Theater had played a leading role in John Maclay’s life since his childhood—acting alongside his mother in shows that she had adapted for the stage, being mentored by members of the theater and working every imaginable industry job as a professional.
The suburban Chicago playwright treasures early memories forged in rural Illinois under the tutelage of his mother, Joanna Maclay. He would forego a career in math or engineering and pursue theater, first as an actor.
“When I was young, I made a decision that I would do anything in the theater that was interesting and that someone would pay me for,” says Maclay. “That meant I wasn’t just acting. I was teaching. I was directing. I was producing.”
It was well into his career, while serving as director of artistic development at First Stage, a children’s theater company in Milwaukee, that he would add “writing” to his resumé. After years of developing and often directing adaptations of children’s literature, he asked for a shot at writing his own show.
Maclay partnered with Lee Becker, a playwright and performer, and James Valcq, a composer, lyricist and librettist, to adapt Anatole, a musical based upon picture books by Eve Titus. He says: “That first show, when it came out in front of an audience—that was probably my favorite moment.”
Many additional shows followed, including Nancy Drew and Her Biggest Case Ever, Geronimo Stilton: Mouse in Space and Cinderella: The Real Story, which was commissioned during the pandemic by Orlando Family Stage.
The local theater will present Maclay’s Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium from September 29 to (very fittingly) October 31 and Lilly and the Pirates from February 16 to March 13, 2026.
The response of Maclay’s youngest son to the Louisville, Kentucky world premiere of Lilly and the Pirates was heartening. “He just really loved it,” says Maclay. “That meant more to me than any reviewer or audience.”
And he’s pleased that the show will get an outing at Orlando Family Stage because “I’m always trying to write for the whole family; I’m really interested in multigenerational theater.”
Orlando Family Stage is located at 1001 East Princeton Street in Orlando. For more information, call 407.896.7365, or visit orlandofamilystage.com.
