Jose Mari Chan (center) with the cast of Rep's "Going Home to Christmas." Karen Flores Layno, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Repertory Philippines is staging its first-ever original jukebox musical and it features the songs of no less than the country's "Mr. Christmas" himself, Jose Mari Chan. 

Directed by Rep's Jeremy Domingo, "Going Home to Christmas" will run from November 29 to December 15 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Makati. 

It tells a story of various characters by award-winning writers Luna Griño-Inocian, Robbie Guevara, and Joel Trinidad, and includes 22 of Chan's hits such as "Christmas in Our Hearts," "A Perfect Christmas," and "Beautiful Girl."

"I cannot express the joy that I'm feeling," Chan told ABS-CBN News on the sidelines of the musical's media preview. "Because it's a fulfillment of my dream, and it's a crowning glory."

"People will remember me and my songs -- hopefully, 'Christmas in Our Hearts' will live on long after I'm gone. That my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be singing that song," he added.

"It's a dream come true and a blessing from God because the gift of music came from God, and what I did with that gift is my gift back to him."

"Going Home to Christmas" has a cast led by Carla Guevara-Laforteza, Lorenz Martinez, Noel Rayos, Neomi Gonzales, Floyd Tena, Mayen Bustamante-Cadd, Neo Rivera, Justine Narciso, and Carla Martinez.

Musical director Ejay Yatco admitted that it was a "daunting task" to narrow down Chan's body of work into 22 songs.

"Jose Mari Chan's work spans decades. It's a lifetime of work that you have to make sure you sit through, so there was a long time that I was listening to all of his songs," he recalled in a Q&A session with the media after the preview. "The writers chose which songs to assign in the story... but I also made some suggestions like songs to be matched up or medleys -- just to make it more [like a] musical and to thread all of them together."

"It's quite challenging because you have to know the essence of the artist," he stressed. "You have to know what he's about... You have to understand and respect before you rearrange, because you have to pay tribute to the years of work that they did." 

PIPOL: Jose Mari Chan, the little drummer boy of Christmas

And while Chan himself won't be gracing the stage for "Going Home to Christmas," the draft for the musical has received his blessing, as well as that of his children. 

When asked about his Christmas wish this year, the singer-songwriter spoke of "peace and unity in the world."

"I really feel for what kind of future my children and grandchildren will inherit... There's so much hatred in the world so my Christmas wish is for peace in the world, and unity," he said.

As for his personal favorite among the songs he has written, Chan replied: "Probably 'Can We Just Stop and Talk Awhile.' It's a song I wrote back in 1973-74. It somehow means a lot to me."

Tickets to "Going Home to Christmas" are now available at TicketWorld, with prices ranging from P1,545 to P3,090.