A teenage demigod's quest to find Zeus' stolen lightning bolt is landing on a 200-seat stage in Coffman Park this month, as the Abbey Theater of Dublin opens its production of “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” for a four-weekend run beginning Friday. Performances are set for August 7-8 and 13-15 at 7 p.m., with matinees August 8-9 and 16 at 2 p.m., and tickets are available at bit.ly/abbeytheatertickets.
The show, described by the City of Dublin, Ohio as an adventure featuring monsters, myths and laughs, is staged by the Abbey Theater's pre-professional company, a program built to give Central Ohio's high school and college-aged performers a shot at leading full-scale musicals. According to Broadway World, the production is directed by Jonathan Collura and stars Ava Rogers as Percy Jackson, Tori Edwardson as Annabeth, and Jake Thomas as Grover.
A Sneak Peek at the Dublin Library
Before opening night, the cast gave local families an early taste of the score. In late July, the company performed a live preview at the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Dublin Branch, where the library paired the performance with a dedicated Percy Jackson book display, part of the theater's ongoing effort to tie its youth productions to community literacy outreach.
The musical itself has deep roots beyond Dublin. Adapted from Rick Riordan's 2005 fantasy novel, “The Lightning Thief” features a book by Joe Tracz and music and lyrics by Rob Rokicki, and it follows teenager Percy Jackson as he discovers he's a Greek demigod tasked with recovering Zeus' stolen lightning bolt. Per Wikipedia, the show debuted Off-Broadway in 2014 before reaching Broadway in 2019, giving the Abbey's teen cast a chance to tackle material with genuine national pedigree.
A Launchpad Built Into City Government
The Abbey Theater of Dublin sits inside the Dublin Community Recreation Center at 5600 Post Road, an intimate 200-seat venue that operates as part of the City of Dublin's Recreation Services department. The theater was named in honor of the National Theatre of Ireland, and the recreation center itself is a 110,000-square-foot facility built in the mid-1990s within Coffman Park, according to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
Theater Supervisor Joe Bishara leads the venue and created its Pre-Professional Programs and Virtual Theatre Project specifically to train emerging Central Ohio performers, having collaborated on more than 300 theatrical productions nationwide as an actor, director, and producer. Director Jonathan Collura is a familiar face on that same stage, having previously co-starred in “Gutenberg! The Musical!” in 2025 and played John Adams in “1776” in May 2026. He also serves as an adjunct voice instructor at Wright State University.
Part of a Bigger Track Record
Staging youth and pre-professional editions of hit musicals has become something of a signature move for the Abbey. The theater previously staged “Hadestown: Teen Edition” in August 2025 ahead of “The Lightning Thief,” continuing a trend of offering intensive stage experience to high school and college-aged actors. That track record has come with recognition — the Abbey Theater of Dublin was voted “Favorite Local Theater” by BroadwayWorld Columbus and earned a 2023 Theatre Innovation Award along with a citation from the Central Ohio Theatre Critics Circle, per Visit Dublin, Ohio.
The venue has also stayed busy with original programming; Hoodline reported on a world premiere at the Abbey last November, and the theater more recently pulled in 23 nominations at the BroadwayWorld Columbus Awards. With “The Lightning Thief” now running through August 16, Dublin families have several more chances to catch the demigod adventure before the run wraps.
