“EPIC: The Musical,” a nine-saga musical retelling of “The Odyssey,” has taken TikTok by storm with its captivating lyrics, storytelling and ability to reach the hearts of Generation Z. The idea sprouted in 2019 when Puerto Rican composer and lyricist Jorge “Jay” Rivera-Herrans combined his love of musicals, video games and anime to create a compelling senior thesis project. The musical takes the ancient epic and rekindles it in a way that honors the original source material while transforming the story into a medium that will speak to a more contemporary audience.
The story of “EPIC” chronicles the trials and tribulations of Odysseus as he attempts to return home to Ithaca following the conclusion of the Trojan War. The narrative stays true to the original material in which Odysseus faces off against tempestuous Gods, monsters and temptation of all kinds. However, Rivera-Herrans’ adaptation brings new layers of emotional depth, contemporary language and musical styles to an already invigorating story. Like “Hamilton,” “EPIC” uses music to break down historical and literary barriers that make it difficult to charm a broader audience.
In many ways, Rivera-Herrans’ version of “The Odyssey” makes this timeless story more accessible while maintaining the grandiose nature of Homer’s rendition. Through its engagement with Gen Z on TikTok, this story is kept alive and reintroduced to a wider audience more likely to become hooked on the content itself. While “The Odyssey” is full of dense prose and somewhat confusing Ancient Greek nuances, the audience is given addictive emotional lyrics and instrumentals to convey a story that seems unrelatable to the general public.
Musically, “EPIC” blends various genres in a way that somehow manages to still feel cohesive rather than disjointed, which can be seen from the very first saga with the songs “Just a Man” and “Full Speed Ahead.” Rivera-Herrans was also inspired by Sergei Prokofiev’s 1936 fairy tale, “Peter and the Wolf,” which represents each character using a specific instrument. This can be seen with his character Odysseus being represented by the guitar, Athena with the piano and Aeolus with his choral vocals and flute.
Rivera-Herrans passionately voices several key characters to portray an Odysseus that is both heroic, vulnerable and most importantly, human. He accurately captures the essence and complexity of a man willing to do practically anything to make it back home to his wife, son and kingdom even if it forever changes the person he is. The audience is meant to realize that not everything is black and white and that the journey counts just as much as the result.
Attempting to adapt a tale as old as “The Odyssey” into a musical theater performance is a large feat that Rivera-Herrans has succeeded in doing. Taking the time to produce each saga, he also thought long and hard regarding the world building that needed to be done in relation to the universe already crafted by Homer. Many creative liberties were taken in the process of forging this story, including character deaths, timelines and compressing the vast story into smaller pieces that still emotionally pack a punch.
In adapting such a well-known story, there is the added benefit of a built-in audience who loves the original and might continue to follow the story with “EPIC.” Fans of the epic will be able to appreciate the clever ways in which Rivera-Herrans reshaped the story, while newcomers will become enraptured by the song-driven storytelling.
Each saga is heavily promoted on TikTok and Instagram, which is representative of a cultural shift toward collaborative creation in which fan engagement is relied on and encouraged to further the success of the project. In this case, TikTok’s video format helps foster a deeper emotional connection to the material where listeners actively anticipate a new release.
Saga 8 of “EPIC: The Musical” is anticipated to be released within the year and will be out on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music along with sagas 1-7.
