeare, so it was a big change for us.) I've pitched that we do The Lightning Thief here in a couple years, and so far everyone is on board. I look forward to being part of this story, sooner or later!
this was such a great video!! i loved the lightning thief musical back in its heyday and it was such a rollercoaster to be a fan back then. really really nice to hear more about its origins and behind the scenes, i didn't know a lot of that - and it was so good to see the cast and creatives interviews as well. really made me feel like i was reliving that time of my life all over again. i'm gonna go listen to the cast album for the first time in a while :) have a great day! edit: just remembered i wanted to mention the tonys snub. what an outrageous time that was to be not just a tlt fan, but a musical theatre fan in general.
TLT is one of my favorite musicals of all time and even though it got screwed over by the Tony's, I'm still so amazed to see the journey it has gone on. One of my local community theatres is putting it on, and I even got cast to play Mr. D
The Lightning Thief is genuinely my favourite musical of all time, i just love everything about it so much. Absolutely cannot believe it wasn't nominated for a single tony. Absolute robbery, especially Rokicki and Chris McCarrel who imho easily should've won.
oh wow, this was such a trip down memory lane. i loved LOVED this show in high school, BMC too. I saw TLTM 3 times- once off broadway, once on tour, once on bway. saw BMC a couple times too- once on tour and once on bway i think. i was exactly the target audience, and i ate this stuff UP! i had a tumblr friend who I’d met through Percy Jackson fandom, and we’d known each other for years but the first time we ever met in person was when we both travelled to NYC to see TLTM together… good times. i remember during the pandemic watching the tony noms eagerly waiting for Chris to get his due- I was so so upset with the snub!! it just felt so intentional with so few eligible shows… somehow even though i was obsessed with both TLTM and BMC in high school i somehow didn’t realize they had a similar creative team!! this was a great doc about this show, made me feel like i was in sophomore year of high school again lol! i’m now about to graduate from college, but these shows will always mean so much to me and so strongly define a period of time in my life- thank you for giving this show some attention that it deserves!!!! ❤️❤️❤️🔱
As a Percy Jackson super-fan, I already knew most of this information, but the care with which you researched it and the joy presented it with had me reacting and smiling as if I was hearing it for the first time. Great work!
I saw this musical on tour when I was 20, and although I’d been listening to the album for years and had seen many bigger broadway tours, watching TLT moved me so much. I cried at the end, and I was just so happy to watch such a fun show in a crowd of people who loved Percy Jackson as much as I did.
Having been burned by the movie, i admit I was one of those who saw the simple advertisement when it came to my area telling the dates and thought "Sheesh, they really will make a musical version of anything" and blew it off. I only saw it last year as a high school production and suddenly fell in love with the music and effects and how they handled the pacing (they did the full show) and spent the next week looking up the original cast recordings and info on the show. Its a great show and I'm kinda sad i missed it now. Hopefully it'll pass this way again on tour. 😢
I saw the show on tour and met Kristin and she’s so talented and sweet my signed playbill is one of my prized possessions that I keep with my original copies of the books
The story of this show, for me at least, just unincentivizes new, experimental, exciting and interesting shows from getting made. Critics and the people who decide the Tony nominees snubbed something that resonated with fans, brought new people to Broadway, and took an already amazing story and gave it a new dimension. What more could LT have done for these people? Gutted I've never got to see it live but I listen to the soundtrack almost daily and I still laugh and cry as much as I did when I first heard it
This video made me so nostalgic to when I saw TLT's second off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel. A moment I'll never forget is that when Percy got claimed, a little boy shouted "His dad's a fork". I remember waiting for the cast album to come out and just watching the videos of 'Good Kid' in the studio or 'Put You in Your Place' performed at a cabaret. I'm studying directing now in college and all I know is that this show is one I would love the chance to work on.
![Drive - The Lightning Thief Musical - [ANIMATIC]](/img/n.gif)
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The way the Tony voter treated this show was unforgettably reprehensible. At a time when we knew theatres were going to be dark for so long, that they intentionally left one of the only eligible shows out was nothing short of cruel. It may not be a ground breaking musical, but it’s still a great show that struck a chord with audiences. They also managed to taint Aaron Tveit’s win by leaving him as the sole nominee. What kind of achievement is that?
what the tonys did should be banned. if there are 5 spots they should be OBLIGATED to nominate to fill all spots or until there are no more elegible candidates
It's not the first time they did it, either -- Starmites was at least nominated for Best Musical in 1989, but in a year with no other original scores, it still wasn't nominated for best music & lyrics.They just didn't have that award that year.
I stopped believing in awards shows after this.
@@plapln9347 awards shows have always sucked, there's nothing objective or art-oriented about them they're just a bunch of rich famous people circlejerking each other
@@rickyricardo9710 it's always been in the back of my mind, but I didn't want to believe it, yk? I've somehow managed to ignore it and enjoy the Oscars and the Tonys but the very obvious snub of LT made me unable to pull the curtain back.
When you discussed reviewers who changed their minds on the musical, as evidenced by the reviews they wrote and published, my brain went, "You will be betrayed by one who calls you friend."
Big middle finger from the Broadway community aside, this show has been so incredibly important to me. I saw the 2017 off-Broadway production (and barely got in - tickets had been sold out on line), and I walked out thinking "I have to do this one day." Cut to 5 years later, I was approached to direct this show, and summer 2023 I was finally able to cross this dream show off my bucket list. This was one of the final shows I got to do with kids who had been in my very first production as a director, and it was so special to be able to send off so many amazing kids into the real world with this show.
I thought the Tony's treatment of The Lightning Thief was completely uncalled for. Tons of people worked incredibly hard on TLT, and it absolutely deserved the nominations, if only because there were no better options.
I used to be of the mind that shows like LT and BMC were never meant for Broadway, that something would always be lost in translation in the move from smaller off-Broadway venues. But telling this story just proves that producers and critics are determined to gatekeep Broadway. We all understand that Broadway is a business, but the deliberate sabotage of shows like this and the greed of producers keeps young, willing, enthusiastic audiences away. Adoring fans who never got to see this show with their own eyes are the same ones who couldn't afford $80+ tickets. (Not to mention all the extra money you'd have to spend to get to NY/any major touring city if you don't live close by.) And sending a 50+ yr old critic to review a show that is clearly not meant for them will only result in a review bemoaning that they "didn't get it" or it was "too angsty/whiny." Broadway is trying to convince us it's out fault that the industry is faltering, that audiences are failing the art form. But the reality is, the art form has outgrown them.
I work with teens in NYC. A ton of them are fans of theater who have never gone to see a show because they can’t afford it. They live twenty minutes to a half hour on the train away. It’s ridiculous.
@@knotcoppercurls why the west end is far superior to broadway imo
If in 30 years time, they'll be op-eds on "why aren't there new young librettists/composers/stories on Broadway"... Well, we can't say it wasn't self-inflicted
The tonys didnt nominate TLT 100% so they wouldnt be allowed to perform. It was punishment. They wanted to make the show disappear.
But then it basically made a fandom rise from the dead, and in turn, greenlit a Disney+ series
The snub from the Tony's still makes my blood BOIL. Truly "godlike" behavior from the Tonys board.
I love how intertwined this is with Be More Chill, they're like the two little musicals that could 🥺🥺🥺 Also it just goes to show how little critics understand about good theater - just because something is campy doesn't mean it's bad!
Be More Chill is actually bad though, and not because it's campy. The characters are generic archetypes, the story is a weird mix of high-school cliches and science fiction cliches that don't mix well, it's almost never funny, and the lyrics are absolutely abysmal
it was honestly so foul for the tony awards to leave out the lightning thief the way they did. i understand the show wouldn't have gotten a nomination in a normal year, but in a year where it was one of the only eligible shows, it just felt petty and in bad faith. especially in a year that needed unity and positivity as much as it did. the lightning thief didn't have to win anything, but i think chris should've gotten that shout out, it genuinely wouldn't have done any harm. this show was clearly a product of love and it had so much heart, i will always love it for that.
In my directing class fall 2022 I mentioned The Lightning Thief as part of my “musical Mount Rushmore”(aka top musicals) and our adjunct professor said “oh I know Rob! We’re great friends” and I have never experienced a greater fan girl moment than knowing how close I was connected to one of my favorite musicals ever. I simply have a thing for rock musicals and The Lightning Thief has been such an insane part of my theatre journey, getting into it when it was off Broadway, before it was Broadway bound
how i wish you could have said "then she introduced us" but either way i can imagine your excitement! great stuff
I also took a directing class fall 2022 at my university lol, but my Mount Rushmore of musical is definitely fun home, legally blonde, next to normal, and & pippin (with American Psycho & Hedwig holding an honorable mention)
Rob Rokicki is a super talent. His story in regard to this show, and how the pieces fell into place for him after the scuttling of Pump Boys and Dinettes is an example of one of those situations where you can’t always connect the dots until hindsight.
And it’s not just lyrically that the songs shine, it’s also melodically. The way certain melodies and riffs are reprised throughout the show make them even more powerful. I get goosebumps during Last Day of Summer when Luke reprises Good Kid. Percy singing something very similar to Luke’s part in Their Sign during Drive needs to be talked about more often, I think. The “they never listen to me, they never listen” works its way into many of the songs as well, and even though all of the songs are distinct from each other, they feel uniform and made for each other. It is a truly wonderful musical, one of my favorites of all time.
If nothing else, Im glad My Grand Plan wasn’t cut, since it gives us ladies a new audition song!
I've been a Percy Jackson fan since I was about 10. I'm 21 now, and this musical is so important to me. It was the first musical I ever watched, and I thought it was absolutely fantastic. I remember watching it on stage and just wanting to cry because I finally got to see a worthwhile visual representation of a character I've loved for years.
Omigosh same hat! I got into books when i was about 12 and now im also 21 and TLT was the first musical i ever saw live!
Let's go, twinning! I also actually met my best friend online on a Percy Jackson forum haha@@summernovah
I saw a community theater production because my friend's nephew was playing Luke, and I was impressed by the show! It's fascinating to learn the production history, because I truly can't imagine the story without "Good Kid" or "My Grand Plan"
I haven't even started watching the video, but I already wanna state that this musical is one of my favorites of all time. In fact, it's also my favorite adaptation of the Percy Jackson story, Disney+ series and all. I think that's the case because the musical conveys the same feeling/message that the book series managed to get across so well: If you're one of the weird kids growing up, you're not alone. Yes, you have interests considered "weird" by your peers, you've probably been excluded from social spaces, but you're not the only one. There's a community out there for you, one that will understand you and validate you and trust you. It's a heartwarming story of acceptance, friendship and bravery. Your life might feel like a never-ending ancient greek quest, but you have people by your side that will always root for you.
I saw the musical Off-Broadway, and it was delightful. The double-casting as an obfuscation of which characters were the secret villains was brilliant.
The fact that the Tonys snubbed them was insane. This musical is so well constructed and does exactly what it set out to do
Though I never saw this show live, it's one that's very close to my heart. I've been a fan of the books since about 2009 and had recently gotten into musical theatre in 2017. I remember seeing Rick mention the musical on his twitter early that year and seeing a tweet sharing the song 'Good Kid'. I was FLOORED by how well it captured Percy's personality and perspective. I followed the show through the tour and its broadway run all the way to the disrespect of the 2020 Tonys. As someone who was studying theatre production and design at the time, one of the things that always fascinated me about the show was how they managed to do so much with so little, and the creativity that it took to portray such high levels of fantasy with such simple effects. In many ways this was the little show that could, as it did WAY more than it ever set out to do. And not only that, but as Rob points out, it's very dear to the people who do care about it. Also, one could argue that, due to the focus on getting the material out to educational settings, the show has reached much farther than many critically acclaimed broadway shows. It's a show that will always be special to me and every single person who made it possible should be proud of themselves!
“Also, Percy Jackson wasn’t written by a TERF.” Amazing. Went so hard on that delivery. I had to pause the video because that but was so good. Seriously. Paused the video on my tv so I could pull out my phone and write this comment about how hard that moment hit.
I read the books for the first time in 2018, and my incessant talking about them to friends and family meant my sister happened to get a Facebook ad for TLT the day before it came to my city. Nosebleed seats were incredibly cheap, so we thought why not? She hadn't read the books, but for a weekday night it seemed like a fun enough time. We'd assumed because of the look of the short trailer and the price of the tickets we happened to find that it would be a cheap production, but weren't put off by that.
We were BLOWN AWAY when we left the theatre! I've seen some incredible musicals, but everything about TLT was SO perfect. The low-budget look didn't feel like the result of actually having little money to fund better effects, it felt like an intentional choice to allow the audience to use their imagination. Chiron turning into a horse by just giving him a tail and having his actor prance around stage was HILARIOUS. The toilet paper rolls were so fun and a genius way to do water effects! And most of all, it felt like the most accurate version of a book adaptation I'd ever seen. Even without being able to include every plot point, it capture the essence of the Percy Jackson books so well. It got to the heart of the demigod's issues with their parents in the OPENING LINES of the play, something the movie didnt accomplish in its entirety! And it was FUN. It was campy, it was goofy, it genuinely felt like the tone of the books. We entered the theatre with tepid interest and left as die hard fans.
Even now after watching the adaptation that Rick himself spear-headed, I still think The Lightning Thief is the superior adaptation. A musical is such a good medium for an exposition-heavy story. No parts of the musical drag or feel awkward the way the show sometimes can. Plus the tone of the show has to be darker to maintain the realism and the gravity of their quest, so in choosing that direction they lose the tone and the HEART of the books as a result. Not terrible, but not done nearly as well as TLT.
The musical truly is lightning in a bottle. I'm grateful it was made.
ahh! you used my comment at 17:35!! i did in fact see that original theaterworks show at the lortel theatre. i remember it was free and the audience was mostly kids, but my friends and i loved it so much because we grew up with the books. when percy jackson fans online started to trash it bc those publicity photos came out and i was like desperate to defend it (as you can see with my embarrassingly long comment). like, you haven't seen it! the heart of the books is so, so there!
anyway, i just love this musical. one of my all time favorite stage door experiences was seeing the show on broadway years later and getting to stage door and show kristin stokes the photo we took together after the theaterworks production. it's so cool to hear someone talk about this musical and include its true humble beginnings. thanks for including me lol and for talking about this true underdog show!
Apparently I used to live under a rock, because despite being a long time Theater and Percy Jackson fan, I didn't lean about the show until mid 2020. However, the show did keep me sane during the lock down. I would make my own costume designs, and staging, and even choreograph numbers because I missed doing all that at my local youth theater. Sad to have been late to the party, but happy to be here nonetheless.
I only discovered TLT the Musical when i took my daughter to see a performance in our city last year as part of the summer children's theater program. I'm a teacher and love the books and the series was one of the first i read to her as bedtime stories. I wasn't blown away by the minimalist staging and stripped down plot of the 1 act kids version, but had thought every song had been a banger. So I started Googling, found the full soundtrack, found some performances of the full show and fan animatics, found the soundtrack as my personal bedtime soundtrack or my kids's driving almost anywhere soundtrack. Man, i just adore this show now, and I'm devastated that i won't get to see a full production. Learning that it has so much backstory is just wild.
I am a huge Percy Jackson fan so it was a complete surprise to me to learn that there was a musical, which I didnt hear about until 2021. And then, a year later, I got to perform for my first professional theatre job in a production of the Lightning Theif. It was an absolute joy to do and I had so much fun. But the best part had to be the children who came to see the show. The theatre is a very small theatre in a very small town, but we had kids come in camp Halfblood tee-shirts and other costumes. But the best memory was when a young girl came up to us and asked the cast to sign her copy of the book The Lightning Theif. I have never felt so much joy in that moment and might never again.
love your analogy of "The Broadway Gods" mistreating and looking down on the play, since this is EXACTLY how the Gods in PJO actually treats Percy... It's literally... fate.
I got to see this show 3x. First on tour at the Beacon in March 2019, then upon opening on Broadway, and finally, the closing performance in January 2020.
As someone who knows many Tony voters, it disgusted me how much the Broadway theatre community disregarded this show. The way they only nominated Aaron Tviet in a season where the only other eligible nominee would’ve been Chris McCarrell made it clear they looked down on the show. But Chris is still the best Percy we’ve ever had, and the show is still the best adaptation we’ll likely ever get.
Thanks for doing this documentary ❣️
"Also Percy Jackson wanst written by a TERF" had me CACKLING!
Yeah more along the lines of a an author with no backbone.
@@masonguthrie1257 the backbone...to be a bigot?
@@Chibbykins the backbone to at the very least stand for what you believe in but for Rowling it would be objective reality. Riordan on the other hand seems solely to just go with whatever is popular burning bridges with his own fans along the way.
@@masonguthrie1257 okay, so you're a bigot. Just say that and stop wasting everyone's time.
@@Chibbykins sure thing
I got to play Sally in this show this time last year. It was a beautiful experience, and my best friend played Percy. We were both seniors, and it was one of my favorite memories of our friendship’s history 💙
Broadway doesn’t deserve musicals like the Lightning Thief
Posting this the day before the PJ series finale on Disney+. Brilliant! 😂
It’s getting a Season 2!
As well as a high schooler who played Percy Jackson in the musical ended up being a part of the Jimmy Awards! So it made it far as well through the community!
This show deserves so much more. I genuinely think it’s a perfect piece for its intended audience
My college recently put on a production of The Lightning Thief and it was such a wonderful experience! Many of my friends were in it and they extended the run a few days since people were literally coming from OTHER STATES to see it! That’s the power of a loved story and passionate local theatre! 🖤
As someone who listens to the album on a weekly basis and works with kids, Percy Jackson has such a special place in my heart and to a lot of my students hearts. I LOVE THIS MUSICAL!!!!
This couldn't have come at a more fitting time.
I'm the Understudy for Mr. D/Ares/Minotaur in a regional production of Lightning Thief currently in tech.
They unfortunately cut a lot of the songs like DOA, Lost and the Campfire song since it's pared back the runtime for schools (and the multi-casting is switched up so that all the main kid roles are played by young performers).
But it is still so fantastic, brings back my youth discovering these books at their age and connecting with the characters and with my own struggles with Autism & ADHD.
I've followed this musical pretty much since the moment the cast album was released, it was the first professional production I EVER got to see, on the national tour in 2019. It was inspiring to little 12 year old me and Kristin Stokes' performance of My Grand Plan singlehandedly pushed me to pursue being an actor. After watching this show have so many ups and downs, I FINALLY got to be in a community theatre production of it, and it was an absolutely dream come true. Rob Rokicki was nice enough to wish our cast a happy opening via video message, which made made my entire year. This show is a beautiful, passionate, and campy production that changed SO MANY LIVES. I'm so grateful for this show accurately representing characters I have loved and related to for so long, and I am so grateful for this video covering it! Watching this made me relive every emotion I felt watching this shows journey unfold, and taught me new things I didn't even know went into the production, so thank you!!
I was able to see the off Broadway and touring versions of the show and I was so happy and immersed in the show each time. Truly an amazing adaptation of the source material. I went to school at the same time as Chris McCarrell and he has friends in the Ohio theatee community, so its always lovely to see him get recognition, even though the Tony's were ridiculous in overlooking all of them. Chris was also in Great Comet in Cleevland last year and was FANTASTIC.
I was lucky enough to go see a production of The Lightning Thief at Baldwin Wallace that Chris himself directed! It was so magical seeing this show live and knowing that Percy himself had a hand in it haha ❤️
Mx. Thief is fully the reason we have a TV show.
I discovered the musical because I was reading the The Lighting Thief for English class in 6th grade. I always saw the poster for the musical on my old subway stop. When quarantine started I decided to continue reading the PJO franchise. I manged to read Sea of Monsters within two weeks and I finished the PJO series by the end of that summer. I started listening to the cast recording during quarantine because I hated the movie version. The Percy Jackson musical and Mean Girls the musical made discover my love of musical theater. My Grand Plan is my favorite song from the musical because I related a lot to Annabeth. Especially in 6th grade when I first read the book because I was going through similar stuff she went through. I'm really glad that they didn't cut "My Grand Plan" and "Good Kid" because I think they accurately represent both character. It's disappointing that the Tony's didn't want to nominate the show because producers always talk about how they want new and creative show but don't like it when these shows make it to Broadway. I understand that only a few shows were eligible for the Tonys that year but still not nominate the Lighting Thief was rude. The fact that they change an either category to make sure the Lighting Thief wasn't eligible. It wasn't fair to Aaron Tveit to be the only nominee for Best Leading Actor that year. Yes, he deserve the Tony especially after many years on Broadway but for him to be the only nominee doesn't seem fair. Either way nominating Chris McCarell wouldn't effect who they picked for the Tony. Anyways, I hope with the new tv-show more people discover the musical. It's nice knowing that the actor who plays Grover in the tv-show (Aryan Simhadri) has listen to the musical. I was 12 years old when I first read the Lighting Thief book and I'm 16 on 17 years old watching the new tv-show. I love the tv show but it'll always be the musical version who I truly love.
The Lightning Thief is such an important musical for me. You can tell how much soul and love was put on this production. Rob Rokicki has been on my spotify wrapped two years in a row due to how much I listen to the cast recording. Glad to see it here!
I'm so glad you covered this show! It's one of my favorites, and I'm so glad to see a deep-dive into the people who made it possible. The Lightning Thief to me proves, yet again, that what really makes a show beautiful is the heart of the people behind it, the love that the writers, cast, and crew have for it, rather than big-budget sets, Tony nominations, and rave critic reviews.
I’m at LEAST equally excited for this as the actual finale
"Also Percy Jackson wasn't written by a TERF."
Thank you.
As a trans woman who was a Harry Potter superfan and still loves The Wizarding World at Universal Studos, I can't express how disappointing it is to have a woman you admired devote her entire recent career to spreading dangerous misinformation about my community. I wish I could be as in love with the franchise now as I was years ago, but knowing SHE gets a percentage of merch sales just ruins it for me.
I was never a huge Harry Potter fan but it's been encouraging to see so many people switch to fanworks instead of supporting the horrible author. The fanfiction and fanart communities are still thriving, but almost everyone I've spoken to who's a fan tells me they refuse to spend any money on the series anymore. It really sucks to have her taint the series for so many people who grew up loving it.
@@puppykitten1557 that is always nice to see. I'm all about supporting independent artists. And I love seeing the beautiful creations that have come from the fandom.That's how I looked at Wizarding World when I lived in Florida. That real world place is designed, built, and run by artists and Team Members that refer to JK as "She Who Must Not Be Named". I can still appreciate their hard work while I wear my trans pride colors to the parks!
@@puppykitten1557 Most of my friends and family who still like Harry Potter kinda just brush over it cus they refuse to understand that it wasn't JUST some tweets. She actively financially endorses TERFs and her books and Ugh. Doesn't help that I keep getting deadnamed
@@CommanderLexaa I'm sorry, that really sucks :( I have family who still supports Andrew Tate because "he's right sometimes" so I get it.
This musical means so much to me, and I never really knew the history of it before. I first heard this musical in middle school and waited for the off-broadway tour and was lucky enough to see it life when it came to my city. It was my first time really seeing a show at that scale, and it was amazing. I carried the songs with me, and had the opportunity to do it as my spring show my senior year of high school. Production was a mess, but in the end, it was incredible. I got to perform my favorite musical with some of my closest friends, and it was such an honor. I love this musical so dearly, it was so amazing to learn about it's roots. I hid the quote "as long as you are here with me" on my graduation cap :)
this musical has been my dream to do this show for a few years now. my dream role was annabeth. recently, i found a local theatre doing the lighting thief. i immediately joined. it was my first musical with that program. to my surprise, i was cast as annabeth. the show is coming to and end, and the whole time, i felt like i was living in a dream. i made so many friends, all of them loving percy jackson like i did. this musical is one of my all time favorites, even though it’s not as popular.
I saw this play once in Boston, as a long time fan of the Percy Jackson series it was so fun to watch! You’re right, I think this musical captured some of that core energy of sassy, rebellious Percy Jackson.
i listened to this soundtrack so much in 2020 that rob was my top spotify artist😭 he got snubbed so hard, this music has so much heart (AND THE MOTIFS ARE SO!!! GOOD!!)
We saw it in San Jose and had zero expectations but walked away loving it. Still one of the best shows we've seen (and we have annual season tickets to Broadway SF, so...)
I remember seeing the lightning thief musical for the first time when I was 8 at the Westport Playhouse. It changed my life. In 2020, I had the incredible opportunity of seeing it on Broadway the night before it closed. It was a fantastic production. I am a freshman in college now, and for my senior year show in high school, I got to perform as Luke Castellan in my high school’s production of the Lightning Thief the Musical. This show, and the books behind it, have followed me through every step of my life, and have changed the world for me.
I love this musical so much, I’m glad it’s getting the recognition it deserves!!
Percy Jackson has factored into major moments of my life. The first 5 books when I was young, the movie tickets as a birthday present one year, a series I bonded over with my niece and the fandom a source of friendships. 15 or more books over 20 or more years. "Bring on the monsters" was the quote on my college graduation cap, Drive was on loop as I entered the unknown. For me, The Sun and the Star was a gentle goodbye, and the musical's soundtrack will always be on my playlists. I was so glad I got to see the show, and in hindsight I'm glad I was able to support the people who created it. I've long outgrown the books, but the story and characters will stay with me through the memories, art and music even if I never reread The Lightning Thief itself. I hope that, over time, the musical will be appreciated for how much it was able to accomplish against all odds rather than the backlash that success drew from gatekeeping elitists.
thank you so so much for covering this musical!!! it is one of my favorite book adaptations into any medium, and i still stream the cast recording like it's my job. i was able to see it three times in three different venues and i would happily do it all over again! it was a musical for fans and for musical theatre lovers, and it rightfully shined a light on the beauty of TYA.
this musical will forever hold such a special place in my heart. when i was in 10th grade, my school did it as our fall musical, and i had probably the most fun i have ever had. this show is so wonderfully over-the-top, hilarious, campy, and all of the songs absolutely slap. the friends i made in it and the confidence i gained through performing in it are both something i will never forget, and getting to swordfight my friends, be stabbed, get toilet-papered, and run around like an idiot singing and dancing for 2 hours will forever be the highlight of my life for the forseeable future.
I was in high school when the original 1-hour version of the musical premiered off Broadway and I remember my friend and I making the 1 hr+ long trek from Queens all the way there to see the musical. We fell in love instantly and came back twice more with more friends to see it. We were in high school but we were the oldest people in the audience full of elementary and middle schoolers. I remember at the merch table they were selling hardcover copies of the “Percy Jackson Greek Gods” companion books SIGNED by Rick Riordan and I got myself a copy.
Saw the musical on tour, and then once more in its 2 hour iteration. I missed it on Broadway, and felt it to be a little bit of a misguided move considering the “stiff upper lip” attitude Broadway brings, but to see the harsh reviews and the complete shutout by the Tony awards was truly egregious and heartbreaking. Just because the musical was not “conventionally Broadway,” it doesn’t mean it wasn’t good. Chris McCarrell most definitely deserved a nomination as did the Rob and the rest of the cast and creatives. The elitism was disgusting and disheartening to witness
I cant believe that people who worked on BMC also worked on the TLT musical, I love the musical so much
I love your channel so much! You’re like the Defunctland of musical theatre.
As someone who works at Theaterworks USA, seeing this video from one of my favorite theatre creators was surreal and not unwelcome.
Thank you for your work.
I regret everyday not finding a way to see the musical on broadway but I was only in hs but I still listen to it now and get flash backs to middle school it’s a happy Memory
I just started rehearsals for this show and I am BEYOND stoked. such a great show
I wanna thank you for making this video. I've learned so much about the early days of this musical. As an avid PJO fan, this musical means so much to me and I didn't know much about the early days of the original iteration. I was there exactly a month before the Broadway show closing and it was not a packed house. Most of the audience for the matinee were school kids who were put up into the balcony. My seat was great and I loved it, but I could have easily moved myself up to the front row cause no one was sitting there. Which made me sad to see honestly. I'm glad to see that once winter breakers started trickling in, that ticket sales grew in the last few weeks though.
I remember being EXTREMELY disappointed in the Tony nomination snub. They made it extremely obvious that TLT got snubbed. Now if 2020 had been a normal year, I don't think any of us would have been upset at the snub, but because there was only 4 eligible musicals, it made it extremely obvious. I applaud the twitter account and the actors for not being upset and telling us that it was fine, but still.
The where are they now bit at the end made me really emotional. What a wonderful story
I’ve been a massive Percy Jackson fan for years now and the musical is just so important to me. I was surprised to hear that both Joe and Rob wrote samples that would eventually become “Strong” - back when there were only a few concert performances of this show on TH-cam, that was the song I gravitated to. It displayed an incredible understanding of the heart of the story, something that the movies never accomplished. And when they announced the full length musical and released that video of Chris singing “Good Kid” - all I did was watch it on repeat. The song encapsulated Percy’s character more than both movies did. I saw it off Broadway and it was different from regular musicals because of the budget, sure, but it added so many details that were FOR the fans, and I appreciated that so so much. You could tell that the creators put a lot of care into making a good adaptation. I almost wish it had stayed off Broadway and continued to be a secret for the fans, because the way it was treated by reviewers and at the Tony awards was so disappointing.
I was lucky enough to see this show on Broadway, it’s one of my favorite experiences❤
When I knew that they were doing a musical of this book I was really afraid that it was going to be like the movies all over again. But I was surprised and happy when I listened to the album and watched the bootleg. You can tell they made the musical with love. Got a lot of respect for all this team ❤
I just started reading the books. They're honestly really good and a lot of fun, but I'm such an adult now because I keep going 'Zeus, why do you keep hiring the worst people to look after children!?"
I am glad that kids were able to have fun with this.
The more of these videos I watch, the more I feel like the NYT just loves killing underdogs in theatre
I was lucky enough to see the show in April of 2019 and I have held it near and dear to my heart ever since I first heard the cast album in my sophomore year at the age of 17. I will forever love Rob Rokicki simply for the fact that when I went to the show I was close to the back of the ground level of the theater by the tech board, and at one point during Another Terrible Day I looked over and saw that he was just sitting in one of the unfilled seats in front of the board, watching the show. He stayed there the entire show.
As a 22 year old in my very last quarter of undergrad as creative writer, I still deeply admire that moment because of the clear, heartfelt love for his creation. As any creative knows, your work is like your baby and I so much appreciate that even on what must of been for the upteenth time he still chose to see it, listen to, hear the reactions of the crowd. That's real love. And that, I think, is the dedication that comes across in his parts of this video. Truely a gem of a person.
This musical has to be one of my FAVORITES! I'm an advid and hardcore Percy Jackson fan and I'll admit, i was skeptical at first. I came across the cast recording on youtube one day and decided to give it a shot and i never turned back. It covered the book so well and everyone was phenomenal! It is a shame and frankly appalling that the Tony's and Broadway had such criticism to it and cut it out of many nominations. I'm glad to see that it did well anyway and that many fans, such as I, enjoyed it.
Just my two cents…
When I first saw the Lightning Thief I thought, “The music and lyrics aren’t that great but I still find this story very engaging…probably says more about choosing a good story to adapt than it does about writing a good musical.”
I got to see the Lightning Thief musical for my birthday when it toured (thanks, mom!), and it was the first musical i ever saw in person. Its such a good and fun musical, i still love it to pieces and it will forever hold a special place in my heart (as will the tshirt that i now use as a pajama shirt)
Will say tho, i never even knew it went on Broadway, but im absolutely glad they did!
"also percy jackson wasn't written by a terf" had me choking on my food lmao
Do a video on critics, where they came from, why they're deemed necessary, why they get so much power, and why the ones on Broadway are so harsh.
Dude I had NO idea!!!! this video is so good!!! it makes me want to cry. The teather gods of Broadway can say whatever they wish, the lightning thief is immortalized in the hearts and minds of many, many of these so called "whiny teenagers" who are after all, the future.
I got to see this show twice on the pre-Broadway tour, and it's still one of my faves! I was sad to miss it on Broadway by a few weeks.
I saw this musical 20 times in that 16 week run. It holds such a special place in my heart
Thank you for your time and effort in recounting the trials and tribulations of this show. Definitely made me tear up and reach quickly for the soundtrack. I hope someday I will get to see it staged (or maybe get to be apart of it)
2 years ago, I was in the Percy Jackson Musical for my high school. I was cast as Poseidon, and I remember how fun not just the performances were, but rehearsals too. This year, my school is doing Seussical, and I am cast as the General. This musical has so many fun songs, interesting characters, and tells a great story. Thank you TheaterWorks.
i’ve been a huge fan of percy jackson for a little over 8 years now and got to see the show during the 2019 tour as a birthday surprise. my bring on the monsters shirt that i got from that show is really faded now but i’m wearing for the show’s season one finale tonight. these books and this show mean so much to me and the show deserved so much more than it got.
edit: also forgot to mention that the program i got from the tour resides in my percy jackson shrine :))
I loved hearing the whole story behind this show! I saw it on tour and it's still one of my favorite musicals of all time. They adapted the story so well with the same humor and heart as the book that even the TV show didn't fully hit to me. I have so much love and appreciation for this musical and all who worked on it! This video also reminded me how upsetting the Tony's snub was omg
I got to see this in high school when it was off-broadway and it was my favorite thing in the world, I got pics with the cast after and I had a countdown to when they finally released the cast recording, it was just such a fun show
that’s my great aunt!!! so proud of her and of course saw the 1hr version, expanded one, and broadway run! as a huge pjo fan (and bmc) i basically peed my pants out of excitement every time she updated me
I saw the musical on tour in 2019 and it became everything to me. When they announced their Broadway run I knew I had to go support them. I’d never been to New York so it was my first show to see on Broadway. It was December 2019 and such an amazing time ♡ I love this musical so much and it will forever hold a piece of my heart.
I’ve been in this musical twice at two different theaters portraying Grover and I have to say that they were great experiences. I love this musical so much
i got to see TLT three times, twice on tour in Philly and tampa, and once on broadway. this show means so much to me! it's my favorite show, and I got to make so many friends because of it. i even got to go on stage after the show on bway!
I haven't been lucky enough to see a production of this show, community production or otherwise, but I work with a local community theater group that just did our first musical this year (historically we've done mostly Shakespeare, so it was a big change for us.) I've pitched that we do The Lightning Thief here in a couple years, and so far everyone is on board. I look forward to being part of this story, sooner or later!
this was such a great video!! i loved the lightning thief musical back in its heyday and it was such a rollercoaster to be a fan back then. really really nice to hear more about its origins and behind the scenes, i didn't know a lot of that - and it was so good to see the cast and creatives interviews as well. really made me feel like i was reliving that time of my life all over again. i'm gonna go listen to the cast album for the first time in a while :) have a great day!
edit: just remembered i wanted to mention the tonys snub. what an outrageous time that was to be not just a tlt fan, but a musical theatre fan in general.
TLT is one of my favorite musicals of all time and even though it got screwed over by the Tony's, I'm still so amazed to see the journey it has gone on. One of my local community theatres is putting it on, and I even got cast to play Mr. D
The Lightning Thief is genuinely my favourite musical of all time, i just love everything about it so much. Absolutely cannot believe it wasn't nominated for a single tony. Absolute robbery, especially Rokicki and Chris McCarrel who imho easily should've won.
oh wow, this was such a trip down memory lane. i loved LOVED this show in high school, BMC too. I saw TLTM 3 times- once off broadway, once on tour, once on bway. saw BMC a couple times too- once on tour and once on bway i think. i was exactly the target audience, and i ate this stuff UP! i had a tumblr friend who I’d met through Percy Jackson fandom, and we’d known each other for years but the first time we ever met in person was when we both travelled to NYC to see TLTM together… good times.
i remember during the pandemic watching the tony noms eagerly waiting for Chris to get his due- I was so so upset with the snub!! it just felt so intentional with so few eligible shows…
somehow even though i was obsessed with both TLTM and BMC in high school i somehow didn’t realize they had a similar creative team!! this was a great doc about this show, made me feel like i was in sophomore year of high school again lol! i’m now about to graduate from college, but these shows will always mean so much to me and so strongly define a period of time in my life- thank you for giving this show some attention that it deserves!!!! ❤️❤️❤️🔱
Rob rockiki is so talented, I hope he gets his flowers soon
As a Percy Jackson super-fan, I already knew most of this information, but the care with which you researched it and the joy presented it with had me reacting and smiling as if I was hearing it for the first time. Great work!
I saw this musical on tour when I was 20, and although I’d been listening to the album for years and had seen many bigger broadway tours, watching TLT moved me so much. I cried at the end, and I was just so happy to watch such a fun show in a crowd of people who loved Percy Jackson as much as I did.
Having been burned by the movie, i admit I was one of those who saw the simple advertisement when it came to my area telling the dates and thought "Sheesh, they really will make a musical version of anything" and blew it off. I only saw it last year as a high school production and suddenly fell in love with the music and effects and how they handled the pacing (they did the full show) and spent the next week looking up the original cast recordings and info on the show. Its a great show and I'm kinda sad i missed it now. Hopefully it'll pass this way again on tour. 😢
This is my favorite musical. Thank you for making this video!
I saw the show on tour and met Kristin and she’s so talented and sweet my signed playbill is one of my prized possessions that I keep with my original copies of the books
The story of this show, for me at least, just unincentivizes new, experimental, exciting and interesting shows from getting made. Critics and the people who decide the Tony nominees snubbed something that resonated with fans, brought new people to Broadway, and took an already amazing story and gave it a new dimension. What more could LT have done for these people?
Gutted I've never got to see it live but I listen to the soundtrack almost daily and I still laugh and cry as much as I did when I first heard it
omg!!! you got interviews with almost everybody hahah this docs are better and better
This video made me so nostalgic to when I saw TLT's second off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel. A moment I'll never forget is that when Percy got claimed, a little boy shouted "His dad's a fork". I remember waiting for the cast album to come out and just watching the videos of 'Good Kid' in the studio or 'Put You in Your Place' performed at a cabaret. I'm studying directing now in college and all I know is that this show is one I would love the chance to work on.
Some resentment? That's the understatement of the century.