“The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical" at the Timber Lake Playhouse -- May 12 through 14.
Friday, May 12, through Sunday, May 14
Timber Lake Playhouse, 8215 Black Oak Road, Mt. Carroll IL
With Time Out describing the show as “worthy of the gods,” the stage adaptation of Rick Riordan's popular book series opens the Timber Lake Playhouse's 2023 season in the 2019 Broadway spectacle The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, its May 12 through 14 Mt. Carroll run sure to demonstrate why The Hollywood Reporter raved that this family entertainment “provides an excellent if irreverent introduction to Greek mythology.”
In the musical tale of The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson is a teenage boy who always seems to get into trouble, no matter how hard he tries to be good. When he is expelled from school for the sixth time, his mother decides that it is time for Percy to know the truth: The Greek gods are real and, what’s more, Percy is a demigod, the son of Poseidon. Along with fellow demigod Annabeth (the daughter of Athena) and best friend and protector Grover (who happens to be a Satyr), Percy must go on an epic quest to retrieve Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt and prevent war amongst the gods. The quest turns into an epic adventure, with the Furies, Medusa, and the god of war Ares among those wanting to stop Percy in his tracks. With time running out, Percy soon discovers that nothing is normal when you’re a demigod.
Boasting more than 100 million copies of the book series sold worldwide, the global phenomenon of Riordan's Percy Jackson series has found a new home on the live stage in what Theater Mania called a "mesmerizing" theatrical event that proves "lightning can strike twice." Following a sold-out run in New York City, where it garnered three Drama Desk Award nominations including Best Musical, The Lightning Thief is now set to rock the Timber Lake Playhouse as the first mainstage show of the theatre's 2023 season.
“We have wanted to produce Lightning Thief at TLP for some time now,” said the venue's Executive Director Dan Danielowski. “When I heard that Western Michigan University had done the show last fall, I reached out to Jay (Berkow, a WMU theatre professor) and we started working out the details.” The production will feature Western Michigan performers and be directed by Berkow, whose area productions have ranged from Oklahoma! at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse to last summer's Calendar Girls at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre, where Berkow formerly served as artistic director.
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical will run at the Mt. Carroll Theatre from May 12 through 14, with performances on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is $20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (815)244-2035 and visiting TimberLakePlayhouse.org.
