If Santa Claus ever needs to take a year off, he can always call Kalen Allen because he’s about to give fans the perfect gift this year: For Christmas Sake!: The Movie Musical. Following the release of Kalen’s debut Christmas album of the same name, the actor, producer, singer, and Internet sensation will release the movie musical on Dec. 18 at 9pm EST / 6pm PST.
“It is a magical movie!” Kalen tells HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE interview. “It is the story of the Klauses. Santa Klaus and his husband, Mr. Klaus. I took an old story and made it new and also more inclusive.” Helping him tell the story is his own fleet of Santa’s Little Helpers: MJ Rodriguez (Pose), Alex Newell (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), TERRELL (The TERRELL Show), singer VINCINT, and RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Shuga Cain, Monique Heart, and Manila Luzon.
“It is a Christmas card to the LGBTQ+ community,” Kalen tells HollywoodLife.” For Christmas Sake! is, according to Kalen, “a chance to finally see ourselves within the holiday narrative and for once it not being about our identity, but instead about us basking in the joy that Christmas brings!” Ahead of the premiere – only on Kalen Allen’s YouTube Page – Kalen spoke with HollywoodLife about the creation of For Christmas Sake!: The Movie Musical, and which Christmas album you shouldn’t be sleeping on during this holiday season.
HollywoodLife: What inspired you to make For Christmas Sake!?
Kalen Allen: I decided to create For Christmas Sake! because I felt as though we all could use a little holiday cheer this year. For me, the holidays have always been very special, and that is mostly because of the music!
What can you share about the For Christmas Sake!: The Movie Musical? What inspired it? Did you always want to have your own Christmas special and figure, ‘hey, it’s 2020, might as well’?
It is a magical movie! It is the story of the Klauses. Santa Klaus and his husband, Mr. Klaus. I took an old story and made it new and also more inclusive. It is a Christmas card to the LGBTQ+ community. A chance to finally see ourselves within the holiday narrative, and for once, it not being about our identity, but instead about us basking in the joy that Christmas brings! After the album was done, I called my friend Julian Roca-Chow, who has worked in the industry for years, and then he called some friends, and we made it happen. We both consider this to be some of our best work!
We spoke with Nina West about how Christmas is, for some, a chance to celebrate with their “chosen family,” especially when they can’t – for one reason or another, go “home for the holidays.” Did you always know that For Christmas Sake! was going to be a Christmas card to the LGBTQ+ community, or did things change while you were making it?
Oh, it always was! From the very beginning! I made the movie musical because I was tired of never seeing my community represented in holiday movies, specifically queer people of color. Due to homophobia and stigma in itself, there are so many LGBTQ+ youth and families who spend the holidays alone. I wanted to center us within a narrative that for once wasn’t about our identity, but instead was about us sharing the joy that Christmas brings! Everyone deserves the holidays!
This season, we’ve asked artists what they think are ‘underrated’ or ‘underappreciated’ Christmas songs, to add some different flavor to their holiday playlists. What’s one song that you think deserves more love this season?
I’ll give you a whole album: Mariah Carey’s second Christmas album, Merry Christmas II You, deserves so much more recognition. Especially her rendition of O’ Come All Ye Faithful with her mother, Patricia!
Kalen Allen’s For Christmas Sake!: The Movie Musical premieres on Dec. 18 at 6pm PST / 9pm EST on Kalen’s YouTube page.