by Eliana Hernandez
EPIC: The Musical, a nine-saga musical retelling of The Odyssey, has taken TikTok by storm with its captivating lyrics and storytelling, and its ability to reach the hearts of Gen Z. The idea for the musical sprouted in 2019 when Puerto Rican composer and lyricist Jorge Rivera-Herrans combined his love of musicals, video games, and anime to create a compelling senior thesis project. The sagas take the ancient Greek epic and rekindle it in a way that honors the original source material while also transforming the story into a medium that will speak to a contemporary audience. Since the release of the first saga on December 25, 2022, six more sagas have been released on streaming services.
The story of EPIC chronicles the trials and tribulations of Odysseus, the heroic Greek king of Ithaca, as he attempts to return home to his kingdom 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 temptations of all kinds; however, Rivera-Herrans’ adaptation brings new layers of emotional depth, contemporary language, and musical styles to an already invigorating story. Similar to 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. By engaging with Gen Z on TikTok, Rivera-Herrans keeps the story alive and reintroduces it to a wider audience that is more likely to become hooked on the content itself. Whereas The Odyssey is full of dense prose and somewhat confusing Ancient Greek nuances, EPIC gives the audience 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 manages to feel cohesive, as demonstrated from the very first saga with the songs “Just a Man” and “Full Speed Ahead.” Rivera-Herrans was inspired by Sergei Prokofiev’s 1936 fairy tale, “Peter and the Wolf,” which represented each character using a specific instrument. In EPIC, this can be seen with his character Odysseus being represented by the guitar, Athena with the piano, and Aeolus’ choral vocals and flute.
Among other key characters in the musical, Rivera-Herrans voices Odysseus, portraying an Odysseus who is heroic, vulnerable, and most importantly, human. He accurately captures the essence and complexity of a man who is willing to do just about anything to make it back home to his wife, son, and kingdom–even if it means forever changing 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 end result.
Attempting to adapt a tale as old as The Odyssey into a piece of musical theater is a large feat that Rivera-Herrans has succeeded in doing. Taking months at a time to produce and advertise each saga on social media, he also thought long and hard regarding the world-building that needed to be done in relation to the world that had already been crafted by Homer. Many creative liberties were taken in the process of forging this story, including character deaths and timelines as well as compressing the vast story into smaller pieces that still pack a punch emotionally.
In adapting such a well-known narrative, there is the added benefit of a built-in audience of individuals who love 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 become enraptured by the song-driven storytelling. With Gen Z’s shortened attention span, the enthralling success of EPIC demonstrates the power of a well-adapted story with captivating vocals to back it.
Since each saga is so heavily promoted on TikTok and Instagram, the musical 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 to foster a deeper emotional connection to the material where listeners actively anticipate a new release.
Saga eight of EPIC: The Musical is anticipated to be released on October 31, 2024, and will be out on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music with sagas one through seven.
