Michael has had two passions in his life for as long as he can remember. He loves musical theatre and astronomy. This somewhat odd combination of interests has caused him some confusion as to which of them he should pursue as a career. When he was in high school he had the lead role in the school’s production of The Music Man and was also the president of the astronomy club. Ultimately when he headed off for college Michael chose to study astronomy because he was much better at focusing on math and the stars all day than on musical theatre. He decided he would perform in local productions and enjoy the major touring shows.
This decision worked out well for Michael for about ten years, until he went to New York for a major astronomy conference. While he was in the lobby of one of the boutique hotels New York he overheard a couple of men from the conference talking about seeing a performance of Billy Elliot while they were in the city. Michael was certain he wanted to see it too and asked to join them. He was absolutely amazed by the production and performances in a way that he had never been before. He thought the music was fabulous and for that moment he didn’t understand how he had let musical theatre slip out of his life.
That night when Michael returned to his hotel he didn’t go to his room and read the blogs about that day’s presentation. Instead he went back to the hotel lobby and sat down at the piano. He began to pluck out what he could remember of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. When he returned home he almost instinctively began working out the music for Mercury and Venus. He also began jotting down a story outline for the Greek mythological archetypes that are associated with the planets, such as Hermes and Aphrodite and began retelling some of the ancient stories through the planets. About a year later Michael felt his musical was ready to be played and sung by others. He had finally figured out how to combine his two life’s passions, and while he maintained his position at the observatory, he continued to write music for the cosmos.
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