Posted: 10/6/15 at 9:40am
What show is this show like?
Posted: 10/6/15 at 9:41am
Eurotrash said: "What show is this show like? "
It's the Hamilton of Japanese-American Internment Musicals.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 9:47am
It's a great subject for theatrical treatment, one of the shamefully undertold stories in America's history and impossible not to root for.
In truth, HAMILTON's mega success -- try getting in before 2016 -- will help every other show. A percentage of people unable to score seats will want to see something of substance; this show may well be a go-to for disappointed HAMILTON crowd. Hits always help business.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 9:48am
Has there been any announcement of a rush/lotto policy yet?
Posted: 10/6/15 at 12:19pm
Broadway Bob* said: "Has there been any announcement of a rush/lotto policy yet?
"
No.
In general, I recommend bookmarking their Twitter or Facebook account for more news/answers.
https://twitter.com/allegiancebway/with_replies
https://www.facebook.com/allegiancemusical
Posted: 10/6/15 at 10:41pm
The Hamilton/Allegiance advertisement is so cute, awww.
I'm really pulling for this show! Don't know where it stands in terms of award season, but am overall excited that the dark chapter of Japanese internment in US history is being discussed on this platform.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:26pm
Just got home from the first preview. I really, really enjoyed this show a lot. The cast is all incredible. Lea Salonga's return to Broadway in an original role is so exciting, and she is truly sensational in this. George Takei is also wonderful and is turning in a great performance. There really isn't a weak link in this cast. The set, lighting, and sound were all top notch. The show is in great shape for a first preview. This is probably my favorite thing I have seen so far this season. I would definitely recommend seeing this.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:27pm
It will be the Asian Amazing Grace. Nobody knows who is Lea Salonga and Takei has about 14 fans. A gripping story that looks like a fey Lifetime film.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:27pm
So first preview is over. Tweets appear quite positive, but those are never substantive. It looks like some of the cast might have stage doored? I see a signed playbill among the tweets.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:29pm
Booking tickets for this !!! thanks for the review
bwayphreak234 said: "Just got home from the first preview. I really, really enjoyed this show a lot. The cast is all incredible. Lea Salonga's return to Broadway in an original role is so exciting, and she is truly sensational in this. George Takei is also wonderful and is turning in a great performance. There really isn't a weak link in this cast. The set, lighting, and sound were all top notch. The show is in great shape for a first preview. This is probably my favorite thing I have seen so far this season. I would definitely recommend seeing this.
"
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:30pm
Thanks for the report, bwayphreak234.
fflagg said: "It will be the Asian Amazing Grace. Nobody knows who is Lea Salonga and Takei has about 14 fans. A gripping story that looks like a fey Lifetime film.
"
Oh, I suppose you actually support the Japanese-American Interment then and are probably anti-immigration. Good on you.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:30pm
Are you being sarcastic???
fflagg said: "It will be the Asian Amazing Grace. Nobody knows who is Lea Salonga and Takei has about 14 fans. A gripping story that looks like a fey Lifetime film.
"
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:41pm
I'm back from the first preview and the nicest thing I can say about Allegiance is that it's very, very earnest. I believe the creators' motivations and intentions are pure, but their final product is lacking, hindered by some of the most overwrought direction in recent memory.
And really, as cliche as some of the lyrics are and despite the fact that the book creates mouthpieces instead of characters (save one), the blame really needs to start at the top with Arima's direction. After his bloodless Carrie and mess of a Bare revival this was three strikes you're out. (The baseball reference is apt as there's a ripoff number of "What a Game" from Ragtime- a show Allegiance is desperately trying to be.) Arima is very found of staging the ensemble numbers in clusters across the front of the stage, everyone in spotlights, motionless with shoulders square belting as high as they can. The score most resembles A Tale of Two Cities (aka Wildhorn knockoff music), and Arima can't help himself but put the cast in Les Miz triangle formation as the music swells. The book is heavy-handed enough on its own, and Arima does the actors no favors by draining any subtly from the performances. The comedy is broad and the arguments are overblown. The poor actors playing the Army guards have been directed to act like the Nazis from The Sound of Music: Menacing, but a little too cartoonish to actually be threatening.
The book makes frequent reference to the fact that they don't have any medicine, clean water, beds to sleep on, etc and yet the detainees have enough energy to perform such acrobatic choreography you wouldn't believe. It would have been just as silly had Graciela Daniele made the townspeople of Brachen back flip and cartwheel around the stage upon Claire's arrival.
The saving grace of this production is the cast. The ensemble sings very well, and despite their small numbers they produce quite a sound. I assumed Takei was going to be the focal point of the show, but he isn't even given a song and plays the small, kooky grandfather role. Telly Leung and Lea Salonga are asked to do the heavy lifting and vocally they're up to the challenge. Unfortunately their characters on the page are paper. What do we really know about them? What specific details that make them rich individuals rather than mouthpieces to run down lists of what made the camps so terrible. Truly the camps were a great injustice, I'm not trying to diminish that, but this is a very clumsy way to get that point across. Poor Katie Rose Clark was stuck with the worst role- a nurse trying to help the detainees, but unable to because of the Army regulations.
The only actor given something to work with and ultimately made the strongest impression was Michael K Lee. He played the leader of the resistance movement in the camp and also was given the best number, "Paradise," which was a Scottsboro Boys-esque satire number put on at a camp party. It was one of the few times I completely got lost in the show and things caught fire.
Allegiance means so well, but good intentions alone can't will a good book and score into existence.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:49pm
Thanks for your reviews Whizzer, I will be getting tix to see both Allegiance and On your Feet!
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:52pm
fflagg said: "It will be the Asian Amazing Grace. Nobody knows who is Lea Salonga and Takei has about 14 fans. A gripping story that looks like a fey Lifetime film.
"no, because Allegiance doesn't have overhanded religious / anti-atheism crap in it.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:53pm
Thanks for your report, WhizzerMarvin. Did the creatives stay and interact with audience members for feedback notes? I don't know how previews usually do this, but I doubt they can get enough passive feedback just by sitting in the audience and taking notes that way.
Stafford Arima. I really know nothing about him or his previous works; looking at his credits, I wonder what his direction style is and if "toning down" is something he can do. As for the dance bits you mention, I was curious how that would fit into a show like this, and it sounds like it's a bit shoehorned. They have a month to adjust things, so I hope they could get decent feedback.
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:55pm
I'd love to see the song list, if anyone who went feels like posting one?
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:56pm
Also just got home from the first preview. I have been thinking about the show since I left the theatre, and am still blown away. I relate very much to the story. My grandmother is Japanese, and married my grandfather, an American soldier. They faced a ton of prejudice and criticism, causing my grandfather to be released from the army after the war. I don't know all of the details, but I know my family has some of these roots, so it felt great to honor them.
I mostly came for Lea, and of course she was a wonder. As my dad next to me said, "Her voice is angelic!" She sang and acted beautifully. Telly Leung was also great as her brother. My favorite song in the show was "I Oughta Go", a duet between Leung and Katie Rose Clarke, who plays a nurse in the internment camp. George Takei was hilarious as the grandfather of Leung and Salonga's characters.
The sets were fantastic. All of the visuals were perfectly suiting, and the costumes and hair/makeup as well. There are some great projections that cover the stage.
For a first preview, it went really well. The only flubs were very small; someone standing out of light, costume pieces falling off, etc. The sound balance towards the beginning was a little off to me, I couldn't hear the actors, but it fixed itself quickly. I don't know if that was just me or not though. The book is pretty predictable, but that didn't matter too much, as the cast was impeccable. The messages will resonate with me for a while. I am so pleased with this show. Both me and my Dad were head over heels, and I pray this show does well in the box office. Cheers to a great run!
Posted: 10/6/15 at 11:57pm
What's the design/look of the piece? I find their poster to look very...dated.
Posted: 10/7/15 at 12:09am
Pootie, The creatives are too busy working and taking notes to really poll the audience or something like that on the way out. I think they gauge audience reaction and make adjustments accordingly, but even audience reaction can at times be deceiving. Previews in general, but especially first previews are often filled with family, friends and industry types. They make for warm, enthusiastic, responsive audiences that can create a false sense of what a "normal" audience will be like weeks into the run. I've had many a shock comparing a first preview response with that of a random Wednesday night performance two weeks after opening!
As for Arima, perhaps I'll always be at odds with his bombastic style. I much prefer the naturalism of Sam Gold, the understated elegance of Bartlett Sher or Joe Mantello's way of pulling great performances out of his actors.
Updated On: 10/7/15 at 12:09 AM
Posted: 10/7/15 at 12:13am
Can anyone tell me if the song "I Haven't Got a Prayer" is still in the show? There's a video of Allie Trimm singing it in 2012 (or maybe earlier, I can't remember what year exactly) and I adore it!
Posted: 10/7/15 at 12:18am
fflagg said: "It will be the Asian Amazing Grace. Nobody knows who is Lea Salonga and Takei has about 14 fans. A gripping story that looks like a fey Lifetime film.
"
I have no idea how the show will be received and it could very well be awful but let's not diminish the popularity of Lea Salonga and George Takei. Both have huge followings. Salonga is well known by many Disney fans and I often see Takei's social media presence shared by lots of people, many who probably are unfamiliar with Star Trek and his work.
Posted: 10/7/15 at 12:20am
I Haven't Got a Prayer isn't in the show, nor are there any younger actors, so it appears that the role Trimm played was cut.
Song list:
Prologue
Wish on the Wind
Do Not Fight the Storm
Gaman
What Makes a Man
I Oughta Go
Get in the Game
Should I
Allegiance
Ishi Kara Ishi
Paradise
Higher
With You
Our Time Now
ACT TWO
Resist
Allegiance (reprise)
This is Not Over
Higher/Resist (reprise)
Stronger Than Before
With You (reprise)
Nothing in Our Way
Itetsuita
442 Victory Swing
Higher/Ishi Kara Ishi (reprise)
How Can You Go?
What Makes a Man/Wish on the Wind (reprise)
Posted: 10/7/15 at 12:34am
Thank you, Whizzer.
I'm sad that "Second Chances" and "The Mountain's Heart" are gone. I will keep listening to them on youtube. But I am very much still looking forward to this cast recording down the road.
Posted: 10/7/15 at 12:38am
I usually agree with WhizzerMarvin but we couldn't be farther apart on this one.
I thought the show was superb, start to finish. For me, it's the best new score I've heard in years. The performances were excellent, Telly Leung has matured into a fine actor; it's his story we're watching, and I found him to be honest and believable. Lea Salonga, of course, is a joy. I don't know how you can say their characters were not fully formed; I thought both of them were very compelling.
After finally seeing THE BOOK OF MORMON last weekend, I was glad to get the bad taste (pun intended) of that show out of my mouth and enjoy a wonderful new play for a change
