‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: (left to right) Kristin Stokes, Chris McCarrell & Jorrel Javier. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL
Adapted from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Book by Joe Tracz
Music & lyrics by Rob Rokichi
Directed by Stephen Brackett
Choreography by Patrick McCollum
Through January 5, 2020
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.lightningthiefmusical.com

By David NouNou

Knowing that this show is aimed at younger/teenage boys or Generation Z, all day long I have been channeling my inner 13-year-old self to be able to fairly assess The Lightning Thief. Within five minutes of the show, that poor boy withered away and the monstrous adult in me emerged full-blown. As in the earlier debacle by director Stephen Brackett, Be More Chill, which also had adults playing young teenagers, the ability to suspend disbelief vanished into thin air.

Not only the boy in me had problems comprehending the ancient Greek Gods and myths; the adult in me was confounded by all the machinations on earth, Mt. Olympus, and Hades, all taking place from Long Island, New York, random names in New Jersey, to somewhere in Los Angeles and places in between.

Percy Jackson (Chris McCarrell), your typical misunderstood “teenager,” gets expelled from school for killing a “gorgon” or something while on a school outing. His mother (Jalynn Steele) sends him to Camp Half Blood in Long Island accompanied by his best friend Grover (Jorrel Javier). Camp Half Blood is the place where misplaced children go to find their prospective Greek God parents. Annabeth (Kristin Stokes) befriends him there. She shows him powers to enable him to go down to the underworld where they both get to find their “God” parents. This is part one of the convoluted plot.

Part two gives us the trip to Hadestown—oh, sorry, that is another musical playing across the street at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Well, they are in Hades, fight all sorts of monsters, among them Medusa and other foes. In the end, Percy or Percius finds out that his father is Poseidon and must return the lightning bolt found in his nap sack; he then must decide whether he wants to live at Camp Half Blood and go on more quests or go into the real world and fight for meaningful things. At this point I was yearning to be at the Lyric Theatre revisiting the far superior Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, both Parts 1 and 2 being less convoluted.

Harry Potter has the proverbial cast of thousands, while The Lightning Thief has a scant lackluster cast of seven portraying a cast of thousands, except for Percy; the remaining six players portray multiple roles, which further adds to the mayhem.

Young people may have enjoyed the books of the adventures of Percy Jackson, but as a musical with a banal one-note pop-rock score that doesn’t help the convoluted book, it is a dud, and the amateurish direction by Stephen Brackett is shameful.

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is yet another example of how many empty theatres there were this fall/winter season that needed to be filled with whatever came their way.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 22, 2019
Reviewed at October 21, 2019 press performance.

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: Chris McCarrell. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: Chris McCarrell. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: (left to right) Chris McCarrell & James Hayden Rodriguez (bottom); Sarah Beth Pfeifer &  Jorrel Javier (top). Photo: Jeremy Daniel #

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: Chris McCarrell & Jalynn Steele. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: (left to right) Jorrel Javier, Chris McCarrell (top), Kristin Stoke & James Hayden Rodriguez. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: Chris McCarrell. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF-THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL’: The company. Photo: Jeremy Daniel

The post ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ appeared first on StageZine.

‘BE MORE CHILL’: The cast. Photo: Maria Baranova

BE MORE CHILL
Music & lyrics by Joe Iconis
Book by Joe Tracz
Based on the novel by Ned Vizzini
Directed by Stephen Brackett
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
866-302-0995
http://bemorechillmusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

The backstory of Be More Chill is perhaps more interesting than the musical itself. When the show originated at a small New Jersey theater in 2015, it reportedly became a digital phenomenon when its pop score went viral online on various social media platforms. After an Off-Broadway run last summer at the Signature Theater, the show has for some inexplicable reason opened on Broadway, targeted at the under-30 set (the younger siblings of millennials sometimes called Generation Z). Everything about this production is derivative of earlier musicals and movies that mastered the topic of tension between high school nerds and popular kids so much better (from Dear Evan Hansen to Mean Girls and Heathers).

Science fiction is the uninspired twist that sets Be More Chill apart from other teen angst musicals. Socially awkward teens Jeremy (Will Roland) and Michael (George Salazar) will do anything to shake off their geeky reputations. High school junior Jeremy is hot for Christine (Stephanie Hsu) and is eager to find new ways to impress her. Jeremy doesn’t have a great life at home, either. He lives with his divorced father (Jason Sweettooth Williams), a man who works from home and never wears pants.

Bully Rich (Gerard Canonico) introduces Jeremy to a computer-in-a-pill known as a SQUIP (an acronym for “super quantum unit intel processor”). Whenever one takes the pill, a computer implants itself in one’s brain and instructs the user in what to say and do in order to be cool. After meeting a “dealer” at a nearby Payless ShoeSource (don’t ask), Jeremy is persuaded to take the SQUIP. When he swallows the pill, the SQUIP manifests itself as a character modeled after Keanu Reeves (Jason Tam), clad in a sci-fi costume resembling a sad Vivienne Westwood knockoff. The SQUIP harshly critiques Jeremy’s personality, wardrobe and behavior and cooks up ways he can finally become popular among his classmates.

The narrative often seems like an excuse to pad out the story with numerous shrill technopop songs, from “More Than Survive” and “Do You Wanna Ride?” to “Halloween,” “Michael in the Bathroom” and “The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set a Fire)”. “The Smartphone Hour” is supposedly a tribute to “The Telephone Hour” from Bye Bye Birdie but fails miserably as a modern ode to that classic. Chase Brock’s choreography is unremarkable. One of the sillier subplots is the school play Christine and the other kids are working on, a zombie-apocalypse rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by the high school drama teacher Mr. Reyes (Mr. Sweettooth Williams again, playing one of several roles). The show’s sense of humor primarily mocks 1990s pop culture with references to Crystal Pepsi and “Red” Mountain Dew, Eminem and video games.

The performances from the cast are mostly forgettable except for Tiffany Mann, the gossipy teen with a powerful voice. Ms. Mann does her best to add some dimension to her role, but the rest of cast cannot rise above the paper-thin material and stereotyped characters. Unlike other teen musicals, there is ultimately nothing redeeming whatsoever about the characters here, so it’s impossible to root for any of these kids. Just like Mr. Reyes’ dreadful play within the play, Be More Chill is an unsatisfying evening of theater and reeks of amateur writing. Despite the colorful, clever sets by Beowulff Borritt and all the energy emanating at the Lyceum, watching the show is akin to being on a bad acid trip—awkward, painful, jarring and unsatisfying.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 13, 2019
Reviewed at March 12, 2019 performance.

‘BE MORE CHILL’: Will Roland & cast. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: Tiffany Mann & the cast. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: The cast. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: (left to right) Katlyn Carlson, Tiffany Mann & Lauren Marcus. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: Jason Tam & cast. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: Stephanie Hsu & cast. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: (left to right) Jason Tam, Will Roland & Lauren Marcus. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: Stephanie Hsu & Will Roland. Photo: Maria Baranova

‘BE MORE CHILL’: Will Roland & George Alazar. Photo: Maria Baranova

The post ‘Be More Chill’ a pill of a show appeared first on StageZine.