Epic: The Musical
| EPIC: The Musical | |
|---|---|
 The album cover of The Troy Saga, the first part of the musical | |
| Music | Jorge Rivera-Herrans |
| Lyrics | Jorge Rivera-Herrans |
| Setting | Mycenaean Greece |
| Basis | The Odyssey by Homer |
Epic: The Musical (stylized as EPIC) is a nine-part series of concept albums with music and lyrics by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. An adaptation of Homer's Odyssey inspired by musical theater, it tells the story of Odysseus as he tries to return to Ithaca after the ten-year-long Trojan War. Along the way, he must face gods and monsters that attempt to prevent him from returning to his wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus.
Production background
[edit]Epic: The Musical began production in 2019 as Jorge Rivera-Herrans's senior thesis at the University of Notre Dame,[1] but gained widespread popularity in 2021 when he posted videos documenting his creative process on TikTok. The first part of the musical, The Troy Saga, released in December 2022, being followed shortly therafter by The Cyclops Saga in early 2023. The project was stuck in development hell for around a year due to a lawsuit involving Rivera-Herrans and the recording company, with the third part, The Ocean Saga, releasing in December 2023.[2]
In 2023, the recording company Blair Russell Productions filed a lawsuit against Rivera-Herrans, seeking a ruling that they owned full copyright of the first two sagas of Epic.[3] Rivera-Herrans filed a countersuit claiming that he was the exclusive writer, musical director, and lead performer.[4] The lawsuits caused a split between the recording company and the production, and Rivera-Herrans founded Winion Entertainment as an independent recording company. The musical's cast re-recorded the first two sagas to release them independently.[1]
Content
[edit]The series is divided into nine concept albums, referred to as "sagas", consisting of three to five songs each. The sagas each portray a narrative arc of Homer's Odyssey.[2] The nine sagas comprise two acts, with each act representing half of the musical.[1]
The characters in Epic are portrayed by multiple singers.[5] Rivera-Herrans took inspiration from the 1936 musical composition Peter and the Wolf, which identifies different characters using unique instruments. Using this theme, Epic uses symbolism through representative instruments, with Odysseus being represented with guitar music, Athena being represented with a piano, and Aeolus using choral vocals and flutes.[6] Telemachus is represented by both a guitar and a piano, indicating influences from both Odysseus as his father and Athena as his mentor.[7] This theme is also subverted to provide foreshadowing, such as in the song "Suffering", wherein Penelope is not represented by her characteristic viola, hinting that the singer is actually a siren in disguise.[1]
The songs of the musical span multiple genres, including pop, electronic, rock, orchestral, and world music.[5] The series takes musical and narrative inspiration from various sources, including the works of Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as anime storytelling video game mechanics.[8] Inspired by video games, the sagas serve as "levels", often building up to dramatic "boss battles" at the end.[7] The story of the musical has creative differences from the original Odyssey, with ruthlessness being a defining narrative theme in the adaptation.[7] Death is also a consistent theme in the story, with each consecutive saga becoming lyrically darker to represent the pain felt by Odysseus because of the loss he suffers.[9]
The musical makes use of leitmotifs to reinforce thematic parallels throughout the story, such as the "danger motif", which is frequently used to foreshadow incoming danger.[7] Lyrics from previous songs are also often repeated throughout the musical to reinforce narrative themes, such as the lyric "When does a man become a monster?", first appearing in The Troy Saga,[10] or the lyric "Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves", first sung by the main antagonist Poseidon, both being frequently invoked throughout the first act.[7]
Reception
[edit]Within the first week of release, The Troy Saga surpassed three million streams, reaching second-place on the Billboard Cast Album Chart (behind Hamilton) and becoming the number one Soundtrack Album on iTunes on the day of release.[5]
Epic has been praised for its emotional depth and character development, with reviewer Ally Kelly describing it as having her in a "chokehold",[11] and reviewer Océane Adams saying that Rivera-Herrans's emotive voice "will slam you to your knees if you let it".[10]
Reviewer Eliana Hernandez described Rivera-Herrans's singing as "passionate", saying that he "accurately captures the essence and complexity of a man willing to do practically anything to make it back home to his wife, son and kingdom even if it forever changes the person he is."[6] She also praised the album's worldbuilding and effective abridgement of the source material, saying that despite the creative liberties taken for brevity, the songs "still emotionally pack a punch".[6] In a review of the musical, the website Xavier Newswire described The Wisdom Saga as Rivera-Herrans's best work, praising its character depth and describing the songs "Love in Paradise" and "God Games" as "simultaneously some of the most epic and gut wrenching songs in the whole show".[8]
Reviewers have drawn attention to the fact that the musical found its cast entirely online, and that all of the marketing is done on social media.[8] Eliana Hernandez said that this method of social media-driven production "honors the original source material while transforming the story into a medium that will speak to a more contemporary audience".[6] Reviewer Wyn Caulde described the musical's integration with social media "a new form of production".[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Caudle, Wyn (2024-09-13). "EPIC: The Musical, a new form of production?". The Wooster Voice. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
- ^ a b McKinnon, Madeline. "Music Review: "EPIC: The Musical"". The Spectrum. Archived from the original on 2024-11-09. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
- ^ Hayes, Peter (November 7, 2023). "Producer Sues Over Rights to 'EPIC: The Musical' Recordings (1)". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024.
- ^ Aruni, Soni (September 5, 2024). "Singer Hits Back With His Own Copyright Suit Over 'Epic' Musical". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c Rabinowitz, Chloe. "EPIC: THE TROY SAGA Passes 3 Million Streams in First Week of Release". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
- ^ a b c d Hernandez, Eliana (2024-10-14). "'EPIC: The Musical': A musical retelling of Homer's most well-known epic". The Ticker. Archived from the original on 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
- ^ a b c d e Gray, Abby (2024-09-09). ""EPIC: The Musical" delivers lyrical spin on ancient tale". The Torch. Archived from the original on 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
- ^ a b c "A Rather EPIC Review: EPIC The Musical". Xavier Newswire. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
- ^ Adams, Océane. "This is a Different Beast now – Epic: The Musical Thunder Saga". Soundsphere.
- ^ a b Adams, Océane. "Odysseus' Villain Era – Epic: The Musical The Underworld Saga". Soundsphere.
- ^ Kelley, Ally. "Review: "Epic: the Musical" A Three Thousand Year Old Tale". The Rock Online. Retrieved 2024-11-30.