‘Lightning Thief’ makes a spirited plea for self-acceptance

You can’t accuse Theatreworks USA of lacking ambition in its shows for young audiences. Its 26th season’s production, The Lightning Thief, is an action-packed musical filled with heroic battles and mythological beasties. All this on a small budget with just six actors. And it’s free, too. It seems a little Grinch-y to quibble, but maybe tackling the first book in Rick Riordan’s megapopular Percy Jackson & the Olympians series was a bit of a stretch. Adapter Joe Tracz was forced to streamline a lot of plot while leaving some room for Rob Rokicki’s pop-rock songs. As a result, the show barrels breathlessly, moving from adventure to adventure at such a breakneck pace that it struggles to make an impression — songs like “The Day I Got Expelled” and “In the Same Boat” are very catchy, though.