EPIC: The Musical is a musical adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey created by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. The creation of the musical was documented through Jorge's TikTok, and the song clips and process videos have gone viral on social media with the process gaining over 60 million views across TikTok.
Background[]
Jorge Rivera-Herrans
Jorge Rivera-Herrans first started working on the musical around June of 2019 while in college.[1] For his senior thesis for college, he wanted to create a musical that was inspired by video games and anime to "emulate their addictive sense of progression"[2]. He was heavily inspired by these forms of media and makes reference to these influences throughout the musical.[3]
On January 17th, 2021, he uploaded his first video on TikTok where he introduces the musical by singing an older draft of Full Speed Ahead.[4] He soon released other excerpts of songs from the musical and began to garner an audience.
Development and Casting[]
Jorge has documented the entire development process of Epic through social media, from his initial ideas for each song to the release of each saga. His TikTok videos document his process as he goes through the songs, edits and rewrites in the span of two years. Many of the songs in the musical went through extensive rewrites with some songs being cut and others having been changed to better fit the story and characters.[5] The final draft of the musical was completed on the 29th of August, 2022.[6]
Casting auditions were held over TikTok, and for this purpose, instrumentals of song excerpts were released for accompaniment. 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.[5] The final draft was completed on the 29th of August, 2022.[6]
Community[]
The Early EPIC Team[7]
Over the course of several years, EPIC has cultivated a large group of supportive cast and community members across several social media platforms, including TikTok, Discord, YouTube, Instagram, and more. Notable members of the Epic team include sound mixer JP Warner, as well as outstanding cast members from around the world, many of whom auditioned through TikTok, including 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 the many people working hard in the background to make EPIC happen.
Winion Entertainment[]
The logo of Winion Entertainment LLC[8]
In 2023, Jorge created his own company, Winion Entertainment LLC, due to Blair Russell (the original producer of EPIC) and his company, Blair Russell Productions, failing to pay him the royalties for the first two sagas. Under Winion Entertainment, the entire main cast of EPIC re-recorded the entire first two albums from scratch; allowing the entire musical, including the previously released Troy and Cyclops Sagas, to be released under the brand.
The creation of Winion Entertainment also opens up new potential business ventures for EPIC, such as vinyl sets of the Sagas, merchandise, and even future iterations of the musical (like a stage production or film adaptation).[9]
Songs[]
Epic is a fully sung through musical consisting of 2 acts with 20 songs per act for a total of 40 songs. Each act is divided into "Sagas" or chapters, which are currently being released as individual albums. The entire musical has a runtime of 2 hours and 16 minutes. Act 1 is about 1 hour and 9 minutes long (1:08:32) 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 1 hour and 7 minutes long and consists of 4 sagas (The Thunder Saga, The Wisdom Saga, The Vengeance Saga and The Ithaca Saga).
Sagas[]
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, as detailed by Jorge through multiple videos he released on social media. Notable ones are:
- When Jorge was younger he watched "Peter and the Wolf" and was inspired by the use of a specific instrument to represent a character. As a result, many of the characters in EPIC are represented by specific instruments, such as Odysseus (guitar), Athena (piano), Poseidon (trumpet + brass), Circe (strings), Zeus (electric bass + drums), Aeolus (choral vocals + flute), Aphrodite (saxophone), Hermes (lyre + harp), etc. [10]
- Furthermore, electronic elements are incorporated into the score in relation to the various divine figures Odysseus encounters. Mortal characters generally are associated with more traditional orchestral music, while the gods have more electronic elements incorporated into their scenes.[11]
- Vocal backing for the mortal characters often come from characters present in a given scene like the "CREW" or "SOLDIERS", while backing vocals for the gods come from an ENSEMBLE they create in a given scene,[12] which may be inspired by the famous Greek chorus common in V century B.C. Greek plays.
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 Stone | Aeolus |
| Steven Rodriguez | Poseidon |
| Talya Sindel | Circe |
| Troy Doherty | Hermes, Ensemble |
| Wanda Herrans | Anticlea |
| Mason Olshavsky | Tiresias |
| Anna Lea Casey | Sirens, Penelope |
| KJ Burkhauser | Scylla |
| Miguel Veloso (MICO) | Telemachus |
| Barbara Wangui | Calypso |
| Brandon McInnis | Apollo |
| Mike Rivera | Hephaestus |
| Janani K. Jha | Aphrodite |
| Earle Gresham Jr. (MocaMedia) | Ares, Ensemble |
| POESY | Hera |
| ~ | Eurymachus |
| ~ | Amphinomus |
| ~ | Melanthius |
References[]
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvayv7u6HrpENlleXekJ2fgh
- https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pcfvuhuyvabcdrga
- https://www.epicthemusical.com/vagrvrdfv
- https://curtaincallbway.com/2023/01/03/get-to-know-epic-the-troy-saga-the-new-viral-musical-hit/afrvfaergvsd
- https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/digital-culture/tiktok-sensation-epic-the-musical-blows-audiences-away/rvgsdbksbiuab
- https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/Viral-Musical-Hit-EPIC-Will-Release-Concept-Album-on-Christmas-Day-20221212
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGgaxvp/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGtFKQc/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGggPgQ/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYaufrUT/
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Deletes And Drafts
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGgQGob/
- ↑ https://www.fulloutcreative.com/epic-the-musical-the-livestream/
- ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans/video/7387118819950497066
- ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans/video/7387118819950497066
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGtf62j/
- ↑ https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYGtk41x/
- ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans/video/7322190387353865515