Paramount Players to Perform Sunday in Riffe Rotunda

The Ashland Paramount Players will perform “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Story,” at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Ohio University Southern Riffe Rotunda. 

“The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Story” is a musical based on the 2005 book by Rick Riordan, which was subsequently made into a 2010 fantasy film, a nationally touring Broadway musical and a video game. 

Percy Jackson is a teenage boy who always seems to get into trouble, no matter how hard he tries to be good. 

When he is expelled from school for the sixth time, his mother decides that it is time for Percy to know the truth. 

The Greek gods are real and, what’s more, Percy is a demigod, the son of Poseidon. 

Along with fellow demigod Annabeth (the daughter of Athena) and best friend and protector Grover (who happens to be a Satyr), Percy must go on an epic quest to retrieve Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt and prevent war amongst the gods. 

The quest turns into an epic adventure, with the Furies, Medusa, and Ares (the god of war) among those wanting to stop Percy in his tracks.

Admission is $15 paid with cash or a check payable to the “Ironton Council for the Arts.” The performance is free for students of all ages and children. The Ohio University Riffe Rotunda is handicap accessible.

The Paramount Players have received several Kentucky Theatre Association Outstanding Production Awards. 

Their mission is to inspire, educate and entertain with outstanding performing arts and diverse cultural experiences while preserving a unique historic landmark. They also strive to create a cultural environment that reaffirms the area’s Appalachian traditions while broadening the region’s aesthetic parameters. 

They accomplish this vision by presenting several interdisciplinary series of arts and humanities-based programming – both in our historic venue and in identified outreach areas. The vast majority – 89 percent – of Paramount sponsored events focus on educational opportunities for the youth in our tri-state area.

The Ironton Council for the Arts received ArtSTART and Ohio Artists on Tour grants from the Ohio Arts Council for the 2024-25 subscription concert season which will help defray performance costs and would like to thank the Ohio Arts Council for these awards.