Epic: The Musical
Epic: The Musical is a nine-part series of album musicals written and produced in their entirety by Puerto Rican actor and singer-songwriter Jorge Rivera-Herrans. This musical project, released between 2022 and 2024, is a sung-through adaptation of the Ancient Greek epic poem Odyssey by Homer and takes inspiration from different musical genres as well as modern musical theater, anime and video games. It recounts the story of Odysseus as he tries to return from Troy to his island kingdom of Ithaca after the conclusion of the decade-long Trojan War. Along the years-long journey, he encounters multiple gods and monsters who either help or hinder him in his quest to return home to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus.
The musical project gained popularity in 2021 through TikTok and faced production troubles due to multiple lawsuits between the creator and its original record company. It has received widespread praise from reviewers and listeners for the emotional depth and narrative complexity it exhibits through its musical format.
Plot
Act 1
''The Troy Saga''
After ten years of stalemated fighting in the Trojan War, King Odysseus of Ithaca leads his men in a successful invasion of Troy using the Trojan Horse. While sacking the city, Odysseus receives a vision from the god Zeus informing him that if he does not kill the infant Astyanax, son of the Trojan prince Hector, the boy will eventually grow up to seek vengeance against Odysseus and his family. Odysseus struggles with the decision, thinking of his own son and contemplating what actions can be reasonably justified, but he ultimately decides to kill the child.Following the destruction of Troy, Odysseus and his fleet of six hundred men set sail towards their home in Greece. He and his best friend Polites decide to explore a nearby island to search for food. Seeing Odysseus' guilt over his actions during the war, Polites tries to convince him to move on with a kinder outlook on the world. They encounter the mischievous lotus-eaters, who direct them to find food in a cave on an island further to the east. At this moment, the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, who has mentored Odysseus since boyhood, sees his non-violent compromise with the lotus-eaters as weakness and straying from her teachings. She appears to him, replaying the memory of when they first met, in order to remind him of her expectations.
''The Cyclops Saga''
Arriving at the new island, Odysseus and a scouting party find a cave full of sheep and kill one for food. The sheep's owner, the Cyclops Polyphemus, angrily emerges and threatens to eat the men as revenge. Odysseus attempts to reason with him and offers the Cyclops some Greek wine as payment for the sheep. Polyphemus accepts the gift and asks Odysseus for his name, which he claims to be "Nobody". Polyphemus drinks the wine before deciding to attack the men anyway. Odysseus rallies his men to fight against Polyphemus, until the Cyclops retrieves a massive club that allows him to slaughter several men, including Polites, before suddenly passing out.Odysseus reveals that he drugged the wine with lotus fruit he took from the lotus-eaters, and he tells his men to fight on in the memory of their dead comrades. Using their swords, they sharpen Polyphemus's club into a spear and impale the sleeping Cyclops through his eye. His screams of pain attract other Cyclopes, who disregard him when Polyphemus says that "Nobody" attacked him. Odysseus and the surviving men then steal the sheep and escape, but Athena appears once again, angry that he didn't finish the job by killing Polyphemus. Odysseus ignores her, instead revealing his true name to the Cyclops in an act of hubris before escaping.. Athena and Odysseus argue about his decision to spare Polyphemus, ultimately deciding to end their connection.
''The Ocean Saga''
As the crew carry on, they battle a sudden and large storm before coming across a floating island in the sky. Recognizing the island as the home of the god Aeolus, Odysseus plans to climb up and ask the god to help them out of the storm. Eurylochus, his second-in-command, expresses doubt that this plan will work. Odysseus harshly reminds him to follow orders and to not contradict him in front of the crew. Upon reaching the island, Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag filled with the winds of the storm, enabling him to return home as long as it stays closed. Odysseus returns to his ship, but a rumor spreads among the crew that the bag contains treasure. Odysseus stays awake for nine days protecting it from his crew, before he ultimately falls asleep and the bag is opened. Odysseus and Eurylochus close the bag before all of the wind escapes, but the fleet is blown into the land of the Laestrygonians.. The ocean god Poseidon appears, revealing himself as Polyphemus's father. He vows vengeance for Odysseus's attack against his son, stating that even killing the Cyclops would have avoided his wrath. Poseidon sinks all of the fleet's ships except for Odysseus's, leaving only forty-three men alive. Before Poseidon can destroy the last ship, Odysseus reopens the wind bag, releasing the last of the storm inside and blowing his ship to safety.''The Circe Saga''
Beaching on an island, Odysseus sends out a scouting crew, led by Eurylochus. They encounter the witch Circe, who transforms all who entered her palace into pigs. Eurylochus escapes back to Odysseus, but they argue over whether they should rescue the men or leave, with Odysseus ultimately deciding to confront Circe at her palace. Hermes, herald and messenger of the gods, appears to Odysseus and gives him the magical moly herb, granting him even footing against Circe.Upon reaching the palace, Circe and Odysseus battle and Odysseus gains the upper hand. Switching tactics, Circe tries to seduce Odysseus, but thinking of his wife, Penelope, he rejects her advances. Inspired by his loyalty and hoping to ultimately create a kinder world, Circe agrees to let his men go and directs them to the Underworld, where they can evade Poseidon and seek further advice from the spirit of the blind prophet Tiresias.
''The Underworld Saga''
Sailing into the underworld, Odysseus and his crew pass by the souls of his slain fleet, including Polites, as well as Odysseus's mother Anticlea, whom he now realizes had died while waiting for him to return home. Odysseus eventually reaches Tiresias, who states that despite having clairvoyant vision of the past and future, he does not see any future in which Odysseus returns home unchanged. Distraught upon hearing this, Odysseus decides to bury his softer side, embracing ruthlessness and resolving to return home by any means necessary, comparing himself to the other monsters he'd fought on his travels.Act 2
''The Thunder Saga''
Back on the open sea, Odysseus encounters a siren disguised as his wife Penelope. While playing along with her charade, he asks her how he can return home without passing Poseidon, and she reveals that can only happen by going through the lair of the six-headed sea monster Scylla, where Poseidon is afraid to go. She asks Odysseus to join her in the water, saying that she could relieve all of his suffering. Odysseus appears to give in before attacking her and exposing her identity. He reveals that he and his crew resisted her magical song by plugging their ears with beeswax, and his crew captures the rest of the sirens in the water. The sirens beg for mercy, but Odysseus vows to not make the same mistake he made with Polyphemus and commands his crew to kill them all. The crew then sail towards Scylla's lair, where Eurylochus reveals to Odysseus that he was the one who opened Aeolus's wind bag. Ignoring him, Odysseus commands that Eurylochus distribute six torches as they sail through the dark lair. Scylla, attracted to the light, eats the men holding the torches, allowing the rest of the crew to escape unharmed.Horrified by Odysseus's willingness to sacrifice his own men, Eurylochus leads a mutiny, subduing and imprisoning the captain. The crew lands the ship on the nearest island, which happens to be the home of the sun god Helios. Despite warnings from Odysseus, Eurylochus kills one of Helios's sacred cows for food. Angered by this disrespect, Helios sends Zeus to pass judgement on the crew. The god forces Odysseus to choose between allowing either himself or his remaining men to be killed. Determined to return home, Odysseus ultimately chooses the latter. Zeus spares Odysseus but destroys his ship and kills the rest of his crew.
''The Wisdom Saga''
Seven years later, on Ithaca, Odysseus's son Telemachus is now twenty years old and longs to be a hero like his long-lost father, while also hoping to protect his mother from her increasingly violent suitors, who are vying for the island kingdom's throne. He stands up to the suitor Antinous to defend his mother's honor, but is badly beaten in a fight until Athena appears and aids him. She later reflects on her relationship with an "old friend" and expresses regret about how it ended. Telemachus, unaware that she is referring to his own father, encourages the goddess to rekindle that friendship.Heeding this advice, Athena decides to look through Odysseus's memories to find him and discovers that he has been trapped on the island of Ogygia with the exiled goddess Calypso, who has repeatedly tried to seduce him to no avail. Over the years, Odysseus has become increasingly depressed and desperate to escape the island, finally calling out to Athena for help. On Mount Olympus, Athena appeals to Zeus, her father, to free Odysseus. Unwilling to do so freely, he decides to host a "game", agreeing to release Odysseus only if Athena successfully argues for his release to five other Olympians: Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Hera. Using her wit and knowledge of each of the Olympians' different personalities, Athena successfully convinces all of them. Zeus becomes enraged at being outwitted, and he strikes Athena with lightning, but she survives and makes a final plea for Odysseus's freedom before collapsing.