Scott Davenport Richards, who understood bias, also son of the great Lloyd Richards, is said to have objected strongly to the show that had his score including a carol with “Fa-ra-ra-ra” instead of “Fa-la-la-la.” Nothing in the online news, but “Fa-ra-ra-ra” stayed, brought in Pasek & Paul.
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/theater/a-christmas-story-the-musical-aims-to-become-a-franchise.htmlIt looks per the Times article like Mr. Paul also saw the "fa ra ra ra" scene was "definitely offensive" but could accept that it was needed.
But one relatively brief scene that has stayed is causing a little hand-wringing. ... A group of waiters serenades the family with a thickly-accented rendition of “Deck the Halls.” The scene, which drew one of the biggest laughs at the performance here, was a “source of tension” during rehearsals, said Mr. Richards, who was let go after the show’s Kansas City run. “I had a very strong feeling that I didn’t want an Asian kid taken to a musical and saying to his parents, ‘Why are they making fun of us?’ ” he said.
Mr. Goehring called Mr. Richards a “great artist” with a “huge future” and chalked up his departure to artistic differences. .... Mr. Paul said that as much as he found the restaurant scene “definitely offensive,” it was a crucial part of the experience.
Indications now are Pasek & Paul might have already been the songwriters when Jack Viertel was named Creative Consultant of "A Christmas Story," and that Scott Davenport Richards and Jack Viertel have no known bad feelings about each other. So this may be a situation where - odd as it sounds - Jack Viertel was brought on possibly even after Broadway and the 2012 production that got the major Tony nominations? Jack recommended it (it appears just as a fan?) in Nov 2012 when it was on Broadway and that production got its Tony nominations for Best Musical, Book and Score.
