Set in Ancient Greece, Eclipse is the story of a thoughtful prince named Aristocles, and his unexpected and undesired rise to the throne of Sparta. As prince, Aristocles has led the sheltered life of a scholar, leaving military and political matters to his best friend and older brother Demetrius. But when the king dies, and Demetrius reveals himself to be the leader of a massive underground rebellion against the monarchy, Aristocles is forced to assume kingship – a role that he never envisioned, and certainly never desired.

As Aristocles attempts to unite his roles as monarch and ethicist in the face of rebellion, he struggles equally in his relationships with two women: Acacia, a gloomy invalid and self-proclaimed “Mistress of Misery” who is the only living member of the past royal family, and with whom Aristocles has been infatuated since childhood; and Melody, a kind but impassioned revolutionary who turns out to be the secret wife of his brother Demetrius.

Eclipse is a story of love and betrayal, of goodness and destruction, and of the many beauties and cruelties of fate. Yet through loss, tragedy and uncertainty, the underlying message remains:

Eclipse is the first musical that I ever wrote, and as such, it holds a very special place in my heart.

I began writing Eclipse at age sixteen. I had been performing musicals for years, and was growing tired of singing the same repertoire again and again. I was sitting in history class learning about Ancient Greece when suddenly the thought struck me: maybe I could write a song for me to sing. A few weeks later, I finished writing “A Perfect World” (performed by Dana Gitlin in the sidebar player).

I’d been writing poetry for as long as I’d known how to read (and way before I learned how to spell), but “A Perfect World” was the first song that I ever completed. A few weeks later, I submitted the song anonymously to my school’s literary magazine. I sat in the room fidgeting nervously as the students on the review board read the lyrics. After what seemed like an eternity, one girl spoke up.

“When I read this,” she said, her voice breaking. “It makes me want to find someone I care about, and tell them how much I love them.”

At that moment, I knew I was going to be a musical theater composer.

A few weeks later, I hesitantly gave some sheet music to a fellow student named Doreen Strauss (who would go on to play Melanie in The New Musical) during rehearsals for 42nd Street, and asked her if she would like to sing a song I had written. We gave the music to our musical director, and I sat back and listened to my music being performed for the first time. It was just about the most fulfilling sensation I had ever experienced, and once again, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

I spent the rest of high school writing out the music, lyrics, and script for Eclipse, becoming immersed in Greek history and culture and in the philosophies of Plato, whom the main character (Aristocles) is named for and loosely based on.

I wrote about a dozen songs for Eclipse, some of them good, some of them terrible, all of them teaching me the art of writing for musical theater. When I went to college, I began writing The New Musical on my very first day, and Eclipse was forced to the back burner. But it is a project that I still routinely take out to polish, and one which I very much hope to return to in the future.

*Click any song title to view the lyrics and context for any song in the player*

Eclipse Prologue (Instrumental)

The Mistress of Misery

Lost

A Perfect World

A Love Song