Michael McLean loves Christmas. He loves it enough to share the holiday with 50,000 people each year as the driving force behind “The Forgotten Carols,” a play “unapologetically about Jesus,” he said.
This Christmas season, in addition to his integral role as Uncle John in the “The Forgotten Carols,” he and his son Scott McLean have teamed up to write a secular Christmas musical presented as a children's book titled “Fairy Tale Christmas” (Shadow Mountain, $15.99).
The book tells the story of some disgruntled fairy tale villains, including Rumpelstiltskin, Jack’s giant, a sorceress and a couple of angry stepmothers, who hatch a plan to kidnap Santa Claus and hold him ransom for the tale endings they think they deserve.
The 151-page story is punctuated by pencil drawings, making it a read that McLean’s intended 8- to 12-year-old audience can finish over Christmas break without any trouble.
In an interview with the Deseret News, McLean said he continues to revisit Christmastime in his stories because of the “joy that comes from having traditions.”
“The great thing about picking Christmas is that if you hit a home run, every Christmas you have a reason to see it again,” he said.
McLean hopes “Fairy Tale Christmas” can become a tradition that overlaps some of the popularity of his previous productions while also reaching a different demographic of people who may be intimidated by his work “The Forgotten Carols,” which has an overtly religious message.
“This is a fun way for kids to be introduced to some themes that are important but not necessarily religious, like sacrifice, service, ways that you can bring out the best in others and how to find all the good in the world,” he said.
The story shares themes and values that appeal to a variety of faiths without being unique to one set of religious beliefs.
“These are a lot of things that you could share with an audience that aren’t dialed into ‘I want a spiritual Christmas experience,’ but ‘I want something really fun that, as parents, has all the values I want to share with my kids,’ ” he said.
McLean said writing “Fairy Tale Christmas” with Scott McLean, who rewrote the stage adaptation for “The Forgotten Carols” in 2005, was a great experience.
They began by writing the story in January as a family musical with songs and a script. Through the spring, Michael and Scott McLean sent parts of the story to each other, even as Scott McLean was working on a play at the Denver Center.
“We just went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth,” Michael McLean said. “We kept laughing the whole time with just how fun it was to think about it.”
As they wrote the manuscript, they added new songs to the musical, which continues to be a work in progress. Currently, one song from the production, “Hero of My Story,” is available on fairytalechristmasmusical.com. McLean said more songs will be released as it gets closer to Christmas, and they plan on releasing the stage adaptation next year.
McLean’s favorite feedback on “Fairy Tale Christmas” comes from his target audience: children.
“These kids are so smart, so funny and so excited about giving their opinion of the book,” he said. “The kids you want to reach are telling other kids their age, ‘Hey, this is really cool, and it’s funny.’ ”
Some of the reviews include phrases such as “This was an evening well spent,” “If you like Christmas and you like fairy tales, this is the book for you,” and “I was really interested that you took the view of the antagonist.”
“I thought, ‘Her mother wrote this; there is no way this kid wrote this,’ ” he said.
But when he called to ask a girl about her review, she said, ‘No, my mom didn’t read it — I don’t think she’d get it.’ ”
'The Forgotten Carols'
McLean said the creative process for “Fairy Tale Christmas” was “influenced by everything I learned in 23 years” of producing “The Forgotten Carols.”
“My plan for 'The Forgotten Carols' was that people would create their own holiday tradition by taking a couple of nights before Christmas and reading the book and singing the songs,” he said.
To create some buzz, McLean decided to go on the road and perform all of the parts as a reading.
“I’d read that Charles Dickens, when he first released 'A Christmas Carol,’ went out and did readings to promote his book,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t Charles Dickens, obviously, but 'The Forgotten Carols' came out when I was 39, and that’s how old Charles Dickens was when he wrote 'A Christmas Carol.' ”
To increase the chances of a large audience, McLean said, he had the idea to invite choirs to learn the music and sing the choir parts to ensure that their family members would come and see the production and “get enough people to pay for the cost of renting the hall.”
He planned on only doing it for those 30 productions the first year, but he found that people wanted to “see the guy who wrote it tell it.” Over 23 years, the production became more elaborate with more actors, including Katie Thompson in 1999, who will be returning this year to play the part of Constance.
“She’s worth the price of the ticket times three,” he said. “That’s how good she is.”
“The Forgotten Carols” opens in West Valley City on Saturday. The run includes performances throughout the area, with the last Utah performance on Dec. 20. Performance dates and times can be found at forgottencarols.com/tour-schedule.
“The reason people keep coming back (to 'The Forgotten Carols') is that it gives us a chance to look at Jesus and Christmas through the eyes of people who are very like us,” he said. “Like the innkeeper who turned away Joseph and Mary — people who aren’t bad guys but are just too busy. Or like the shepherd who fell asleep and missed the whole deal and has to decide if he’s going to believe based on what everybody’s told him, which is kind of you and me; we weren’t there.”
If you go ...
What: "The Forgotten Carols"
When: Saturday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Granger High School, 3580 S. 3600 West, West Valley City
Note: Tickets cost $13.50-$34, group rates are available at some locations, see forgottencarols.com
Also ...
When: Wednesday, Dec. 3
Where: Kent Concert Hall, 4030 Old Main Hill, Logan
Also ...
When: Thursday, Dec. 4
Where: Dee Events Center, 4400 Harrison Blvd., Ogden
Also ...
When: Friday, Dec. 5
Where: UCCU Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem
Also ...
When: Saturday, Dec. 6; Monday, Dec. 8; and Tuesday, Dec. 9
Where: Cox Auditorium, 225 S. 700 East, St. George
Also ...
When: Wednesday, Dec. 10
Where: Heritage Center Theater, 105 N. 100 East, Cedar City
Also ...
When: Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12-13; Monday, Dec. 15; and Wednesday-Friday, Dec. 17-20
Where: Cottonwood High School, 5715 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City
Email: vromney@deseretnews.com
Twitter: GinnyRomney