A Tribute to Dan Keyes

God Save the King has come a long way. When I read the accurate story of the Nativity that has been the product of decades of research, I marvel at its humble beginnings.

In the mid 1980s I was introduced to the hypothesis that Jesus of Nazareth was not born of December 25. Thankfully, I had an open mind, and was not too startled by the notion. Also, introduced to the same hypothesis at the same time was my brother, Dan Keyes.

Not long after we were both introduced to this hypothesis, Dan, who was a playwright, was approached to write and produce a series of dramatic productions about the life of Jesus of Nazareth based at least in part on this new knowledge. Accordingly, he was to start with his birth.

Having become familiar with the groundbreaking knowledge that Jesus was born on September 11, 3 BC, Dan began hypothesizing himself. How do you tell a story that “everybody already knows”? (The Nativity) Or, at least everybody thinks they know.

His plan was to tell the story through the lens of different biblical characters–first the shepherds. To this end, Dan wrote and produced a play entitled “Glory to God in the Highest”. Next, his intention was to produce another play, also about the birth of Jesus, but through the lens of the Magi. To the best of my knowledge, he had no working title for this play, which was never written. Finally, in a sort of trilogy, Dan planned yet another play, again about the birth of Jesus, but through the eyes of King Herod–the working title for this play was God Save the King.

The contract to produce the additional plays never came to fruition and Dan soon moved on to other projects, eventually writing many plays, often with biblical themes.

This is where I took over. God Save the King became my research project, and my passion. I began teaching “the biblically and historically accurate story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth” at churches and Bible studies in the late 1980s. By the late 1990s it had become my post popular teaching series, and has remained so for several decades now. My goal is to fulfill my brother’s vision, as well as my own, and see God Save the King on the big screen.

In addition to being a playwright, Dan was an actor, artist, dancer, comedian, and musician (as well as a husband and father)–overall an extraordinarily talented man. Ironically, he was only marginally aware of my work. One day, about three or four years ago, I received a message through my website, from Dan, apparently not knowing it was my website. The message read something like, “How funny! I used the title ‘God Save the King’ myself, back in the ’80s, for a play I planned on writing.” I responded simply (without specifically revealing it was me), “No kidding–where do you think I got the idea?”

Sadly, Dan passed away March 1, 2022. He is missed. Below are some pictures and also a video. The video is labeled “Midnight Choir Branded”. The song is “Midnight Choir (Mogen David)” by the Gatlin Brothers, the band playing it in this rendition is called ‘Branded’. It features Dan pantomiming to the song. Branded and Dan had the privilege of performing their version at the Grand Ole Opry in 1984.

P.S.: If anyone ever discovers a copy of the video from the Grand Ole Opry performance, please contact me immediately.