EPIC: The Musical by Jorge Rivera-Herrans has captured the hearts of millions of fans. This concept musical album has been a project over five years in the making. The release of this adaptation of the classic Greek tale, came to an end December 25, 2024, with the release of its 9th and final saga, The Ithaca Saga.
Now here’s the part where most of the musical haters will stop reading, but just hear me out and keep reading (even if you’re not a fan of musicals).
EPIC, a fully sung-through two-act musical, is a nearly two-and-a-half hour emotional roller-coaster. Rivera-Herrans released 40 songs across nine concept albums, or sagas, over two years, documenting Odysseus’s (Voiced by Jorge Rivera-Herrans) perilous return to Ithaca after the Trojan War, all based on the Epic, The Odyssey, by Homer. After the release of all nine sagas, Rivera-Herrans released a separate album containing the full playlist on all major streaming sites.
Original music and an all new cast of friends and theater nerds make up this new concept album musical. Rivera-Herrans documented the creative process, including new ideas, edits and rewrites, all on TikTok. Most casting auditions were also held over TikTok and were fully open to the community around the world. Not only did this effectively draw this community together during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also allowed fans to join the cast rather than only well-known actors and singers.
The development of this musical has gained more than 70.6 million likes on TikTok. With artists creating animations and taking their time to sing their own version of the songs. Some of the most well known EPIC artists are, Gigi, Duvetbox, Gwendy|ns2studios, and Neal Illustrator. Each bringing their own unique take and design to the community.
This finale doesn’t mark the end for EPIC, though; in a new video (released on TikTok), Rivera-Herrans says there’s a chance for a cut song saga, full of the songs that didn’t make the final cut. And an interview with The Guardian said, “Rivera-Herrans and his team are in talks … to make an animated movie, and … to create a live-action stage show. Three video games are planned, with two already on the way.”
When told the possibility of a stage show, Kelsey Kettner, a junior at Brunswick, said, “That’s going to be really cool. I’m definitely going to see the live action stage show.”
This musical has many favorite new songs by artists to the community of fans. I asked fans of the musical what their favorite song would be, and overall one song stands out as a favorite. The song Odysseus, has come out on top. This song uses a mixture of piano, strings and even the electric guitar. This song is a thrilling entry of Odysseus and an even better end to the suitors. Not only that, but this song leads directly into the last two songs of the musical.
Spoilers ahead for the finale of EPIC:
The last two songs on this project have captured the hearts of many fans, (myself included). I Can’t Help But Wonder, is a beautiful duet between Odysseus and Telemachus (Voiced by Miguel Veloso or MICO). It is the long awaited reunion of father and son, which leads into the duet/farewell between Odysseus and Athena (Voiced by Teagan Earley). The song ends with Telemachus telling his father that his wife is ready to see him.
Odysseus takes a deep breath and opens the doors to Penelope (Voiced by Anna Lea) and his bedroom, opening the final song Would You Fall In Love With Me Again. He sees her standing there, and neither can believe their eyes. After 20 years and 108 dead men in the palace, Odysseus is finally back home in Ithaca. They go back and forth for a moment before Penelope decides that she has had enough. She calls him out, saying one of the most memorable moments in the whole musical:
“..I will fall in love with you over and over again
I don’t care how, where, or when
No matter how long it’s been, you’re mine
Don’t tell me you’re not the same person
You’re always my husband and I’ve been waiting, waiting..”
The musical ends with an instrumental version of Just a Man, playing all the instruments of all the different characters. Using this motif at the beginning and the end proves that Odysseus was truly just a man, who was trying to get home.
For many, EPIC has had an impact on them. If it has one thing to teach the world it is to greet everyone and everything with open arms.
Kerrigan Glotfelty, a junior at Middletown says that, “EPIC has been inspiring for many ideas and has helped to practice my singing..”
Kelsey Kettner said that, “It definitely helped with getting me into the music I’m into today because I really didn’t know what I liked or didn’t like since I always heard whatever my parents were into.”
And in true fashion of a freshman, Fred Heck said, “EPIC is okay. My sister sings it all the time, but it’s not the worst thing to listen to..”
EPIC has truly captured the attention and hearts of fans all over the globe. This musical is nothing short of a legendary and amazing thing to listen to.