The beloved Percy Jackson series written by Rick Riordan has a musical adaptation which the Triton Theater presented last week.
Greek Gods and Monsters alike took the stage in this year’s musical. Mrs. Natalie Safley, the director of the Triton Theater, was very excited about presenting this year’s play.
“I wanted the actors to look like they were taken off the page,” Safley said.
Safley’s presentation of the musical was light-hearted and fun, with a great set and enthusiastic actors. Safely is already looking forward to future shows and introducing more of Triton’s students to theater.
“There is always room for more theater kids… I would encourage more students to join,” Safely said. “There are many things to do when you join theater, such as being a set designer or working in sound effects. You can be involved in theater and not be on the stage.” Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif is about a teenage boy named Percy who finds himself getting attacked by his former math teacher who turns out to be one of Hades’ furies Alecto. She accuses him of stealing Zeus’s Grand Lightning Bolt. Percy has no idea what is going on and is shocked to find that his best friend Grover is a Satyre tasked with defending and guiding him. Grover then takes him to Camp Half-Blood a place for Greek Demigods. On the way there Percy’s mom is taken prisoner by the Minotaur sent by Hades God of the Underworld. At Camp Half-blood Percy learns that his Father is Poseidon god of the sea. Percy then receives a prophecy from the Oracle to retrieve the GrandBolt and so he chooses Grover and a girl named Annabeth Chase daughter of Athena to aid him on his quest.
Being in theater is a fun use of time as well as a great opportunity to make friends and learn new skills.
Junior Alex Burns was definitely the most enthusiastic about the play. He had three roles to play and was very important to the plot.
“I got to play the minotaur, Auntee M, who is really Medusa, and as a camper,” Alex said jubilantly. “Medusa is totally definitely my favorite character to play!”
Burns had great costumes. His minotaur head was very well made and his performance was great as he charged at the protagonists. When he played Medusa, his snake hair looked convincing and his acting was phenomenal.
All of the student actors have great things to say about theater. Many of them wish to continue acting through college and as a career.
Junior Danny Jones played Grover Underwood and he had a great time. His character and performance certainly got the most laughs from the audience.
“I absolutely enjoy playing Grover. He is a riot to play. I have a pan flute but I don’t know how to play it. It’s very fun but very sweaty because of my fur goat legs.” Jones said
Sophomore Chole Belson, as Mrs. Dodds, loved her role as one of Hades’ Furies and this love for her role can be seen when she fights Percy Jackson (senior Aidan Coates).
“I have wings that I really like and I like having the solos,” Belson said
Sophomore Lucy Remignanti, who played Sally Jackson, loves everything about the Percy Jackson Musical and hopes to further her career in acting.
“I Love the Percy Jackson Series and I actually love my costume too. I hope to become an actor when I grow up.” Remignanti said.
Senior Izzy Turner who played Clarisse La Rue embodied her character on stage.
“It’s fun to be the villain,” Turner said.
Junior Grace Alcaraz who played Annabeth Chase had a lot of stage time to do what she loves.
“I love performing and singing,” Alcaraz said.
But Theater is not all about the actors. Behind the scenes, personnel are equally important to make the show go on. Junior Autumn Lavalley is in charge of the lighting during the show and junior Josh Berger works on sound effects. Both of them had friends in the play and wanted to join but did not want to act on stage. They also were keen on honing their skills in software and stage equipment.
“I had a lot of friends who were in the show and I wanted to be a part of it,” Lavalley said.
“Yeah, it’s been challenging but rewarding. Learning to problem solve and learning to use the software is helpful,” Berger remarked.
If theater looks fun to you and you wish to join whether to act or be a part of a new group. Contact Natalie Safley at [email protected] and partake in the next play presented here at Triton.
