It inherently celebrates the struggle of identity, of acceptance, of responsibility, of love and of friendship.

That’s what audiences can expect to uncover when the Northern Lehigh Little Theatre presents its spring musical “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.”

Show times are at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday in the Northern Lehigh High School auditorium. Price of admission is $10 for students/seniors, and $12 for general admission.

Tickets can be purchased online before the performances at https://nlsd.hometownticketing.com. Tickets can be also purchased the day of in the lobby with cash.

The musical features Ayden Scanlon as Percy Jackson, Susan Gilsbach as Annabeth Chase, and Jackson Hunsicker as Grover Underwood, according to Kayla Driscoll, director for the Northern Lehigh Little Theatre. She said the rest of the characters are played by a cast totaling 25 students alongside student crew members and with student-led positions such as stage management, assistant lighting design, and technical assistant.

Driscoll said that in this stage adaptation of Rick Riordan’s bestselling series, the audience gets to follow Percy Jackson, a 12-year-old who’s already struggling life is flipped upside down when monsters attack him on a school field trip. “He learns that not only are ancient Greek Gods real, but that they also have children in the modern world and that his absent father is none other than a God himself,” Driscoll said. “With a looming war between the Gods on the horizon, Percy must take part in a dangerous quest to clear his father’s name and to protect his friends and family along the way.”

Driscoll said that when she auditioned the students in August, she had a handful of ideas of potential shows to select from.

She said that “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” has been a favorite of hers for a few years, and while it never had an overly successful Broadway run, the script/music is considered one of the most accurate adaptations of Riordan’s series.

“I knew it would be an incredibly technical show, more so than what NLLT has been able to do in recent years due to student numbers and COVID restrictions, but what I saw in auditions made the choice clear,” she said. “I had faith that they would rise to the occasion and demands of this production, even though the majority of the students have never taken part in a musical before.”

But, that isn’t the only reason Driscoll said she chose this particular musical.

“It was also important to me when I was brought on at Northern Lehigh that I began to build this program up to the larger numbers and engagement that it saw years before,” she said. “This musical is really new to the student scene (rights having only been available to schools since 2021) and I thought something so fresh would be great to reestablish ourselves.”

Driscoll described how the students have taken to the musical, and noted that apart from a few vocal days in December, rehearsals have been in full swing since the students returned from their winter break in January.

“It has been a very demanding process, rehearsals running for several hours five days a week,” she said. “They are definitely tired, but the amount of love and care being put into this show from the top down has been really beautiful. They support each other, especially the returning students who cheer on the students who are brand-new to the stage.”

Driscoll said she hopes audiences will take from this production “the power and strength in small departments. The level of technical work in this show is out of this world and would be difficult for collegiate and professional settings, let alone the demands it requires from a high school.”

“Students are eager to grow, create, and express themselves in new and creative ways they might never have considered before,” she said. “Watching these students grow into one cast who all lift the success of the show, rather than falling on the shoulders of any one individual, has been incredible.”

Driscoll said she‘s certain the musical will resonate with its viewership.

“I don’t know a single person, student or otherwise, who can’t find a character in this show to relate to,” she said. “The characters in the Percy Jackson universe are all full of heart and depth, and you can’t help but root for them to overcome their obstacles and challenges; whether it be from their powerful adversaries, or from the doubts and insecurities that they struggle with internally.”