Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is rightfully getting its dues after a successful summer at the box office, but it’s not the only version of this story that deserves your attention.

Epic: The Musical is an audio-only retelling of the famed The Odyssey that released as nine concept albums between 2022-24. The project is the brainchild of Jorge Rivera-Herrans, who began developing the musical while in college at Notre Dame in 2019 as part of his senior thesis.

Rivera-Herrans would tease portions of the musical on TikTok as early as 2021 before releasing the first album in late 2022. Each album tells a sung-through portion of The Odyssey starting with Odysseus at Troy, detailing his journey, and ending with his return to Ithica.

A student of mine recommended this to me and as I researched it further, I found one thread that immediately drew me in: Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Miranda is the creator of Hamilton and In The Heights, bringing in a contemporary approach to Broadway music by fusing hip-hop and R&B with traditional theater music. Rivera-Herrans says he took a lot of inspiration from Miranda and that was enough for me.

You can see the influences of Hamilton all over this musical. Epic blends a lot of catchy rhythm with contemporary music. It’s not a carbon copy of the hip-hop musical but the inspiration is clear.

What makes this production even more fascinating is its audio-first production. There are animatics that go along with the songs, but the original format is audio-only through nine concept albums. Furthermore, these albums are short, making it easy to listen to many sagas in one sitting.

An absence of a theater production allows you to imagine what is going on. It is such a unique form of storytelling because it has to do everything through its songs. Hamilton at least had the stage production. Epic does not.

Having seen Nolan’s The Odyssey, it was a blast to revisit this story through Rivera-Herrans’ production. The songs are catchy and the story is really well told. I think that is what has intrigued me the most.

I enjoy a good concept album with the likes of My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade and Green Day’s American Idiot ranking at the top. This was an entirely different beast.

The bite-sized saga made it easy to consume the story, making it more engaging. It’s chapter-like approach also made me excited to get to the next album. Longer concept albums are great but require longer sittings. Epic is intended for those with little time to do so.

Even if you haven’t seen Nolan’s The Odyssey, Epic is well worth your time. You will find yourself engrossed in a familiar story centered on Greek mythology that uses song to tell it. I can’t restate enough how fun this unique form of storytelling is and how much fun you will have listening to it.

The best part? You don’t need to set aside a ton of time to listen to it. You can pop it in while working or doing chores. It’s story is accessible enough that it’s easy to follow when multi-tasking.

While Nolan’s The Odyssey will continue drawing in the attention, it’s not the only version of this story. Epic: The Musical brings a fun concept from an up-and-coming composer who seems to have big things planned for the future. Rivera-Herrans plans on tackling Homer’s Iliad next with his next project Ilium.

If you are a fan of Greek mythology, Hamilton, Broadway music, or just music in general, Epic: The Musical is well worth your time. Don’t sleep on this retelling because you will regret it.

Have you heard of Epic: The Musical? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

Featured Image: Epic: The Musical

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