{"id":249606,"date":"2026-04-28T13:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249606\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T13:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:39:11","slug":"usf-musical-production-unites-cast-through-seven-night-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249606\/","title":{"rendered":"USF musical production unites cast through seven-night performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>USF\u2019s spring musical, \u201cThe Lightning Thief,\u201d is an adapted version of Rick Riordan\u2019s Percy Jackson series. ORACLE PHOTO\/VIOLET VASQUEZ PIMENTEL<\/p>\n

A 40-member production team<\/a> \u2014 made up of USF students and staff from USF\u2019s School of Theatre and Dance \u2014 helped produce a musical production of \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d in mid-April.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d is based on Joe Tracz\u2019s book by the same name, which drew inspiration from Rick Riordan\u2019s Percy Jackson series.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the musical debuted as a one-hour show with a national tour in 2014, which expanded and returned to the theatre in 2017. It opened on Broadway in October 2019, according to Concord Theatricals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The musical focuses on Percy Jackson, a Greek demigod, as he works to find and return Zeus\u2019 stolen lightning bolt, according to the School of Theatre and Dance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The cast presented the show on April 16, 18, 19, 23 and 26 at the Tampa campus in USF Theatre 1, according to the School of Theatre and Dance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each two-and-a-half-hour show was free to students who reserved tickets through Ticketmaster, according to BullsConnect<\/a>. The April 26 show was sold out, according to the School\u2019s Instagram<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some USF students who performed in the musical said \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d was a fun show, and a final send-off for some graduating students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: USF seniors reflect on their college experience before graduation<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jenny Kokai, the artistic director for the School of Theatre and Dance, said the season selection committee picked \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d as its spring musical because it was a \u201cfun show\u201d with different design and stage elements.<\/p>\n

Aurora Peugh, a senior theatre arts major and the stage manager for \u201cThe Lightning Thief,\u201d\u00a0 said auditions for the musical started in November, while background work started around December.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After almost six months of work, the School of Theatre and Dance produced the play seven times, which Peugh said was a gratifying experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really nice to see everyone\u2019s hard work come to light,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is my last show at USF, so it\u2019s kind of bittersweet, but it\u2019s really great to be able to see another show fully completed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ava Meyer, a senior theatre performance major, played Sally Jackson \u2014 Percy\u2019s mother \u2014 in \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d and said she loved the experience.<\/p>\n

Meyer said she wanted to audition for \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d because it is a \u201cfun and silly\u201d show with interesting characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my first role that\u2019s a pretty major character,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cSeeing it be put to life has been such a fulfilling experience for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she got into character by grounding herself with deep breaths and placing herself in the character\u2019s shoes \u2014 imagining herself as a different person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about what I would do if I was in the situation that my character is in, and how I would react,\u201d she said. \u201cAsking myself those internal questions really helped me bring the character to life on stage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

And while Meyer said she felt the auditions for the production were more nerve-wracking than the performance days, her favorite part of performing \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d was doing so with the cast.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe friendships I\u2019ve made in this production are friendships I will never forget, and I\u2019ll cherish forever,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing there on stage with them is such a surreal moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

After nearly six months of backstage work and rehearsals, Meyer said she was proud of what everyone involved in the musical accomplished.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that you work so hard to make and create, and you put so much love and effort into it,\u201d she said. \u201cFinally getting to show it to people is definitely just such a proud moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: USF\u2019s rendition of \u2018Machinal\u2019 proves theater is thriving<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sam Lipsey, a senior theatre performance major, said he has been in theatre programs since middle school. Still, he said this production was bittersweet for him because it was his seventh \u2014 and last \u2014 show at USF.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like \u2018Oh man, this is my last show that I\u2019m gonna do here\u2019 so I\u2019m trying to enjoy as much of it as I can,\u201d Limpsey said.<\/p>\n

Still, Lipsey said he was excited to share each performance and feeling with the audience.<\/p>\n

Lipsey played Grover Underwood, a satyr, a half-goat, half-human mix, having to dress up with goat legs and hoof shoes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lipsey said this meant he had to be careful not to trample his own, or other people\u2019s, toes during the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do have to adjust my steps a little bit because the toes are a little longer than my feet, because they\u2019re goat toes, and so, if I\u2019m walking weird, it might bend underneath my foot,\u201d Lipsey said.<\/p>\n

He said getting into character for \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d felt easier than in previous shows because he connected with Grover\u2019s personality, seeing him as someone trying their best but still slipping up at times.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it very easy for myself to just kind of put myself into the situation and see what would be my reaction here,\u201d Lipsey said.<\/p>\n

Lipsey said his favorite part about performing \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d was how much he got to connect with his castmates through rehearsals.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheatre is very much a team sport in the sense that you can\u2019t do it alone,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything is a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peugh said \u201cThe Lightning Thief\u201d was a meaningful production for USF students because it is a musical about \u201cfinding yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m someone who strongly believes in the need for just fun theater,\u201d she said. \u201cThe author of Percy Jackson is really great about diversity and uplifting marginalized voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kokai said that for her, the main part of a USF production is how much students can learn from the piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cProductions can get really stressful,\u201d she said. \u201cStudents work incredibly hard. I think that people don\u2019t understand how difficult the tech process is for a show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kokai said she hopes the production reached and comforted people who are trying to find their place in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was genuinely moved by Percy\u2019s desire to find some place where he wasn\u2019t seen as a bad kid, but fit in and could thrive,\u201d Kokai said. \u201cI think that\u2019s what we\u2019re always trying to do at the School of Theatre and Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t