Review: The Lightning Thief - The Percy Jackson Musical

“The gods are real. And they have kids. And those kids have issues.”

The stirring first song of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief – the Musical sums up the magical mix of heroes, monsters and teenage angst set to strike the excited audience.

The Greek gods are all around us, the myths are real and normality is the biggest myth at all, at least for New York teenager Percy.

Being a teenager with ADHD and dyslexia isn’t easy for anyone, but when you’re on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum and your supply teacher unfurls scaly wings and launches a vicious attack, it’s OK to be dramatic.

It turns out that Percy’s father is a god, his classmate Grover is a secret satyr sent to protect him, classics master Mr Brunner is a centaur and the sketchy Miss Dodds is a demon – though who hasn’t thought that about a teacher?

Percy is really Perseus, and his demigod status means monsters are out to kill him. Which explains why his wonderful mum Sally is with loser stepdad Smelly Dave – the surrounding stink kept Percy hidden.

The Jacksons head to the beach and Percy is about to hear the truth when a minotaur looms out of the darkness (stunningly realised). The attack is fatal for Sally while Percy is knocked unconscious and dreams about a surfer guy giving him a seashell before he awakes in a very strange place.

Grieving for his mother, Percy is confused by Camp Half Blood despite a hilariously camp introduction from Mr D – Dionysus as it happens– singing Another Terrible Day.

Percy soon learns more about the gods, meets brave Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and mercurial Luke, son of Hermes. He learns new skills, kicks up a storm and is accused of stealing Zeus’s lightning bolt.

The second act sees Percy, Grover and Annabeth embark on a quest to find the bolt and save Sally from the underworld, which lies beneath the DOA Recording Studios in Los Angeles.

Vasco Emauz (fresh from playing Marty in Back To The Future: The Musical) is the eponymous hero, Kayna Montecillo is brave Annabeth, and my kids said Cahir O’Neill was the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) as Grover.

Niall Sheehy is in fine form as Mr Brunner and many of the cast tackle multiple roles including Aidan Cutler as Stinky Dave as well as his tremendous turn as Mr D. Simone Robinson plays Sally Jackson but also wows in a fantastic disco song at DOA – Dead on Arrival – Records.

Campfire Song, a waltz-time complaint about all kinds of parents, was another standout number.

The musical is packed with a lot of plot, plenty of action and wondrous effects plus a whizz through a rocking range of songs, courtesy of Rick Rokicki.

The set, by Ryan Dawson Laight uses heavy metal, ladders, circles and moving hydraulic staircases. The show's credits list a fight director and an illusionist and there is so much here to watch and then re-watch in the hope of seeing how it was done.

I went with two big fans of the books by Rick Riordan and some of the story might have been hard to follow if you weren’t familiar with the original series, in text or screen form. But it really doesn’t matter if it is all Greek to you, get caught up in the epic.

So many teenage musicals are set in high schools, not surprisingly of course, but to see something with a sweeping scope, a big cast and a live band is a joy. This show is – literally – fabulous.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is showing at Theatre Royal Windsor until Saturday, August 23 - then touring.