The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets

70%

(259 Reviews)

Positive

64%

Mixed

24%

Negative

12%

Members say

Entertaining, Funny, Quirky, Clever, Great singing

About the Show

Director Stephen Brackett ("A Strange Loop") and book writer Joe Tracz bring Rick Riordan's bestselling young-adult fantasy novel to Broadway in this action-packed musical adaptation.

From the show:

As a son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson has newly discovered powers he can’t control, monsters on his trail, and is on a quest to find Zeus’ lightning bolt to prevent a war between the Greek gods. Based on the best-selling novel by Rick Riordan and featuring a thrilling original rock score, with an onstage company of seven playing more than 47 characters, "The Lightning Thief" is an action-packed theatrical adventure about accepting that normal is a myth and embracing the superpowers inside all of us.

Member Reviews (259)

Strong lead players, Young, Fun, Unrwemarkable

See it if you'd like to see a fun (if not quite exciting) musical journey that draws on Greek myth & kid culture.

Don't see it if you want to be consistently excited or surprised. Read more

Thought-provoking, Great singing, Funny, Entertaining

See it if SOME GREAT YOUNG TALENT,. A WINNER FOR TEENAGERS WHO GREW UP WITH THE BOOK,

Don't see it if SET IS MINIMAL. APPEAL TO OLDER AUDIENCE NOT AS STRONG

Critic Reviews (20)

"‘The Lightning Thief,’ a Far Cry From Olympus: A musical adaptation of the popular fantasy novel comes to Broadway and goes to Hades."
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2/5 Stars "While those young theatergoers can fill in any missing details from memory, the challenge of turning a YA bildungsroman full of epic battles and road trips...into a musical has overwhelmed the creative team. In staying faithful to the novel, they've wound up with a mess."
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"Teen Perseus Alights on West 48th in 'The Lightning Thief'"
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"The new musical by 'Be More Chill' author Joe Tracz and composer Rob Rokicki adapts the first book in Rick Riordan's best-selling YA fantasy series."
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Grade: B- "'The Lightning Thief' musical is mythic fun that lacks range"
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"The packed narrative may be child’s play for fans of Rick Riordan’s 2005 book — and there were plenty of enthusiasts in the audience on a recent night at the Longacre Theater, where the musical is having a limited run — but others will find the show and the bare-bones production simply myth-begotten."
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"Percy Jackson Musical Teases Gods And Monsters"
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"'The Lightning Thief’ opens on Broadway, all just flash and fun."
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"'The Lightning Thief' Gets Thrown Into the Deep End on Broadway" Following a national tour, Percy Jackson makes his Broadway debut at the Longacre Theatre."
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"Teenage Demigods On A Quest in 'THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL'"
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"The show is aimed squarely at the 7-10 age group, with barely a nod or a wink for the adults in attendance."
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2/5 Stars: "A tiresome, overlong, patchy, tuner. 'The Lightning Thief' makes 'Be More Chill' look like Der Rosenkavalier."
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3/5 Stars: "The team behind Percy Jackson knows and frequently charms its audience-even if its call to fight the darker creatures that lurk within and outside us has been delivered many times with more imagination"
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"A teen-oriented musical grows too big for its britches."
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"‘The Lightning Thief’ inventively reveals the demigods among us"
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"For those of us who saw the show previously, Stephen Brackett has redirected it so that it has lost all its charm as it attempts to intensify its effects for the Broadway stage. Using four of the original Off Broadway actors and three new ones, the teen characters are now pushing too hard."
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"Whatever minor flaws it displayed at the…Lortel…where they were part of its charm, have been magnified in the Longacre's oddly charmless production…It now seems egregiously juvenile, aimed mainly at restless youngsters while ignoring their parents…Lightning does not strike twice."
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"If you had told me at age 12 that my two favorite literary protagonists - Harry Potter and Percy Jackson - would be headlining Broadway shows side-by-side in less than 15 years, I can't imagine I would have believed you."
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"I think if I were eight years old I might have loved 'The Lightning Thief' on Broadway, but that's mostly because I would then have been too young to have seen it Off-Broadway five years ago…It's ballooned beyond its fighting weight…There is still some charm and wit."
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"This often less-than-exciting if well-meaning adaptation of Rick Riordan's popular young adult novel continually tries too hard to 'please' adults instead of simply trusting its source material. Still, this hit-and-myth affair seemed to delight enough of the younger people in the audience."
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