Thesis Christ Triple Feature Extravaganza: Thesis Shows

Beginning in the evening of Thursday, March 6, and concluding with a matinée performance on Sunday, March 9, artistically-inclined Reedies assembled to view this year’s spring thesis shows. The performances included The Lightning Thief, a musical directed by Daniel Yogi ‘25; Agamemnon, a Greek tragedy directed by Faith Roche ‘25; and Matt and Ben, a comedy directed by Maya Galvin ‘25..

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is a musical adaptation of the first book in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series of middle-grade novels, performed with the help of thesis advisor Kate Duffly. As many Greek mythology nerd Reedies know, the musical tells the story of Percy Jackson’s journey of self-discovery about his divine ancestry, while befriending his fellow demigods and embarking on a quest to recover Zeus’ lightning bolt from the titular lightning thief. Most notable, perhaps, is the musical’s bevy of energetic and inspirational tunes, all of which were performed by the show’s live musicians and actors. 

In all honesty, my prior experience with The Lightning Thief did not necessarily make me inclined to enjoy this show. I read the book in elementary school just like the next guy, and enjoyed it a normal amount, although I will confess I did not remember every plot point ten years later (which I’ll chalk up to my memory rather than anything on the part of the production). However, what I’d heard of the musical’s admittedly somewhat unserious lyrics (“Dyslexia? Not cool!” or “Why be blah / when there’s aquamarine” regrettably disinclined me from having a positive expectation going in.

However, I had nothing to fear, because the cast and crew of The Lightning Thief definitely seemed to comprehend the unserious nature of their project—which is not necessarily a bad thing! Although I maintained my typical stoic expression throughout the performance, I did, in fact, utter multiple audible exhales of humor. Every actor gave the show their utmost effort to bring the barren Greenwood stage to life with their dynamic choreography, organized by Rain Tronoski ‘26, and singing. What was lost in the lack of a full set was gained by the lively musical element, as directed by Max Ongbongan ‘25. The musical talent was especially impressive given that it is relatively rare to see the theatre department put on a musical, especially with the short turnaround time for thesis shows.

As for the performances, Adrian Zhang ‘27’s Percy was enjoyable and believable to watch, without going too far into exaggerated or campy territory. Similarly, Griffin Turek ‘27 as Chiron and Sterling Kennedy ‘26 as Mr. D delivered performances that tread across both comedic and serious territory. In particular, Lily Olcott ‘26 as Annabeth had a stellar performance and believable chemistry with Zhang that realistically depicted what middle schoolers go through while managing not to cross the line into being corny.

Despite its obvious humor, The Lightning Thief also explores more serious themes of invisible disabilities in its own offbeat way, which director Daniel Yogi described as “a scrapbook of miscellaneous pieces put together into a show.” This may not work for all audiences, but it was clear that Yogi was genuinely committed to the intentional purpose behind his project— accommodating performers with individual disabilities within rehearsal spaces.

Yogi explained his process, stating, “[I]n the production process I was testing out different types of accommodation with my actors and the thesis is going to be a collection of my findings about what I thought works, what I didn’t find as successful, and the general overarching ideas that I think apply greatly to the practice of accommodating disability in theatre.” Yogi implemented different measures, such as defined check-in and check-out times for rehearsals, flexible breaks, and giving actors input on how to use rehearsal times, to provide a more accessible rehearsal space. 

As Yogi announced to his cast, “‘Remember, at the end of the day, this show has a serious theme, this show has serious moments, but it’s also a fun show and if you have fun, the audience will have fun.’ I’d like to think it was exceeded based on the responses each night.”

Agamemnon

With Agamemnon, Faith Roche adapted an ancient play by the Athenian dramatist Aiskhylos, which should be familiar to everyone who has taken Hum 110. The powerful 2,500-year-old tragedy, staged here from Anne Carson’s translation under the supervision of thesis advisor Kate Bredeson, sparks the inciting action of the trilogy The Oresteia. For those who need a reminder, the play details Klytaimnestra’s murder of her husband, Agamemnon, in revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter in order to gain victory in the Trojan War and possession of the war captive Kassandra. 

The most instantly arresting aspect of this staging of Agamemnon was its highly atmospheric set, thanks to the design direction of Hannah Smith. The stage centered around a set of red curtains, which later revealed the austere bathroom that would set the scene for the central murders of the play. This lavish staging was also reflected by the play’s costume design, run by Emy Musgrove ‘26, which Roche described as a “sort of strange mid-century, immediately postwar Old Hollywood sort of thing mixed with Greek silhouettes.” The most striking costume I saw onstage was Nandini Nalam ‘25’s green evening gown as Klytaimnestra, which reflected her subversively dangerous presence. It would be a disservice to Nalam’s palpable charisma and talent to compare her to Lana Del Rey, but the mid-century aesthetic bears some similarities (in a positive way).

Other remarkable performances included Emma Benson ‘26 as Iphigeneia and Kassandra, who never broke her powerful and moving character for a moment; Joaquin Pellegrin-Alvarez ‘27, who made his presence known subtly and engagingly without detracting from the central figure of Klytaimnestra; and the chorus, whose impeccable choreography, as directed by JC Chiang ‘27, pulled everything together.

The play opened with a musical segment composed by Charlie Bruggemann as a reconstruction of the dithyramb — the ancient Greek choral hymn which traditionally opened the Dionysian festivities in Athens where such tragedies would be performed. This impressive commitment to historical accuracy exemplifies the immense effort that the cast and crew put into Agamemnon, which was obvious even in the first minutes of watching. 

Roche described her political intention in the performance, saying “The Trojan War is obviously where it’s birthed from, but [Agamemnon is also about] the endless bloodshed and sacrifice of women across thousands of years and how their sacrifices carry across the annals of history and are able to build the greatness of figures like Agamemnon and the structures of Argos. It’s like the force of unseen sacrifice by women and oppressed people in the ancient world and now.”

Although Roche still has work ahead for the written component of her thesis, she was proud of how the show went and grateful for the efforts of her cast. “[W]atching [Agamemnon] unfold from this kind of small vision that I had in the beginning, and all the work that the actors did with the script, I think that’s just been incredibly rewarding,” reflected Roche. 

Matt and Ben

Matt and Ben is a comedy written by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers, performed with a small but mighty cast under the auspices of director Maya Galvin and thesis advisor Kate Duffly. The play satirizes Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s process of writing Good Will Hunting (1997) and their social roles as members of affluent, white, cisgender majority groups, while providing plenty of humor in its treatment of these themes.

The play was limited in scope, with only two cast members—the phenomenal Theo Muehr ‘27 as Matt and the amazing Anna Gayley ‘26 as Ben—and an unchanging set in Ben Affleck’s meticulously cluttered bachelor pad (featuring what I suspect were Quests!). The plot was not very complex, providing ample time for Muehr and Gayley to chew the scenery to their hearts’ content, which they did gladly. My resistance to outward expressions of humor aside, I was definitely laughing on the inside at many points throughout the show, and I wasn’t alone in my appreciation. Matt and Ben was an energetic show made more lively by the strong audience reaction. 

There were certain moments that I couldn’t tell were improvised or not, providing a testament to the actors’ ability to naturally remain in character regardless. The comedy and performances were punchy, engaging, and sometimes a bit too close to home for anyone who’s struggled in the trenches of a homoerotic high school friendship (not speaking from personal experience). 

One of the most poignant aspects of Galvin’s artistic vision was her incorporation of drag performance. Galvin explained, “I think the thing that spurred my specific vision was thinking about how to cast these two cisgender straight white guys who have all this privilege, and what [it means] to cast people who don’t inherently come with all that privilege in these roles, and what it means for those actors to get to explore performing in very privileged identities.”

The use of drag stood out especially in Gayley’s brief stint as Gwyneth Paltrow, complete with a “highly realistic” blonde wig, which expressed a double-crossing of gender boundaries in addition to its absurdity. Galvin’s vision was subtle enough not to feel like it was imposing a message on the audience, while leaving room to appreciate the deeper themes behind the surface-level comedy. 

Galvin reflected on her experience directing these nuanced performances, stating, “I learned more throughout the process about my individual actors’ performances of gender and their identities and how that might factor into how they perform the characters.” She concluded, “the conversations that I had with them about their identities and how they would perform these characters continued to inform all of our visions for the show, but particularly mine for what I wanted the finished product to look like.”