by Anika Ajgaonkar
The cast of The Lightning Thief at the conclusion of Saturday evening’s performance.
On April 8th and 9th at 7:00 PM, Biotech’s very own Arts & Entertainment Club presented The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical! Students, teachers, and their families and friends gathered in the BTHS Multi-Purpose Room on Friday and Saturday evening to watch the musical reenactment of the young-adult adventure classic. Especially exciting was the fact that this BTHS musical was the first one since the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in 2020.
In the lead role of Percy Jackson was senior James Lavery, along with senior and A&E Club President Sanjana Iyer playing Annabeth Chase, and senior Juliana Esteban playing Grover.
In an approximately 2-hour-long performance, audience members watched the talented cast of The Lightning Thief both act and sing beautifully. Almost the entire cast of the school musical has had some prior experience in the performative arts. They belted out catchy songs such as “Lost in the Woods,” “A Visit With Aunty Em,” and “Bring on the Monsters.”
The pit band did not fail to deliver, with talented student musicians providing exquisite musical accompaniment to the powerful voices of the actors. It was filled with a slew of highly skilled and accomplished musicians, with senior Charles Ascone on the bass, junior Alexander Rausch on guitar, senior Tienne Yu on piano, and senior Melanie Tan acting as conductor.
The excitement and enthusiasm of the cast and pit band were palpable. Alexander Rausch shared, “I am feeling very excited to play in my first high school musical. Tonight is the accumulation of all of our hard work over the last month. It’s like an integral.” Calculus teacher Mrs. Widmer is surely very proud of Alexander’s enthusiasm for the subject.
The director of the musical, senior Zexi Gui, said that although their role is important, they are most grateful for the efforts of the cast members and pit band. “To be honest, the show was a little overwhelming, but it wouldn’t be possible without [the cast] working so hard and cohesively, so I’m really thankful for them.”
However, the production was not without its fair share of challenges. The costume design team shared some of the behind-the-scenes struggles they faced. Costume Design Assistant, senior Tanirikka Ramkumar, shared, “It was stressful. There are a lot of cast members, so making sure everyone’s costumes were in place and everything was in order took a lot of time.” Head of Costume Design, senior Cheryl Jeffrey, added, “Some of the handmade costumes were really complex, like the Medusa head, Cerberus mask, and Minotaur costume you’ll see today.” Though they had a lot on their plate, the crew definitely met the mark, with realistic, eye-catching costumes and flawlessly executed clothing changes.
For many cast members, the musical was an opportunity to try something new. Senior Priyanka Desai, one of the SFX makeup artists, enthused, “It was really fun! I’ve done dance makeup before, but never for a play. This was a very new experience for me, but I’m happy I tried it! Some of the characters with more artistic makeup were the gods, like Poseidon, Medusa, Hades, and Mr. D. It was fun using so many colors!” she gushed.
The entire cast was met with a standing ovation at the conclusion of the musical. Cast members sincerely thanked A&E club advisor, Dr. Rogers, for her dedication and guidance throughout the process. For the seniors in the cast, it was a bittersweet moment when they were reminded that it would be their last musical at BTHS, but they certainly have bright futures ahead of them in the performing world in college. As for the rest of the crew — the school eagerly looks forward to seeing what the A&E club has in stock next school year!