Epic: The Musical is a loose adaptation of Homer's Odyssey[1] by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, who wrote the music and lyrics and also orchestrated and produced the tracks. His song clips and process videos have gone viral on social media with over 60 million views across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. The yet-to-be-released musical also has an active Discord fan community of over 50,000 people who share fanart, memes, fan theories, cover songs, positive affirmations, and tattoos of the lyrics.
Contents
- 1 The Beginning
- 1.1 The Process
- 1.2 The Community
- 2 Songs
- 2.1 Sagas
- 2.2 Themes And Musical Language
- 3 The Cast
- 4 References
The Beginning[]
Rivera-Herrans first started working on the musical around June of 2019 in his college dorms.[2] He wanted to create a musical that was inspired by video games and anime/manga to "emulate their addictive sense of progression"[3]. He was heavily inspired by these forms of media and its effects are seen throughout the musical.[4]
On January 17th, 2021 he uploaded his first video on TikTok where he introduces the musical and sings one of the older drafts of the opening song Full Speed Ahead[5]. Over time he released other clips of songs from the musical that slowly began to garner an audience.
The Process[]
Following his TikTok, there is an entire timeline of his journey through the making of each song up to the release of each saga. He has created videos documenting his process as he goes through the songs, edits and rewrites in the span of about 2 years. He also held auditions over TikTok to find voices for the characters. The first notable audition was for Calypso in April of 2021 following which there have been auditions for Ares, Penelope, Zeus, Tiresias and more. Many of the songs in the musical went through rewrites with some songs being cut and other having been changed to better fit the story and characters.[6] The final draft was completed on the 29th of August, 2022.[7]
The Community[]
Over the course of several years, he has cultivated a large group of supportive cast and community members across several platforms including TikTok, Discord, YouTube, Instagram etc. Some of the notable members of the Epic team include producer Blair Russell, Sound mixer JP Warner, as well as the talented cast members from around the world, many of whom auditioned through TikTok, consisting of Teagan Earley (Athena), Steven Dookie (Polites), Luke Holt (Zeus), Armando Julián (Eurylochus), and more.
Other important members of the team are highlighted by Jorge on his TikTok in various clips and in a segment called "APPRECIATION NATION" where he talks about all the people who work hard in the background to make EPIC happen.
Songs[]
Epic is a fully sung through musical consisting of 2 acts with 20 songs per act for a total of 40 songs. Furthermore, each act is divided into "Sagas" or chapters. The entire musical has a runtime of 2 hours and 16 minutes. Act 1 is about 1 hour and 9 minutes long (1:8:32) and consists of 5 sagas (The Troy Saga, The Cyclops Saga, The Ocean Saga, The Circe Saga and The Underworld Saga). Act 2 is about 1hr 7min long and consists of 4 sagas (The Thunder Saga, The Wisdom Saga, The Vengeance Saga and The Ithaca Saga).
Sagas[]
| Act I (Fully Released) | |
|---|---|
| The Troy Saga | The Cyclops Saga |
| 1. "The Horse And The Infant" | 6. "Polyphemus" |
| 2. "Just A Man" | 7. "Survive" |
| 3. "Full Speed Ahead" | 8. "Remember Them" |
| 4. "Open Arms" | 9. "My Goodbye" |
| 5. "Warrior Of The Mind" | |
| The Ocean Saga | The Circe Saga |
| 10. "Storm" | 14. "Puppeteer" |
| 11. "Luck Runs Out" | 15. "Wouldn't You Like" |
| 12. "Keep Your Friends Close" | 16. "Done For" |
| 13. "Ruthlessness" | 17. "There Are Other Ways" |
| The Underworld Saga | |
| 18. "The Underworld" | |
| 19. "No Longer You" | |
| 20. "Monster" | |
| Act II (In Progress) | |
| The Thunder Saga | The Wisdom Saga |
| 21. "Song 21" | 26. "Legendary" |
| 22. "Song 22" | 27. "Little Wolf" |
| 23. "Scylla" | 28. "We'll Be Fine" |
| 24. "Mutiny" | 29. "Love In Paradise" |
| 25. "Thunder Bringer" | 30. "God Games" |
| The Vengeance Saga | The Ithaca Saga |
| 31. "Not Sorry For Loving You" | 36. "The Challenge" |
| 32. "Dangerous" | 37. "Hold Them Down" |
| 33. "Charybdis" | 38. "Odysseus " |
| 34. "Get In The Water" | 39. "I Can't Help But Wonder" |
| 35. "600 Strike" | 40. "Would You Fall In Love With Me Again" |
Themes And Musical Language[]
There was a lot of attention to detail put into the creation of the songs of EPIC. Many of the songs draw inspiration from video game characters, epic moments in the media, and movies. Some of the most notable ones are:
- When Jorge was younger he watched "Peter and the Wolf" and was inspired by the use of specific instruments to represent each character. As a result, many of the characters in EPIC are represented by specific instruments, including Odysseus (Various guitars, based on context), Athena (Piano, because of the dexterity and skill needed to play piano), Poseidon (Trumpet + Brass Section, that gets more electronic and distorted depending on how angry and wrathful he is), Circe (Strings), Zeus (Electric Bass + Drums), Aeolus (Airy Vocals + Flute), Aphrodite (Saxophone), Hermes (Lyre), etc. [9]
- Furthermore, the more divine the music gets the more electronic elements are heard in the score. The mortals generally get more traditional orchestral music, while the gods get more electronic music.[10]
- Vocal backing for the mortal characters usually come from characters present in a given scene like the "CREW" or "SOLDIERS" while backing vocals for the gods come from an ENSEMBLE the god created to emphasize their point or emotions in a given scene,[11] probably based on the chorus common in V century B.C. Greek plays.
The Cast[]
| Cast Members | Roles | |
|---|---|---|
| Jorge Rivera Herrans | Odysseus, Winions, Polyphemus, Cyclopes, Ensemble | |
| Luke Holt | Zeus, Elpenor, Ensemble | |
| Armando Julian | Eurylochus, Ensemble | |
| Steven Dookie | Polites | |
| Teagan Earley | Athena | |
| Ayron Alexander | Perimedes, Antinous, Ensemble | |
| Kira Beth Stone | Aeolus | |
| Steven Rodriguez | Poseidon | |
| Talya Sindel | Circe | |
| Troy Doherty | Hermes, Ensemble | |
| Wanda Herrans | Anticlea | |
| Mason Olshavsky | Tiresias | |
| Eleni Constantinides | Scylla | |
| Miguel Veloso (MICO) | Telemachus | |
| Barbara Wangui | Calypso | |
| ~ | Apollo | |
| ~ | Hephaestus | |
| Janani Krishnan-Jha (J. Maya) | Aphrodite | |
| Earl Gresham Jr. (MocaMedia) | Ares, Ensemble | |
| ~ | Hera | |
| Anna Lea Casey | Penelope | |
| ~ | Amphinomus | |
| ~ | Melanthius |
References[]
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvayv7u6HrpENlleXekJ2fg
- https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
- https://www.epicthemusical.com/
- https://curtaincallbway.com/2023/01/03/get-to-know-epic-the-troy-saga-the-new-viral-musical-hit/
- https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/digital-culture/tiktok-sensation-epic-the-musical-blows-audiences-away/
- https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Viral-Musical-Hit-EPIC-Will-Release-Concept-Album-on-Christmas-Day-20221212
- ↑ Truth be told, the first two songs take inspirations from sources external both to the Iliad and the Odyssey, such as the Little Iliad or Seneca's Troades.
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGgaxvp/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGtFKQc/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGggPgQ/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYaufrUT/
- ↑ Deletes And Drafts
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGgQGob/
- ↑ https://www.fulloutcreative.com/epic-the-musical-the-livestream/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGtf62j/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGtk41x/
- ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans/video/7322190387353865515
