USF students bring 'The Lightning Thief' musical to life: Behind the scenes of the 'Percy Jackson' spectacle

USF's The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

Practical stunt work and fight choreography are key components of USF’s ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. Fox 13 Photojournalist Barry Wong has the story.

TAMPA, Fla. - It takes a lot of teamwork from USF students and staff to bring the spectacle of "The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical" to life. 

"Organized chaos is the best way to put it," stage manager Aurora Peugh said. "We want it to seem kind of crazy, but that, of course, is all intentional."

The backstory:

The musical, like the book and movies, follows the story of Percy Jackson, who discovers that he is the son of the Greek God Poseidon. With fellow demigods, he goes on a quest to find the stolen lightning bolt of Zeus. 

"All the Greek myths, everything is all real," actor Sam Lipsey said. 

Lipsey is playing Percy's best friend Grover. He's a satyr, or half goat, half person, with the task of protecting and guiding Percy. 

Dig deeper:

A story featuring bickering Gods and half-bloods features lots of battles, which the cast and crew must perform practically on stage. 

"Safety is one of my biggest concerns as a stage manager. We ensure that we make fight calls, which is where, at the top of rehearsal, we run a certain stunt," Peugh said. "We have an actor on stilts and for him to die as the character of the Minotaur, he would make trust fall essentially onto two other actors. We ensure we run that before every show, so that they doing it in the show isn't the first time it's happened."

With battles come weapons, prop weapons in this case. 

"It just adds a whole new element. I get to put toys in my actors' hands," assistant director and assistant fight choreographer Seth Henley-Beasley said. "Everybody's got that little kid in them that used to play with sticks in their backyard, and when you get a sword in your hand, I mean, you feel like a million bucks."

What they're saying:

With all the big battles, catchy songs performed by a live band, and a fun quest, the crew hopes the show serves as a gateway into theatre for the audience. 

"I really want to make an impression on Tampa," director Michelle Hache said. 

What's next:

Shows run from April 16 to 19 and April 23 to 26.