The Lightning Thief Composer Rob Rokicki on the Value of Doing Things That Scare You

Composer Rob Rokicki loves monsters. He may have made his Broadway debut this past fall with the Greek mythology-inspired The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, which he co-wrote with Joe Tracz, but he’s actually been writing songs since he was 13 years old. The first musical he ever wrote was an adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde. “I wrote a song, it's called 'The Silence Before the Storm,'” he told Broadway.com’s Paul Wontorek in a recent #LiveAtFive interview. Sadly his Jekyll and Hyde did not see the light of day. “My mom found this concept recording, it was a Colm Wilkinson concept recording at like a Tower Records and was like, ‘Oh, Robbie, I'm so sorry. Somebody got to it before you.’ And so, I had to learn early on. The pain of the biz, it's hard, it's cutthroat.”

Rokicki just closed Lightning Thief on Broadway in January and he’s now back with a new concert show at The Green Room 42 on March 24, called “Rob Rokicki and the Good Kids.” It will feature songs from the Percy Jackson musical, as well as songs from projects he’s currently working on. “I’ve got a show about a cult that I'm excited about,” he says, as well as selections from his “Monster Songs” series. The concert will also feature guest appearances from Will Roland, Jorrel Javier, Sara Beth Pfeifer, Gerard Canonico, Morgan Siobhan Green, Luca Padovan and more. 

“I think that I write about things that scare me: monsters, groupthink, cults, patriarchy, toxic masculinity,” he explains. “But I think it's always grounded in people trying to take agency in their lives under insane circumstances. And I love playing with genre too. It's a fun thing to dive into fantasy, or sci-fi, or horror, and stuff like that. I just like to play.” 

In fact, The Lightning Thief, a contemporary take on Greek gods based on Rick Riordan's book, started off as a playful one-hour musical for kids. And then after it was warmly received in 2015, Rokicki and Tracz took on the Herculean task of expanding it. Then the show played Broadway in 2019. What Rokicki learned from that experience was the value of saying yes. “Incredible things can come out of the most unassuming places,” he says. “So give things a chance, and say yes. 'Cause you never know what projects—a [theater for young audience] show could turn into your Broadway debut and could have you working with some of your dearest friends and incredible collaborators that have all changed you and made you better. So say yes to things. And say yes to things that scare you. 'Cause it really does make you grow.”

See the rest of Rokicki's #LiveAtFive interview below.