The creator of the University of Notre Dame’s first ever original musical, Jorge Rivera-Herrans is a 22 year old composer, lyricist, and performer who graduated from Notre Dame in May of 2020. Raised in Dorado, Puerto Rico, Jorge grew up studying intensely for a life in medicine, but then switched during his first year at Notre Dame when he realized his passion was in musical theatre. After receiving backlash for the sudden change, Jorge teamed up with his professor, Matt Hawkins, to write Stupid Humans, a musical about a med school dropout who chases his dreams of becoming a songwriter. The musical debuted to a sold out run (including an extra show that sold out in 33 seconds) at the University of Notre Dame in February of 2019.

Now, while Stupid Humans (now titled My Heart Says Go) is being developed with The Goodman Theatre and with Apples and Oranges Arts, Jorge is writing his biggest project yet: EPIC, an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey.