History
The story of the writing of “Heart of the Lion” really begins in the year of our Lord 2000. Eric had been toying with the idea of composing a musical since forever. He had loved the Robin Hood adventures and King Richards exploits and felt passionate about writing a score that would have great melodies and do justice to the legend of both men! It was not until he moved to Merced, California that his inspiration took wings and his ambition got a full tank of gas. You see it takes a lot of imagination and hard work to take on a task like writing a musical. Given that Eric played the piano by ear, it did not make it an easy one. Challenges feed our soul, so he bought a sequencer and started to compose the music. Eight months later the score was finished in raw form and he wrote the first draft of the script. Now came the moment of truth. Theater is a live art form and now the show had to be produced. He needed Actors and musicians, arrangers and directors, an orchestra and a theater to hold the audience to bring the show to life. Eric’s hopes and dreams were realized when the community of Merced who loved the music helped so much in seeing to the first ever performances come alive of “Heart of the Lion” 3800 people were witness to that three week run in September of 2000 and since then audiences from up and down the state of California to Europe have been enjoying the music and the adventure of Robin Hood and our good King Richard.
TIME -LINE OF” HEART OF THE LION “PERFORMANCES
1999- MERCED ARTS COUNCIL PREVIEW
2000-PLAYHOUSE MERCED DEBUT Directed by Eric Stephen Bocks
2001-GOLDEN VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL under the direction of Brad Reed
2002-TOWNSEND OPERA PLAYERS PRODUCES THE SHOW Directed by Claude Giroux
2003-MERCED SYMPHONY PERFORMS” HEART OF THE LION” under the direction of Henrik Yul Hansen
2004-MERCED SYMPHONY CHILDREN’S CONCERT
2005-27th ANNUAL BUTTERFLY CONCERT IN PLACERVILLE CALIFORNIA
2007- ERIC RECORDS EXCERPTS IN BUCHARESTI Romania with Gary Dilworth ROMANIA
2008-ERIC TAKES THE SHOW TO PITESTI Romania under the direction of Gary Dilworth
2010-11 SEASON “HEART OF THE LION” PLAYHOUSE MERCED
2011-12- BROADWAY!