Epic: The Musical. You’ve seen it around on some sort of social media platform, either on YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, or some other sort of platform of some type, haven’t you? If you haven’t seen anything related to it in the slightest, this article probably isn’t for you, but you’re welcome here nevertheless. So, what is it? What is it about? Why is it so popular? That’s what’s going to be explained in this article today.
Epic: The Musical
What is Epic: The Musical? It is an online musical based on the Odyssey, in case you want to read about what the Odyssey is. It’s about the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, and his travel back to his kingdom after fighting in the Trojan War. The whole Trojan War is in the Iliad, which is a prequel to the Odyssey. Anyway, Odysseus and his crew end up pissing off Poseidon. The Greek god of the sea, after blinding his son, Polyphemus. So, the travel back to Ithaca ends up taking ten years as a result of it.
Now, how does this relate to Epic: The Musical? Epic summarizes everything in the Odyssey in a way that’s enjoyable and catchy. The whole project started on TikTok in 2021 by Jorge Rivera-Herrans and the final saga was posted in 2024. So, this article has explained everything about Epic and the Odyssey. However, you’re wondering, ‘Why does this matter? Why is this significant?’ Aren’t you?
Why It Matters
Well, it matters because it cuts the Odyssey down into something more people can understand and process, which gives people a chance to educate themselves on a summary of the Odyssey without having to trudge through the actual book. It makes the Odyssey more accessible without losing too much content inside it.
This is culturally significant because of the fan base it spawned. People are connecting through it in a similar way to how people connected through Hamilton. It’s extremely similar to Hamilton since they both modernized historically significant stories and events.
Final Thoughts
Now, why would you care? Well, the different genres it fits into, depending on the album, provide something for everyone, while still fitting into a cohesive story. If you like a good love story? The Ithaca Saga is for you if you like angst. There are several Sagas that fit; the Thunder Saga has both angst and a sort of rock-ish vibe.
The Cyclops Saga is similar to that. Along with all of that, the vocals are so nuanced in both music and storytelling. It’s incredible, and aside from that. The animatics are just as amazing as the actual music; the way you can interpret the same thing in such different ways is wonderful.
