Allegiance Previews — Page 10

Patash said: "I'm curious. I was looking for a thread about preview performances of Allegiance. Is there one? This isn't it. "

Shut up. But thanks for bumping.

I was just offered free tix to a matinee which includes a talk back, so I'm pretty excited,as I wanted to see this show anyway. This is truly an aspect of American history with which I have an interest.

Looking forward to hearing more comments on the show itself.

Attended the show last night, they had us fill out what I am assuming was a marketing/opinion survey. Has anyone else had this at the show?

c0113g3b0y said: "A Director said: "The folks who wrote the show are also producing it. That is not a good sign. They need an objective eye. When is comes to theatre, they are just starting out.

They are handing out surveys. LOL! Name one Broadway producer, past or present, who used/uses surveys.

Just like Amazing Grace, this is a vanity project.

please don't compare Allegiance, which is about the internment of Japanese Americans to a steaming pile of "shove religion down my throat" horsecrap that Amazing Grace is.

"

"

With all due respect, the theater is a place for voices, visions, themes and experiences of all sorts to be expressed and brought to life. Even those that don't match our own experiences.

It's a shame that some are offended by religious themes being "shoved down" their throats. Because religion does, in fact, go hand in hand with the personal experiences of many people. Including those who lived through the tumultuous, sad times of slavery here in this very country. A time when (often) faith based spirituals were an important part of coping with the trials and tribulations faced by a large group of people. I certainly wouldn't be minimizing their experiences.

Regardless, it's still the experiences of many in this country, and others. If it doesn't agree with your tastes, so be it. But to belittle it is to not understand what theater is about. Theater should embrace all voices, even those that don't necessarily click with everyone. And for those that don't click, it's an easy choice. Don't go see it.

brdway411 said: "Attended the show last night, they had us fill out what I am assuming was a marketing/opinion survey. Has anyone else had this at the show?"

I went to the third preview and we had surveys. Go back a few pages.

theatreguy12 said: "Absolutely, haterobics. And if this show isn't doing well due to execution (or book, or music, or other things) that's certainly understandable. I was just addressing the comment about a spiritual message being "shoved down" peoples throats. That seems more directed at content than execution. I haven't seen it so I don't know to what extent the message is conveyed."

At the risk of bawdy puns, if you know something is being shoved down your throat, it is typically a problem with execution.

I saw this last Saturday and found it to be very enjoyable, though also clunky and far from perfect - with some weird casting/directing choices that were very distracting.

***Spoiler Alert***

I'll start off by saying that Lea Salonga is a golden voiced angel and a gift from the cosmos. WOWZA, we're so lucky to have her and I wish she was given more leading roles, and more chances to shine here in the states. Telly is a hunk of a beautiful man and also a great singer/actor. Takei was hilarious and I didn't have a problem at all with the "hokey material" he was given because it was the only levity in the show which was pretty dark overall.

One giant elephant on stage that really bothered me to the point of distraction was that there were only two Asian ensemble men without speaking roles who were supposed to represent the entire male population of the internment camp, while there were three white ensemble men who did nothing the entire show except sing a swing song at the very end. They easily could have cast one white ensemble member to play the role of the politician AND the guard, and hired two more actors of color to make the internment camp more believable. The entire show I just kept getting reminded that Broadway wouldn't even hire Asian actors for an Asian show - it was rather insulting, and I'm not even Asian.

Direction was also pretty clunky. It was a lot of "move to your spot in the light and stand, then cross to that spot and stand." I agree with wizzer on this one - Arima is out of chances. The really awkward death scenes need to be figured out too. Maybe they'll figure these out during previews, but the night I saw it, cast members stand up on stage in a 'special' after they die and just walk off stage awkwardly. It really doesn't work, and was rather confusing because it was hard to tell who was alive still and who had died.

The music was enjoyable and really soared at a lot of spots, especially when Ms. Salonga was singing - but don't ask me to hum a single tune for you because I don't remember a single song, melody, or lyric. The lyrics are the weakest link right now. Any complaints about the characters not having depth can be blamed on the lyrics seeming to come out of nowhere, and offer no insight to the character's minds. The book was the strongest part of the show in my opinion. Marc Acito's dark and regretful libretto is what makes the evening enjoyable. I was truly invested in finding out what happens to these characters that caused them to never speak to each other again. There were lots of people around me crying, though I didn't shed a tear personally. I was still moved by the story, which is why I inevitably had a good evening of theatre. I'm not sure what they could change between now and opening to improve the show to the next level unless they rewrote half the lyrics in the next week or so, and changed some of the clunky direction. Actually... yeah they should do that.

The strongest song in the show was the protest song that Michael Lee's character (Frankie) sings. This is the song they should take on talk shows to give people an idea of the show. It's lively, and funny, and poignant. The rest of the show needs to come up to match this song.

If the creative team is actually set on making changes as they claim, then they should get to work on improving the lyrics over the course of the next week. It's do or die time. They can sleep when the show opens and (hopefully with changes) doesn't get annihilated by the press. I have a feeling this show will get mixed reviews, with some positives in there, but the Times will probably be merciless. On a side note, I was not asked to fill out a survey, and I wonder if anyone is actually reading those surveys...

I definitely recommend seeing this for the story and for the outstanding cast that are giving it their all. I might actually go back again after it opens.

Well, for what it's worth, the three white guys play the entirety of the camp's guards. Though is that extended swing song at the end still there? It was nice watching Scott Wise do backflips, but it didn't really need to be there (at least for that long).

I saw "Allegiance" at the 10.24 matinee, and I thought it was wonderful.

It could be that the first act had been tightened up a bit. I thought the pacing was very good. I saw that a few of the songs were in a different order from the program. ("Paradiise" had been moved, I believe). And I agree with a previous poster that "Get in the Game" should probably go. The music won't go down in history. Run time is 2 hours and 30 minutes. We were not asked to fill out any survey.

BUT... the lead actors were just phenomenal. Lea Salonga, Telly Leung, Christopher Nomura, Michael Lee, and of course, George Takei, were just on point. I felt their energy and commitment throughout the whole production. Their singing was superb, and the story, of course, is powerful. The theater was packed, there were many tears (including my own at several points to the story). Not being schooled in the theater, just a theater fan, I didn't notice any "clunky" direction.

The audience jumped to their feet before the cast even came out for curtain calls. A friend who saw the 8PM performance reported the same experience. After the show, the cast graciously came out of the stage door to greet fans and sign autographs. The parents of one of my companions at this performance had been at the Poston internment camp in Arizona, and George T had a nice chat with my friend about that.

I just felt that I saw something very special.

Updated On: 10/26/15 at 07:20 PM

I've seen numerous people praise shows on this board recently by saying "it got a standing-o"
Like really? People stand up for anything nowadays.

LizzieCurry said: "Man y'all are happy to jump on a part of a post from someone who's not as intensely into theatre as you are."

I really didn't mean it as attacking that one person, just a general statement, as a lot of people use it to describe a show even though it's essentially a given.

Thanks, JBroadway and LizzieCurry. Yes, I know everybody gets a standing ovation these days. Having seen 4 shows over the weekend, I am aware of that, and having seen 12 shows on Broadway this year, I get it. However, at "Allegiance", the audience reacted differently, They (we) all jumped to our feet before the last note had played. It was a great performance, and a special experience. I think we were all moved by the performers, the story, and the fact that this happened to Americans only 60 some years ago.