Forgotten Carols -- Review

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Today is the last show of the year!

My review

I have seen this show several times in the past and for some reason this year, it touched me more than it ever has. I was carried away with the wonderful spirit of this amazing show. The performers were so good and their voices were strong. Yes, the jokes were the same, but this year I needed this show more than before. The message is beautiful and is heart felt. "Let Him in" and "We can be together forever someday" had the tears flowing. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to go.

The Forgotten Carols stage performance tells the story of Connie Lou, a nurse whose empty life is changed when Uncle John, a new patient she is attending, recounts the story of Christ’s birth as told by little known characters in the nativity story. The accounts from the Innkeeper, the Shepherd and others help the nurse discover what the world has forgotten about Christmas, ultimately encouraging her to open her heart to the joy of this special season.

A message from Michael McLean:

After the Forgotten Carols tour last year Lynne and I took our annual recoup vacation where it’s sunny and warm and there’s lots of beach. However, while there, I wasn’t having a good time. I felt awful, and said to Lynne one morning after a rough night’s sleep, “I think I’m dying!” She gets me and she’s sort of right about me and the drama thing. But, then it turns out I wouldn’t up in the hospital and stayed longer than I expected to, and we discovered that had I not arrived when I did, someone else would be playing Uncle John tonight and you all would be singing “Together Forever Someday to ME! I share this for the obvious reasons: to get your sympathy and to possibly get this response, “Well, for a dying guy, he did pretty well tonight.”

The whole health scare after our last tour has now changed the way I have rehearsed this part that I’ve been doing for 27 years. I’ve been wondering how someone like John, who’s lived for over two thousand years and never faced his own death, feels about those of us who do face it. And, of course, I’ve been thinking how lucky I am to be with you tonight, for this evening’s show that will be ours alone. I love theater because it’s something we share, in the moment, and it will never be duplicated. It’s the gift of our connection through this story, and these characters, and these “forgotten carols,” that reminds us why Christmas, at its purest, brings such tidings for great joy. And through these songs from all the different people who experienced Jesus and His message in different ways, we get to see ourselves and feel a connection that goes beyond being in the theater tonight; we get to feel, deep down, that we are absolutely not alone. At least, that’s my hope.

Merry Christmas,
Michael McLean

Forgotten Carols -- Spotlight/Giveaway

I have seen The Forgotten Carols many times and each time I am touched by the special story and its message and how it brings me into the spirit of Christmas.

Q & A with Michael McLean:

1. What is your favorite Forgotten Carol scene?

I have so many scenes in THE FORGOTTEN CAROLS that are “favorites” for a variety of reasons.  But I’m surprised, performance after performance, how often something touches me differently and teaches me something that I’ve missed in performances past.  It’s the gift of doing this show for 26 years.  I keep learning things, understanding things, and feeling things that bring me closer to the One Christmas is all about…the One who we remember…It’s about remembering what’s been “forgotten” when it comes to the meaning of Christmas. 

2. Do you have a favorite snack you enjoy while traveling to each tour city? 

I'm a diabetic, so this is sort of a trick question.  I crave chocolate cake donuts, but have to eat Kind Bars.  That’s the reality, but the truth is, I cheat sometimes…and take a little bit more insulin to make up for it.  Don’t tell anybody :)

3. What do you enjoy most when you’re on the road performing? 

The older I get the more exhausting it is to be traveling from place to place…but the joy of that travel when it’s with people I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to pieces.  The cast and the crew make it a joy beyond measure.  

4.       During the last song when the audience is hand-in-hand singing, what emotions do you feel from the stage? 

When the encore segment of The Forgotten Carols happens, I find myself focusing on the meaning of “together forever”.   Is it something that we hope will happen someday, somewhere down the road, or is it something we can feel right now, this moment?  Some nights I feel like I should sing a different lyric for families that can’t buy in to the idea of an eternal connection, for whatever reasons, and the appropriate lyric for them would be, “We can be together, whatever, today”.  Some nights, thinking about my own family and the challenges we face, those words are a great comfort and a celebration of now.  I believe that what happens to me, and many people who attend The Forgotten Carols, is that together in that moment, we feel the love and peace and comfort that comes at Christmas time to remind us that we are never alone, and the One whose birth we celebrate is ALWAYS with us.   Here’s a news flash for you, my blogger friends.  I’M ADDING A NEW CAROL TO THE SHOW THIS YEAR that I think will shine a beautiful light on that thought.  Hope y’all come and hear me sing it!!!

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Fairy Tale Christmas by Michael McLean and Scott McLean

Fairy Tale Christmas

Author: Michael McLean and Scott McLean

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: September 30, 2014

ISBN13: 9781609079307

Hardcover: 151 pages

FTC FYI: Received a hardcover copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Summary

Santa Claus has been kidnapped! Behind the plot are the mischievous and evil characters of fairy tale stories--an evil queen, a wicked stepmother, a sorceress, the beanstalk giant, and Rumpelstiltskin. They have a plan that will erase the term "Happily Ever After" from storybooks forever. It's nearly Christmas Eve and time is running out. Can Santa and the fairy-tale heroes save the day and bring Christmas to all the children of the world? Will anyone have a "Happily Ever After" again?

Fairy Tale Christmas reminds us all that there is good in everyone and that the magic of Christmas can soften any heart.

My Review

This cover is so much fun!  Isn't it awesome, I love it.  This book is tons of fun.  It combines some favorite fairy tale villains and Christmas.  What a clever idea and great combination.  The story is sweet, entertaining and reads fast.  The scheme that the "Clandestines" come up with to stop Christmas and redeem their stories is creative and down right evil (in a cute way).  I loved the ending and the message of even the nastiest characters can change given the chance and Christmas magic.  I think the epilogue is my favorite, it adds just the perfect final touch to this great story.  This is a great book that you and your kids can read every year to start a new Christmas tradition.  There is also music with this book too, of course, it's Michael McLean!  Find out more at Fairy Tale Christmas Musical.

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Deseret Book