The Arts Center — Attraction in Athens

On our roadtrip from Princeton, NJ to Nashville, TN, the pitstop I was most excited for was Athens, TN, and the Art Center production of the Percy Jackson musical, The Lightning Thief. ⚡🌊

And it was EVERY BIT AS INCREDIBLE as I'd hoped. I've wanted to see this musical for ages, and when I realized there was a production of it on our route to the Parthenon, it felt meant to be.

The cast was fantastic: My heart's never gone out to Percy so much. He made you feel every loss! Annabeth was fierce and yet so vulnerable. Grover was hilarious. Clarisse gave both a fantastic performance & broke the heart when she asked if her father Ares remembered her. And Luke took on a believability beyond the books: he became a genuinely likable, precious friend — making his eventual betrayal so much worse!

Athens was supposed to be a stopover, but between the Swift Musueum of aircrafts, a beautiful lunch on a lake, and this standout performance, this town will always have a special place in my heart when I remember my roadtrip across America. Thank...

Bringing the arts and theatre to our town by using talented individuals as well as making a difference in the community is a breath of fresh air that Athens Art Center has been fulfilling for the past few years. Now that they are expanding, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this gem in...

Saw Into The Woods. Nice theater. Chairs a little too close together. There were a lot of reserved seats for such a small theater on a Saturday night. Our small group was completely separated & no one could sit together. I'll know next time to get there super early to...