Luisa Bernardino

The release of the Ocean Saga features one of the main characters as the Greek god Poseidon.

A piano riff creates a murmur, mixing with the sounds of ocean waves in the background. Soon afterward, a chant of angry voices sets in and announces the entrance of a god. The perfect build-up for what is to come in the next saga of Epic, Epic: The Musical.

“Epic” is an adaptation of one of the most famous pieces of literature from ancient times, Homer’s “Odyssey”. With a few creative liberties, the tale is more interesting for the modern audience. Jorge Rivera-Herrans, the creator of the “Epic” series, brings together all who enjoy music, theater, and Greek mythology.

The musical revolves around various tales from Greek mythology. It tells the story of Odysseus as he attempts to return home after the Trojan War and all his perilous adventures doing so, including many of the most iconic characters from Greek mythology such as Athena, Circe, and Poseidon.

On Nov. 2, the official cast announced the next set of songs was revealed in an exciting trailer. It will be released on December 25. Referred to as the “Ocean Saga,” it features many songs that were already fan favorites before even being released such as “Storm”, “Luck Runs Out”, “Keep Your Friends Close”, and “Ruthlessness.”

The trailer shows all of the current cast members, and new members that were added as casting is still ongoing through social media, especially Tiktok: an innovative way to showcase the potential of small artists. Two new voices will act as the two main antagonists: Steven Rodriguez who will voice Poseidon4  and Ayron Alexander who will voice Antinous.

With this new addition, the story’s moral will be elaborated on. In most tales,  there is always a reason for the actions and the character’s dialogue, and musicals are no exception to this. As told by Herrans in one of his behind-the-scenes videos, the central theme of “Epic ” is that sometimes you have to be ruthless in life to achieve your goals. This message is further elaborated on in one of the new songs, “Ruthlessness,” where the god of the seas, Poseidon, comes to inquire and demoralize Odysseus on his approach to defeating the cyclops, Polyphemus, and how he can call himself a hero if he can’t withstand making sacrifices. 

The storm was brewing, representing how the gods wanted to release their rage, as Odysseus’s crew is watching their boats fill up with water and sink, panic sets in for these men. This is the plot of the first song of this new set, “Storm,” and their solution to this issue is “shooting for the island in the sky”, Aeolus’s abode. 

The second one features one of the secondary characters and the main character’s second in command, a man named Eurylichous, who is the voice of Odysseus’ crew, represented by a chorus of voices that always accompanies what Armando Julián, the voice of the character, says. This song tells their worries and concerns for what the future will be in the impossible conflicts they are facing.

The third song is the one the audiences currently have the least information about, only having a small snippet of the beginning of the song, but as far as it is known, it represents the conversation between Odysseus and Aeolus as the wind god sets up a challenge for him.