Waterloo Community Playhouse/Black Hawk Children’s Theatre’s newest musical production The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical adapts the popular young adult fantasy book series about a teenager who finds out the father he’s never met is one of the Greek gods — “the ones we learned about in school (and then ignored),” to paraphrase one of the opening lyrics.
This is a “theatre for young audiences” edition of the story, and runs in two acts of 35-45 minutes each, making it a family friendly outing for even the youngest theater-goers. On opening night, Hope Martin Theatre at the Waterloo Center for the Arts was a packed with a supportive crowd for these young performers.
Henry Castle and Natalie Kettle performing. — photo by Zoe Castle, courtesy of Waterloo Community Playhouse/ Black Hawk Children’s Theatre 
Kaia Bartlett and Sailor White and performing. — photo by Zoe Castle, courtesy of Waterloo Community Playhouse/ Black Hawk Children’s Theatre 
Kate Conrad and Henry Castle performing. — photo by Zoe Castle, courtesy of Waterloo Community Playhouse/ Black Hawk Children’s Theatre 
The Full Cast of the Lightning Thief — photo by Zoe Castle, courtesy of Waterloo Community Playhouse/ Black Hawk Children’s Theatre
After titular character Percy Jackson (Henry Castle) is expelled from yet another school after fighting off a monster from Greek legend on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his mother (Natalie Kettle) encourages him by singing a song about how differences make us stronger, and “normal is a myth.” The song ends beautifully in a duet with Castle and Kettle, their clear and tuneful harmony rounding out a message of self-acceptance, and the understanding that “everyone has issues that they’re dealing with.” Later in the play, this message is reinforced when Percy’s ADHD and dyslexia are revealed to be “battle instincts” and “an aptitude for ancient Greek,” respectively — traits that are shared by the other children of gods at Camp Half-Blood.
In the same way the right context turns a bug into a feature, the familiarity of the “young hero called to a quest” storyline is what gives the play a solid foundation on which to add humor, magic and colorful figures from mythology. The production has practical effects that surprised and delighted the audience on Friday night, and showed particular creativity in costuming the wonderful Molinaro-Blonigan as a centaur on stage. This costume was revealed to applause, and was enhanced by Molinaro-Blonigan’s excellent comedic sense — also appreciated in his second role as “chill dude” Poseidon.
Other monsters of mythic extraction include Medusa (played perfectly creepy by Erin Aissen), and the terrifying cyclops and minotaur.
This musical also features a classic American road trip to Los Angeles via buses, Uber and the motorcycle of Ares, god of war/tough biker guy. Both Ares and his daughter are played by Selah Grace Hess, who deserves particular props for playing the two with so much energy and verve.
Another standout from last night was Elle Smith, who made her BHCT debut as Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena and a “smart girl” who strives for perfection. The “trio” scenes with Percy, Annabeth and Percy’s best friend, the satyr Grover (Sailor White), are among the best performed in the play.
Between lighting design that brings the audience to the ocean, two moving cars and costuming creatures, the production team worked hard to make this musical surprising and exciting. “Props” to all the creatives behind the scenes who designed and made these creatures come to life! There are a number of big, clear voices for this musical beyond what I’ve highlighted here, and the large-group choreography and commitment to onstage fight scenes show the dedication of this young company. It’s a great family friendly outing in the Cedar Valley.
Upcoming performances:
Waterloo | Waterloo Community Playhouse Hope Martin Stage | Fri-Sun, Jan. 31-Feb. 2, various times
