A musical based on the popular novel “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief” is now being performed at The Growing Stage – The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey in Netcong.
The play is about a 12-year-old boy who is half mortal, half god who is on a quest for his identity.
Actor Tyler Miranda portrays Percy. He says that he feels close to the role.
“[Percy] has ADHD. That’s one of the big things that half-bloods have – and I have that. So when he’s saying, ‘I have ADHD and can’t focus in school. I never am good in school,’ I resonated with that,” Miranda says. “And also finding the place where you belong.”
The Growing Stage produces several shows each year for young audiences and introduces many children to live theatre for the first time.
“The hardest part is getting them engaged and quieting them down and really teaching them how to connect to the material, like to stage material,” says actor Casey Esbin.
The Growing Stage was founded 41 years ago by Stephen Fredricks who was then just out of college. He says he had a mission to entertain and educate children through theater.
The theater is still in the process of recovering from the COVD-19 pandemic.
“I think that right now our challenge is greater than it’s ever been before. With the interruption due to COVID a lot of our students, a lot of our families became very insulated within their own little environment,” Fredricks says.
Performances are scheduled through March 26.