Anyone who figures their parents are tough should try having the violent and destructive Greek god, Poseidon, as a dad.

That's the dilemma of Percy Jackson, main character in 91原创 Secondary's production of "The Lightning Thief: a Percy Jackson Musical" on stage later this month. 

Based on the popular Percy Jackson books, the school script melds the world of mere mortals with the world of the gods as the teen discovers he has some mythic powers when he's framed for something he didn't do.

"A young boy finds out his long lost father is a Greek god and consequently loses his mother. He has to go on a quest to stop total war from breaking out from a crime he was framed for all while hoping to bring his mother back from the dead," explained student Danny Ellingson, who portrays Percy.

Ellingson is no stranger to the stage and even singing in public, although never to as many people as will be in the Lightning Thief audiences.

"This show will be my 10th show, fifth musical. I have done eight of my shows through school and two with Bard In the Valley summer camps," the 17-year-old said.

And that's all in just two years, but fits right in with plans to go into film or stage directing as a future career.

So how does a teenager get ready to play a demi-deity?

"Really for my role, this is quite an easy job as my character has no clue about any of the things happening in the godly world. It is certainly a fun adjustment to getting used to working with all sorts of special effects," Ellingson said. "Our tech team is truly incredible, because it would be almost impossible to differentiate our characters from regular high-school kids without the insane amount of work they put in to make that godliness feel real."

The Grade 12 student connects with some of the broader themes of the production and Percy's life.

"Many of the characters in the show struggle with feeling noticed due to their not so great heavenly parents and feel a lack of being noticed or listened to. A lot of young people tend to feel a similar way to this as they are just written off and ignored," Ellingson noted. "Another parallel for me is Percy as a character himself. I was a huge fan of the books growing up and always related to his perspective and how he viewed things."

The show also has some lessons for the audience, but Ellingson recommends not focusing on those to the detriment of enjoying the ride.

"A good lesson to take away from this production would be to embrace the things that make you special, because those are the things that make you strong! Another good one would be to never give up even if all your loved ones are dead and the gods themselves are against you," they said. "Other than that, I would suggest not reading into it too much cause you might miss some of the amazing production."

The show runs Feb. 27, March 1, and March 6 to 8 at 7 p.m. There's also 2 p.m. matinees March 1 and 8. Tickets are $18 for adults and $16 for youth, and available at . The show is at the school, 21405 56 Ave., and seating is general admission. Anyone with mobility issues is asked to email lsslightningthief@gmail.com to arrange seating. That's also the email for anyone with questions, and the production is suitable for all ages.

Patrick McMath is the director while music is handled by Brock Foerster and Patti Thorpe, who is retiring this year. The technical directors are Myles Nield and Ian Lopez while Elizabeth Aguasin handled choreography.

The show features 39 students performing on stage. They range from Grade 8 (from H.D. Stafford Middle School) through to Grade 12. There's also 20 in the crew with some of them also having cast roles, and a five-person band.

"This year our set is very open and representative rather than realistic," Thorpe explained. "There is no scene change music so we will travel from one setting to another through creative use of lighting, props and rolling sets that the actors interact with."

Graduates of musical theatre and music at HD Stafford Secondary and 91原创 Secondary are invited to reach out to lsslightningthief@gmail.com if they would like to participate in a graduate wall display.

"We are hoping for interaction via email with past graduates. We would love to celebrate them as part of this show, which is my 31st and final high school production," Thorpe noted.