A popular spot for those in the know

  Where songs were sung both new and borrowed

  Works are performed for audience review

  Performing this stage is quite the salute

  Alive was the air and yet I felt calm

  A pretty chill atmosphere, a balm

  Compared to the chaos and fear I sensed

  When I stepped outside, the city was tense

  Everyone sat within their own houses

  Their only company kids and spouses

  Waiting for the time they can re-emerge

  When the illness from this place is purged

  Theater is where people go for escape

  It’s needed within the current landscape

  But theater and film had to close its doors

  Protection from the virus that some ignore

  For safety they said to avoid large crowds

  Some stayed in quarantine, others lockdowns

  So I walked down the stairs and looked all around

  Didn't know if others could be found

  Staying as invisible as I could

  I walked by the tables made out of wood

  “Who’s there?” I heard a voice in the dark say

  “Maybe you should just go on your way.”

  But I hadn’t seen another being

  Like me since Red, so I kept on creeping

  Crouched by a booth another voice so clear

  Whispering “Hi!” right by my fucking ear!

  Surprised, I stumbled away from this one

  To be held by a third, nowhere to run

  The lights came up so now I could see them

  With a source, like me, they had been condemned

  F. Michael Haynie of Frozen’s tour fame

  They had played the Hunchback of Notre Dame

  Their double held me, as I turned to the one

  Who whispered in my ear, having some fun

  Andrew Kober, understudied Brightman

  In S-O-R, he had insight so can

  See me despite how well I had been hid

  So that left one more, these two were amid

  The song writer, Gasparini, Drew

  Wrote from Smash, Make me Bad, I knew

  F let me go as Drew stood on stage

  Kober sat in a booth, I felt his gaze

  I held my hands up, try to be of no threat

  They hadn’t seemed to want harm to me yet

  Drew turned to me and looked into my eyes

  “Finn? Is that you?” He stated with surprise

  “Not anymore.” I honestly told him

  “I’m not sure just who exactly I am.”

  The group stood there looking at me

  F spoke up, “He’d just left for DC!”

  “That was years ago,” Kober now said

  Where’d they go, they wondered, was Finn dead?

  I explained my tale as best as I could

  Hoping I was in company that’s good

  As I finished my story they all agreed

  That Red was insane they’d always believed

  Never knew what Finn saw in her, all three

  Saw the red flags, possessive, like I’d seen

  Drew explained how different Finn was alone

  A performer, wild, funniest Drew’d known

  Seeing him became more and more rare

  This woman seemed to need his constant care

  Drew told me something Finn had once said

  How nightmares would leave him sweating in bed

  Waking dreams, a terrible future, they thought

  Total chaos, in the middle Finn was caught

  The stripes he said was the start of it all

  So Finn tried to deny the demon’s call

  We all theorized just what this had done

  Denying one’s souce, we thought, couldn’t be fun

  The compulsion to see this new musical

  Would only grow if Finn resisted the pull

  It seemed Finn lasted just a few weeks

  Then went to see the show in DC

  It was too much, we supposed for them

  Their grip on the power must have worn thin

  The fear he had was so immense

  When BJ tried to take over their sense

  Finn fought back, scared of what it would do

  Somehow this changed him into something new

  I don’t think we will ever know for sure

  What happened that night, if I am the cure

  Or the chaos Finn had visions about

  But the fact that I’m here, there is no doubt

  Drew let me stay in 54 Below

  The stage showed me more of what I need to know

  Brightman had performed with these 3 often

  Performances here, are not forgotten

  (The (M)orons Drew Brightman and F in order

  Quite a funny group, then there’s Kober!)

  This group called the Morons, comedy quad

  And he sang some solos without this squad

  Seeing him perform is always a treat

  Despite that what I saw from my seat

  Is only an echo, something missing

  To see it live, I found myself wishing

  No recording or echo I could see

  Could replace the magic theater can be

  But I was stuck with the rest of the earth

  Waiting for reopening, our rebirth

  After I watch Brightman, Drew showed me more

  The Garden is my home, his fifty four!

  The morons here had a similar tale

  As Finn and Red, except for one detail

  While those two had each other these three guys

  Began life alone, no friends or allies

  Until they were all drawn to this place

  Making it their official home or base

  They also told me of others they’d seen

  Many singers on this stage, there had been

  So beings like us had come and they’d gone

  Drawn by their sources to see them perform songs

  I asked how many, but they didn’t count

  Thirty or so was the guessed amount

  “We aren’t sure” Kober explained, "just why

  We exist or who these choices are by

  Like, who gets a double, what are our looks

  This has never been written in a book!”

  “Double?” I asked. “Is that what we are?”

  “It’s the best word we’ve figured out so far.”

  Best they believed this description was

  But I thought we needed another cuz

  I don’t feel like I’m a double of him

  Despite this drive to see all that he’s in

  I have my own thoughts, feelings and desire

  So why’s he in my head but to inspire

  Some strength in me, or powers I guess

  Suppose I just don’t get it, I confessed

  “Join the club,” Drew said, pouring a drink

  F sat down, “You’re darker than Finn, I think”

  “Of course they are!” Drew said, drink going down

  Sat by the piano, “This friend’s no clown!

  While School of Rock brought about our dear Finn

  None of us knew of the dark they were in

  And though they tried to deny it all

  Finn could not escape the demon’s call”

  “Please don’t,” I asked of Drew “Call me that name”

  “I’m sorry” they sneered “But you cannot blame

  Me for thinking that because suddenly

  My best friend sees a show in DC

  And comes back so different from who they were

  The funny one with laughter so pure

  Now to this gloomy morose being

  I can’t the the only one who’s thinking

  That Finn is dead and you’re the one to blame

  Maybe you should go back from where you came!”

  The words hit deep when F spoke up then

  “Who are you,” they asked, “to say who’s our friend?

  This person came here with nowhere to go

  A feeling I’m sure all of us well know!”

  Drew shrugged, F patted my back, Kober stood

  Walking to the stage, “I think that we could

  Make much better use of our ample time.”

  Soon the air was full of music and rhyme

  As Drew played piano, we three sung along

  To songs we knew, a whole catalog!

  The mood changed and soon we were having fun

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Even I found myself laughing a ton

  By the time I left Studio Five Four

  I thought I had friends, maybe one or more

  There were some fireworks on fourth of July

  But I didn’t see them, not gonna lie

  I still wandered the streets of the city

  Well, it’s not like anyone could see me

  The streets of the city were still left bare

  And I stayed invisible to those who were there

  Going to theaters, I saw different shows

  Learning Broadways highs, and some of the lows

  For I soon learned , of the theaters to ask

  If they could do me the simple task

  Of showing me ghosts of performance past

  Even if Brightman had not been cast

  Whatever was offered I viewed with glee

  For all of it was of interest to me

  Fifty four below you'd find me nightly

  Those shenanigans I don't take lightly

  Each double spent time in their own way

  Playing the piano I knew Drew stayed

  I think Kober said something about kids

  I didn't exist before but perhaps he did

  Created, I was, a few years ago

  That's how far my recollection will go

  But if Kober has kids then just perhaps

  We had lives but our memories had lapsed

  Maybe we were human but chosen to

  Be given this power and life anew

  Our former lives forgotten, a clean slate

  Whether by the gods or a twist of fate

  But I didn't think on it at the time

  Figured it was no business of mine

  In the theaters I saw nobody

  Maybe they felt the need to hide from me

  I was known as the one who killed before

  And maybe I believed it in my core

  So if, from me, they wanted to hide

  To search for them, why would I try?

  Although I could feel their eyes on me

  Only the shows, I wanted to see

  Imagine the great surprise I had

  To notice a being by me had sat

  Hadestown played on the Walter Kerr stage

  The tale of Orpheus right off the page

  When I saw her who her source was, I knew

  Eva Noblezada an acting jewel

  Can easily be anybody’s idol

  Played Miss Saigon Broadway revival

  Also had the role of Eurydice

  The other half of Reeve Carney’s lead

  Reeve played Orpheus, the starving writer

  Loves Eurydice, to be beside her

  Goes to follow her all the way down

  Rescue her from Hadestown in the ground

  It's an old song of love from way back when

  It's a sad song, sung again and again

  Noblezada’s own double now here sat

  Right behind me, gave my shoulder a pat

  Of my surroundings I'd been more aware

  So when Eve did touch me, I barely cared

  One can only be surprised so much

  When F and Kober love pranks and such!

  Turning to her, she was rather pretty

  Her eyes sparkled like the lights of the city

  We began to talk, what we are came up

  Tulpa is what she’d come to call all of us

  A sentient thought that's created by

  Powerful meditation and though I

  Saw flaws in this definition such as

  Who had thought us up and for what task?

  Perhaps, unintentionally, our sources

  Just living their lives, following courses

  Gathered the energy to create

  Beings like us at an alarming rate

  Usually the energy would be used

  On performances, writings, we had mused

  But with shutdown, that power lay dormant

  Until it took on human like form and

  Thus we began by some trick of fate

  Dwelling on it gave me a headache!

  I asked Eve where that phrase, tulpa, she heard

  She explained her boyfriend taught her the word

  Reeve Carney, I mentioned the name before

  Played Orpheus in the Hadestown score

  The boy was touched, the son of a muse

  With Gods on his side, could he ever lose?

  Turns out yes, for in a moment of doubt

  His love’s exile to hell is brought about

  Before I could think, I asked of Eve

  Why she was with Rev, I did believe

  The reason she stayed was not her own wants

  But that of Eurydice’s mind that haunts

  She didn't seem able to answer me

  Like I'd shown her a path she hadn't seen

  Some days later, I was in a mood

  Stayed in the Garden with an attitude

  I would later learn that day 6th of June

  Affected me due to not being immune

  To the sway of my source for on that day

  Was the scheduled time, the end of BJ

  This show closed with the rest of Broadway

  The was a hope that closed it wouldn't stay

  A few weeks, and they’d again open

  At least, that’s what everyone was hoping

  But now here is the day of scheduled close

  Shutdown was the final bow of this show

  The actors and crew arrived to pack up

  The props, the sets and personal stuff

  I hid for a while but could not resist

  When Brightman himself arrived in the midst

  I followed him to his own dressing room

  Feeling from him a wave of sorrow and gloom

  The show he had led, went suddenly dark

  Though nobody’s fault it still left a mark

  Not only was the rug here quickly yanked

  But acting jobs, just as fast tanked

  Masked, he packed all of his things away

  And I was right there behind him that day

  Walk to the stage was the last thing he did

  I stood at the edge of his sight, still hid

  He looked around the stage for the last time

  The show had ended right in its prime

  Though everyone knows that everything dies

  I turned towards him, looked in his eyes

  The only part of his face I could see

  Sorrow, a touch of anger, memories

  All in his eyes but they looked right through me

  I moved once more to his periphery

  An experiment, him to see I willed

  Just for a moment, he turned, frightened, chilled

  A trick of the light, he thought probably

  As I quickly returned to invisibility

  Just a moment I was willing to give

  My burdens, my life were not his to live

  He had his own problems, I won’t give him mine

  But good to know, if I want I can find

  A way to the world and it was quite nice

  To be seen for a second, once or twice

  I left the theater as it was cleared out

  Walking around, I had no set route

  Too many shows in this city, I feel

  Close so soon before they even seem real

  All jukebox musicals or based on films

  And revivals of classics are now what fulfills

  Producers seem to only want cash

  As fast as they can rather shows that last

  The audience is guilty of this too

  Paying for familiar over the new

  I have no solution just what I see

  In the end it makes no difference to me

  My greatest power is a film turned show

  So my thoughts on this, for now, I will stow

  The Walter Kerr theater I walked past

  Sparing Eve a thought that would not long last

  For I was suddenly thrown through the air

  Who this foe was I soon became aware

  Hard to miss the onesie red and blue

  As with the aid of thin webbing he flew

  Fucking Spiderman kicked me through a wall

  And punched my face before I could fall

  Had no time to think before the next blow

  He hit me in the back with his elbow

  The next foray I was sure would not land

  With power I could barely understand

  Reached in my mind for a tale of terror

  Instead found a Comedy of Errors

  No not the one Shakespeare long since wrote

  But a podcast based on a different GOAT

  Brahms’ story of that drinker of blood

  Turned into a comedy that wasn't a dud

  Brightman voiced a Reinfield who was insane

  And thought that eating bugs could fix his brain

  Running on instinct this source I reached for

  Vampiric powers to even the score

  I turned into fog that his fist flew through

  It took some effort due to the fact

  That Brightman’s Reinfield couldn't perform this act

  The focus it took made my head ache

  But I ignored the pain, tried not to break

  As his vision cleared he asked “where are you!?”

  I remained hidden, to see what he'd say

  From Eve, he explained, I should stay away

  She belongs to him and him alone

  The bigotry did chill me to the bone

  From shadows, I whispered my reply

  We had only spoken, I told no lie

  “If this is how you act, what would you do,

  Should Eve do something to upset you?”

  Said he loved her just as Orpheus did

  I told him, “That pair's connection was shit.

  Both abandoned the one whose heart they'd win

  The very moment that doubt crept in.

  Eurydice lost faith as cold winds blew

  The boy couldn't trust what was out of view

  A doomed love, weak from the start,

  When there is no trust, doubt blocks the heart

  Why, if this person, he truly did trust

  Did he think telling me off was a must?

  Jealousy and violence such a tell

  Rarely of those of a couple doing well”

  If he had a response, I heard of it none

  He swung on his webbing and was soon gone

  How interesting, the power of words

  My conversation with Eve, it seems stirred

  Up some feelings previously unsaid

  Not my intent to get in her head

  But my question to her unanswered still

  How much of our being is our own will?

  We exist outside of reality

  No effects to us from COVID 19

  We see each other humans rarely seen

  Just feel them there as if they were a dream

  Or perhaps the dream is where we exist

  As humanity lives in ignorant bliss

  The theater was damaged during our fight

  But as I looked it all was set right

  The Walter cleaned itself of any change

  So those who came here would see nothing strange

  Whatever power was in charge here

  Liked secrecy, that was very clear

  We didn’t exist to the world outside

  No one would know about this crazy ride

  My existential thoughts did continue

  A thought came to me that had long been due

  I had met many in my theater tours

  Some were kind, while others shut tight their doors

  But there was one not among the rest

  That I felt could be a friend on the best

  If Beetlejuice was my most recent source

  Then there should be a Lydia, of course!

  The young goth girl with the ghost often

  She alone may be able to soften

  This demon heart, to alter its ways

  Sometimes enemy, a friend on most days

  So I wondered where I could find

  A bond such as that, a friend to call mine

  Sophia Anne Caruso played this role

  When a stage was lit by the musical

  With her as a source was a tulpa there

  And if there was I just had to know where

  Returning to the Garden, up in its attic

  There lived a couple rather pragmatic

  Bobby, a tulpa of Robert McClure

  Very intelligent, book smart I'm sure

  Babs, of Kerry Butler's power renowned

  Her green thumb meant plant life was all around

  Vines grew between the wires and spot lights

  And flowers bloomed where gels used to shine bright

  I came to them they greeted me warmly

  Conversation came soon to what had brought me

  I asked if they knew had there ever been

  The tulpa I sought, if they had been seen

  The two looked to me, then to each other

  Told me of a child needing a mother

  If we were so confused about our own plight

  She even more so, so young in life

  Living in the Garden, parented by them

  She soon felt as I did, missing a friend

  Going off with knowledge of her power

  A rumor returned, one that's rather sour

  A tulpa and their source, if they do meet

  Maybe in a shop or out on the street

  For both parties, a strong kinship is felt

  These are the cards my Lydia was delt

  A tulpa, who by their own source taken in

  I didn't see how it could end in a win

  Even when Brightman stood before me

  My instincts urged me to remain unseen

  I did not believe that any good end

  Could occur if I thought him as a friend

  The end of this story did prove me right

  For the child had not been seen since that night

  Where power exists, those who covet it

  Will find ways of use as they shall see fit

  Whether friend or foe, this tulpa is gone

  Dead or held captive, what's been done is done

  Once more, I left the Garden on my own

  Wonderef when what Sophia had reaped would be sown

  Some weeks later, a day of little note

  I wanted to see something Brightman had wrote

  A musical of a killer so foul

  Whose love might just make him throw in the towel

  But I could feel someone follow behind

  I wondered if they wanted to be kind

  It felt familiar, kind of like Kober

  But why did they hide and not come over?

  I assumed they may have some ill intent

  So the Palace Theater is where I went

  In nineteen thriteen the Palace began

  Housing performances of a large span

  Like Aida, Legally Blonde, and Annie

  But since twenty eighteen no place to be

  The theater was being raised up high

  About thirty feet, not to the sky

  They wanted stores open down on the street

  And how they did it was really quite neat

  The inside is a protected landmark

  So before all of the city went dark

  Construction began on a huge ass haul

  Couldn’t break it down, so they lifted it all!

  The project halted with everything else

  The Palace was silent, sometimes it helps

  At first it felt like it was now dead

  But now I know it was waiting instead

  Anticipation for what is to come

  Excited to share it with someone

  I felt happy here like I could ignore

  The dread I could feel brewing in my core

  It was an escape and one that I needed

  So I walked right in and soon was seated

  The air was so still but ready to spring

  While there were no echos waiting in wings

  And no performances for me to see

  I was a favorite of mine, place to be

  The person following me came in soon

  So I stood up to say good afternoon!

  Instead I was hit with a power chord

  A sound wave so strong, it felt like a Ford

  The effect was not on me alone

  Since across the mezzanine I was thrown

  Seats blew apart and debris pierced my skin

  For a moment I thought this could be Finn

  I wanted to think that they had returned

  For I knew that song, in my brain twas burned

  Teacher’s Pet from School of Rock on guitar

  Played in the Palace but it felt bizarre

  The will inside the song made me confused

  If it didn’t hurt bad, I’d be amused

  I had to think of a way to defend

  Against the power of my new ‘friend’

  Thirty five millimeter was a show

  A musical exhibition I know

  A song writer, Ryan Scott Oliver

  Married Matthew Murphy photographer

  Using their talents an album was made

  Songs written using pictures as an aid

  Telling the story RSO saw

  Abuse, nightmares, a prom queen in those songs

  Not a musical, despite what it seems

  Though the songs have similar style and themes

  Each of them tells their own solo shot

  Rather than a part of a larger plot

  One theme is woven the album through

  What photos are and what they can do

  One power photography has always

  Is to stop time, just a moment, not days

  I only needed a moment right now

  I took a breath and furrowed my brow

  Focus. Ghosts of a show from theaters they come

  Hold. This song from within it must be sung

  Still. I recalled it in my head so clear

  There. But School of Rock was all I could hear

  Life. I sung my own song, blocking my ears

  FOCUS! My power burst and sound disappeared.

  Holy shit it worked! I stood from the ground

  Dusting myself off, looking all around

  It did not take long for them to be found

  Guitar in hand not making any sound

  Like a photo, frozen in place

  A rather shocked expression on their face

  I took the guitar out of his grip

  Just as my focus began to slip

  “Hello, Will,” I stated with a smile

  “Have a seat,” I said, “let’s talk for a while.”

  I kept my smile, the nonchalance fake

  My head pounding with the focus that did take

  He sat in a seat a few rows away

  I waited, wanting to hear what he’d say

  Will Blum, a performer of talent great

  A successful career as of this date

  School of Rock, Grease, understudy often

  One thing that should not be forgotten

  Despite what we thought in high school drama

  Understudies don’t cry out to mama

  They are always such an important part

  No covers or swings, a show doesn’t start

  These roles don’t mean their talent is less than

  A multitude of roles these people can

  Step right into with a minute’s warning

  Be part of a show: an actor’s yearning

  Essential is what all the swings are

  There is no doubt that they are big stars

  Many times Brightman was covered by Will

  School of Rock, Beetlejuice, done with great skill

  His ‘double’, I still dislike that word

  Had access to those roles as they deserve

  And he was sitting in front of me now

  I sat eager to hear who, why and how

  Will explained a similar story

  As every other tulpa before me

  Woke up alone, wandered around town

  When they continued I began to frown

  Will had, for a long time, fallen for Red

  Or at least her image he had in his head

  In her eyes he was always second best

  So when it seemed Finn had been laid to rest

  The witch had run to Will’s open arms

  It didn’t take long to see past her charms

  I must be clear about something Will had said

  Rather than changed, Finn had been declared dead

  And I it seemed was the most likely one

  To have killed them, it left me rather stunned

  So as Will continued, my mouth stayed shut

  He explained that we were in quite a rut

  The witch had ordered Will for my demise

  Misjudged, I had, how much I was despised

  “Why”, I asked, “doesn’t he just walk away?”

  Will said he was being compelled to stay

  I looked at them with a brand new worry

  Had to figure something out in a hurry

  My desperate trick of making time freeze

  Gave Will the moment that he did need

  To get composure and say what he did

  But he could feel the return of her bid.

  They’d lose control soon, try to destroy me

  But first Will assured me he was so sorry

  I hadn’t noticed the guitar back in his hand

  Until a new chord wrought pain so grand

  Will’s face was blank as I begged him to quit

  The thought to fight back made me feel like shit

  He couldn’t help what he was doing now

  Red would pay for this, my promise, my vow

  I ran from Will, wondering if I could

  Make myself deaf, it would do me some good

  It took me far too long for me to recall

  That it was extremely possible

  My own power surpassed what Will now had

  I had to fight back, though it made me sad

  The only companion Will here had found

  Had been a witch by whom he was now bound

  I wondered if there could possibly be

  A time where friends, not combatants were we

  But I am not a time traveler yet

  That is one power no one should get

  So I dashed and I dodged as fast as I’m able

  Trying to think at a time far from stable

  Breaking my rule, using Beetlejuice

  More than one demon would then be set loose

  Will would counter by using it as well

  They had BJ too from what I could tell

  I could have used Dewey had I’d chosen

  But my past with the role left me frozen

  I had an idea that was quite a stretch

  Using two powers at once seemed like a jest

  But Boq from Wicked could make my skin tin

  Maybe stronger than what I was now in

  With defense handled, I needed attack

  An offensive strike is what I did lack

  Another chord struck me as I was thrown

  When something happened I had not yet known

  With my new skin, which was doing it’s part

  I had forgotten that Boq lost his heart

  My anger flared din a ruthless fashion

  Choosing an attack with no compassion

  Summoning the chains that once held me tight

  They wrapped around Will with all of my might

  Just as Will gasped a desperate breath

  I switched focus to the show about death!

  Once scene, a character’s demise

  Saw Otho bound to a wheel by his surprise

  A circle, a wheel appeared at Will's back

  Wrists and ankles bound with no slack

  The wheel did spin, but there was a trick

  Blades spun around the tulpa rather quick

  As the sharp edges pierced his flesh

  I found myself smiling, I must confess

  The blades grew, causing damage severe

  Will seemed frozen there with fear

  With a small push, the wheel rolled away

  His terror, those screams did convey

  But I was not done with him, it seemed

  I recall this time as if it were dreamed

  I followed the wheel, with a finger snap

  And I teleported to the crash ASAP

  It had rolled down the orchestra, the pit

  I loomed above, gazing down to it

  Seeing wood and blades, even some gore

  But Will himself wasn't there anymore

  Thinking him hidden I tried my best

  To sense him out, but deep in my chest

  I knew he was gone, now I feared

  That I killed him, he'd disappeared!

  I didn't mean to do it, sincerely

  Will was gone before I could think clearly

  Sitting there gasping, I shook off the tin

  Thinking how much shit I found myself in

  I’d broken my rule, and Will would be mad

  I thought he’d return, kind of like I had

  Really didn’t think we even could die

  Though I was learning how hard some would try

  Embarrassed at what I had done this night

  Looking around me, I hoped I was right

  Will would return and from Red, they’d be free

  A little pissed off…understandably

  Time passed on as the sun began to rise

  Did I really cause this being’s demise?

  I waited more, not wanting to admit

  Though I did know deep in my stomach’s pit

  Will was gone and it seemed to be my fault

  It appeared Finn’s fears I have yet to halt

  For days I stayed there hoping for the best

  Trying to think how I could fix this mess

  Leaving the theater, I hoped I was wrong

  Will can fight me, or we’ll get along

  I admit I deserved to get my ass beat

  Befriending him after this would be a feat

  Lying to myself until it was true

  Really didn’t know what else I could do!

  What happened then, the Morons didn't know

  Wanted relationships with them to grow

  My bond with them was tentative at best

  I wasn't sure if could withstand a test

  Turns out on that front I was correct

  Soon came a lesson I didn't expect