The musical was part of the youth series at the Reg.

“We are so excited that we get the opportunity to come and see The Lightning Thief performance. We read the book in class this year. The children area really stoked,” said Kelly Cardinale, a sixth grade English Language Arts teacher at Persell Middle School in Jamestown.

Coupled with reading the book by author Rick Riordan, Cardinale said the students also enjoyed studying Greek mythology as it related to characters in the book and musical.

“It’s really exciting,” said Krista Dunlap, a student in Cardinale’s class, about the book.

From left Krista Dunlap, Evangeline Augue, and Tegan Laster, students in Kelly Cardinale’s sixth grade English Language Arts class at Persell Middle School, get ready to watch “The Lightning Thief.”

Dunlap’s classmates, Evangeline Auge and Tegan Laster, agreed.

“I though it was a really good book — good plot,” Laster said.

Laster added that she was waiting for the musical to begin.

The musical, like the book, tells how Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, is about to be kicked out of school. He attends Camp Half-Blood and learns of his identity. That’s the least of his troubles as Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy has 10 days to catch the true thief, solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend. He must embark on a journey to find the lighting bolt, and prevent a war among the gods.

Minutes before the lights went down, students began cheering in anticipation of the start.

The set used for “The Lightning Thief” performance at The Reg Lenna. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

“The Lightning Thief” is produced by ThetareWorksUSA, a not-for-profit theater company based in New York City.

According to its website twusa.org, “We bring our theatrical productions to venues across the country for school-time and public performances. In-depth study guides are provided for each show, offering suggestions for activities and discussions that meet classroom learning goals.” The website also noted that the running time is about 60 minutes, and there curriculum connections for schools including communication and ELA, music, science, and social studies. Themes explored are Greek mythology, identity, family, tradition, friendship and compassion.

The book was written by Joe Tracz, and music and lyrics were written by Rob Rokicki. The cast includes Ciera Muhammad as Annabeth, Paul Naidas as Mr. Brunner and others, Justin Barret as Grover and others, Eric Christopher Barnum as Luke and others, Giancarlo Osario, as Percy Jackson, and Genesis Freytes Alvarez as Sally and others.