Lovers & Madmen premieres "nostalgic-trip" musical "The Lightning Thief"

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Seeger Greyness/The Daily Northwestern

"The Lightning Thief" is a musical adapted from Rick Riordan's volume "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," the get-go in the Percy Jackson series.

For her 14th birthday party, Communication sophomore Reva Sangal had a Percy Jackson themed cake.

In middle school, Sangal wrote fanfiction about a graphic symbol who was Hera'south only known child. Sangal said her life-long obsession with Percy Jackson started after she read "The Lightning Thief" past Rick Riordan the summertime before sixth grade.

"It was i of our summer reading books," Sangal said. "I read it, and and then I finished the unabridged series in a week."

This weekend, Sangal volition take the stage as Annabeth Hunt in "The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical." The show, presented by student theatre group Lovers & Madmen, will take identify in McCormick Auditorium on Fri at 7 and x p.grand. and Saturday at ii and 7 p.k.

In this adaptation, a female person Percy Jackson discovers she is a Greek demigod and Poseidon's girl. After Zeus accuses her of stealing his main lightning commodities, she goes on a quest with her friends, Annabeth and Grover, to track downward the missing weapon to salve the world.

Communication sophomore Morgan Frost, the testify'south banana director, called the show a "nostalgic trip." She discovered the Percy Jackson books while reading over a classmate's shoulder on a third form bus trip.

Frost said i reason she loves and rereads the books every couple of years is how relatable they are.

"The characters are so real," Frost said. "They're dealing with supernatural threats, just their reactions are so inspiring."

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The story centers on demigods, the children of one Greek god and one human.

Sangal said being cast as Annabeth expanded her formulation of the graphic symbol. Every bit someone who identifies equally Indian American, she said the role has led her to alter the unmovable idea of Annabeth, who is white in the book series, she created as a child. She said she appreciated how Lovers and Madmen's adaptation of the musical has allowed for such changes.

Communication freshman Eli Blanks, who plays Grover, said he has been surprised by how enthusiastically students have responded to the musical.

"They're like, 'No way, oh my god,' or 'I have to go. I love Lightning Thief,'" Blanks said. "I didn't realize at that place were that many people who honey it that much."

For Sangal, the musical's childish jokes and lighthearted nature is the kind of theatre that people demand right now. She said the shows will be opportunities for people to laugh and non have themselves too seriously for two hours.

"It was built for either middle schoolers or drunk college students — nowhere in between," Sangal said. "That's what the show is meant to be. It'south just supposed to exist fun."

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