In June 2019, musician Jorge Rivera-Herrans began a concept album for his senior thesis. Five years and millions of views online later, EPIC: The Musical has completed its Act One and has begun Act Two, with the release of The Thunder Saga on July 4th, 2024. EPIC: The Musical, also simply called EPIC, is a loose retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey. The musical spans Odysseus’ entire journey as he sails from the burning remains of Troy back home to his throne in Ithaca. Throughout his travels, Odysseus and his crew encounter several obstacles — be it monsters, gods, or themselves. It is a fully sung-through musical with 40 songs in total, 20 songs per act. Jorge Rivera-Herrans directs and produces EPIC alongside his production company, Winion Entertainment, LLC. The original Troy Saga was released on December 25th, 2022 but was remade along with The Cyclops Saga and re-released on July 4th, 2024 with The Thunder Saga.

“Recreation” of The Odyssey 

While EPIC is an adaptation of The Odyssey, Rivera-Herrans and his crew take plenty of creative liberties. One of the biggest departures from The Odyssey is Odysseus’ view on morality. In EPIC, this is the biggest factor in Odysseus’ journey. His sense of morality changes and develops throughout the musical as he begins to understand what he needs to do to return home to his family. In The Odyssey, this pondering is absent. Listeners hear Odysseus experience his moral crisis from the very first song in Act One, “The Horse and the Infant,” all the way to the last song of the act, “Monster.” Characters like Polites are expanded on more, and some characters, such as Aeolus’ Winions, are brand-new and exclusive to EPIC.

Even with these changes, the plot flows very coherently despite how different each saga is sound-wise. Once the listener understands that the musical is not a one-to-one recreation of The Odyssey, the more the story clears up and makes sense. Each saga has a unique sound that portrays the passage of time without going through all 12 years of the journey. These sagas build incredible atmospheres and tones with their music despite having no visuals (aside from commissioned or fan-made animations). The only questionable saga is The Underworld Saga. Each saga in EPIC has anywhere from four to five songs, while The Underworld Saga only has three. For such a pivotal turning point that The Underworld Saga is for the musical, it is confusing that the listeners only spend a short amount of time there. 

Music and Leitmotifs

One of the most interesting facets of EPIC is how it utilizes music as an active part in the storytelling. In EPIC, listeners can distinguish mortals and gods based on how much traditional or electronic music is used. In “Just A Man,” which only Odysseus sings, he is accompanied by a guitar and other traditional instruments. Meanwhile, Zeus’ song “Thunder Bringer” utilizes electric guitar and synths. In songs where both mortals and gods are present, the instrumentation makes the distinction between them. In “My Goodbye,” a duet sung by Odysseus and Athena, Odysseus has his guitar playing during his parts, while Athena has a keyboard and electric drum kit. Each major character also has their own instrument and/or theme. Odysseus and Athena, as stated before, have the guitar and the piano respectively. Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, has a violin for her instrument. All of the gods have their own instruments, such as Poseidon having trumpets/brass instruments while Hermes has a harp. This also aids in distinguishing who is singing or who is present at any given moment.