Northbrook's Maple School Thrills With 'Percy Jackson' Musical

NORTHBROOK, IL — Based on the popular book for young adults, Maple School recently presented five performances of "The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical," for local audiences. According to Northbrook/Glenview School District 30, nearly 75 students participated on stage and behind-the-scenes for the no-cut musical, which found a spot for any student who wanted to be involved.

"The foundation of our program is inclusivity, creativity, and community," said Jamie Holmer, the show's director and Maple Library media specialist. "At crew meetings and rehearsals, we focused on the idea that we all have unique and individual talents that can work together to create a production that is the result of the team."

According to the district, because the musical was based on a novel that most cast and crew had read, they were able to use structures from the book to foster community at rehearsals. Like the novel, they organized the cast into cabins, each with a leader who helped guide members through the process of learning the musical.

Like the characters in the book who earned beads at Camp Half-Blood, the setting for the musical, cast members could earn beads at each rehearsal. The beads were rewarded for students for demonstrating qualities like commitment, teamwork and strong performance. The beads were then used to build necklaces that actors wore as part of their costumes.

The next theatrical production at Maple will be "Annie" in July, at the conclusion of the District 30 summer school program.