THE MAN whose image and songs have come to mark the beginning of the country’s Christmas season (usually memes teasing his reappearance start appearing just before Sept. 1) is also bringing the holidays early to the theater as Repertory Philippines (Rep) opens Going Home to Christmas — A Jose Mari Chan Musical, featuring 22 of the beloved crooner’s hits, on Nov. 29.

The musical, with a cast of over 20, features several vignettes under a Christmas theme. The cast includes Carla Guevara-Laforteza, Lorenz Martinez, Noel Rayos, Neomi Gonzales, Floyd Tena, Mayen Bustamante-Cadd, Neo Rivera, Justine Narciso, and Carla Martinez.

“From a couple on their second honeymoon, to lovelorn best friends, even to hardworking OFWs looking forward to being with their family, Going Home to Christmas paints a vivid picture of Pinoy holiday traditions the whole family can cherish. As the characters find their way home for the festive season, audiences will be treated to heartwarming moments filled with laughter, love, and a touch of nostalgia,” said a statement from Rep.

Luna Grino-Inocian, one the musical’s writers, said during a press conference late last month that despite the musical being inspired largely by Mr. Chan’s music – the song “Christmas in Our Hearts,” released 1990, usually plays every year in the Philippines around the “-ber” months – Mr. Chan had marginal involvement in the story.

“We did present him with an outline from the very beginning,” she said. “He let us run with our own stories. If he had objections, he did not say it to us, so we (took) it as a yes.” Director Jeremy Domingo, meanwhile, said, “One of the requests of Mr. Chan was to make this a Christmas-centric musical.” The title is taken from 2012’s Going Home To Christmas, Mr. Chan’s second Christmas album.

“It really became not just a celebration of Mr. Chan’s iconic music, but about the lives of Filipinos that he’s touched around the world; the impact his music has made on Filipinos,” said Mr. Domingo.

Mr. Chan was present at the press conference to hear all these accolades. He said, “I can’t express the joy that I feel seeing the cast, the director, the musical director, putting my songs into a musical,” he said.

“For me, it’s a fulfillment of a dream… when I was a young kid, when I was idolizing Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka… one day, I would like to make a musical.”

He’s not quite done yet, though: “I still have that plan to come up with a musical, all new songs.” That musical, if it ever comes to fruition, will be about his father, a Chinese immigrant who arrived in the Philippines as a teenager. “He came (here) penniless,” he said; however, the senior Chan came to be a successful sugar trader.

There’s little a man like Mr. Chan can wish for, but he does have one for Christmas: “My Christmas wish is simply peace in the world,” he said in a group interview after the press conference. “I’m bothered really by the war in Ukraine, the war between Israel and Iran, the bombings of Gaza. I’m really fearful what kind of future will my children and grandchildren inherit.”

The show runs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 15 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Ayala corner Gil Puyat Aves., Makati. For ticket inquiries, contact Rep at 0966-905-4013 or 0962-691-8540, or send an e-mail to promotions@repphil.org or sales@repphil.org. — Joseph L. Garcia