Allegiance (musical)

Allegiance is a musical with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and a book by Marc Acito, Kuo and Lorenzo Thione. The story, set during the Japanese American internment of World War II (with a framing story set in the present day), was inspired by the personal experiences of George Takei, who stars. It follows the Kimura family in the weeks and years following the attack on Pearl Harbor, as they are relocated from their farm in Salinas, California to the Heart Mountain internment camp in the rural plains of Wyoming.

The musical premiered September 2012 at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. It is set to open on Broadway on November 8, 2015, with previews scheduled to begin on October 6.^[1] It will be the first time in ten years an Asian-led cast has been on Broadway since Flower Drum Song.^[1]

Conception of Allegiance

In the fall of 2008, George Takei and his husband, Brad, were seated by complete coincidence next to Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione at an Off-Broadway show, where a brief conversation revealed a mutual love of theater. The very next day, the four were once again seated together at a Broadway show, In The Heights. At intermission, Kuo and Thione approached Takei, curious as to why he had been so emotionally affected by the father's song ("Useless") in which he laments his inability to help his family. Over the course of that intermission, George recounted his personal experience as a child in the internment camps of America and his own father's sense of helplessness at his inability to protect his family that was mirrored in the song. Kuo and Thione felt that it would make a great show.^[2][3]

Production

Allegiance had its first reading at the Japanese American National Museum on July 13, 2009 starring George Takei, Lea Salonga, and others. It was followed by two more readings that were held in New York in 2010 with the same two, but this time with Telly Leung, among others. ^[4] In the summer of 2011, a workshop was held for Allegiance at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. The musical premiered in September 2012 at the Old Globe, directed by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Andrew Palermo with designs by Donyale Werle (sets), Howell Binkley (lighting) and Alejo Vietti (costumes).^[5]

Roles and original San Diego cast

• Kei Kimura – Lea Salonga
• Sam Kimura (present day) / "Ojii-San" (Grandpa) (1940s) – George Takei
• Sam Kimura (1940s) – Telly Leung
• Frankie Suzuki – Michael K Lee
• Tatsuo Kimura – Paul Nakauchi
• Hannah Campbell – Allie Trimm
• Mike Masaoka – Paolo Montalban

Awards and nominations

In 2013, Allegiance won Outstanding New Musical at the 11th Annual Craig Noel Awards in San Diego following its premiere. The show also received the award for Outstanding Orchestrations, and Michael K Lee won Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical for a Male.^[6]

Fundraising

To commemorate Remembrance Day, the memorial for Japanese American Internment, George Takei took to Facebook to initiate a crowd funding campaign through IndieGoGo to raise funds for the show. The initial target was $50,000 - the eventual total raised exceeded $150,000.^[7]

Additionally, the show started selling "Allegiance Priority Access Passes" for five dollars. The pass allowed people to buy tickets before they were available to the general public.^[8]

References

External links

• Official website