Allegiance Previews — Page 8

I don't remember where I heard that, but that sounds familiar to me as well.

rcwr said: "I thought I'd heard Takei say that the reason he began having a social media presence, years ago, was about this show. No?

"

Really? I'd like to hear that interview (not being suspicious, just very curious). I could've sworn he joined because of his activism, and he was promoting a book; I've only noticed the mostly political and comedy bits in his accounts besides the show more recently. Ten million online followers is quite an amazing feat for just this purpose, if that's so.

Pootie2 said: "I could've sworn he joined because of his activism, and he was promoting a book..."

You don't think the book(s) were about platform-building for Allegiance, either?! Oh myyy...

Updated On: 10/11/15 at 12:04 AM

Here is Lorenzo putting all the pieces together: http://www.wsj.com/articles/george-takeis-road-from-star-trek-to-broadway-1438563178

Pootie2 said: "(Although I hope Takei and Salonga can also remind their followers to behave in the theater if they don't know etiquette.)"

Lea Salonga is definitely not shy about calling out bad theatre behavior.

And thanks for that link, haterobics!

Name one Broadway producer, past or present, who used/uses surveys.

Well, Finding Neverland at ART had that show quality survey to determine whether Riedel or Weinstein would get an ice bucket on their head...

(I was happy to vote despite hating them both)

Basing on the twitter feedbacks and instagram photos I saw online. The show's marketing group is really doing a great job. Heard people who watched the show are happy and satisfied but then again these are mostly Takei and Salonga fans. Attendance is great as most previews are packed if not 90% attendance.

Salonga was in Good Morning America the other day for Disney's Alladin reunion. She performed (although not from allegiance) and promoted allegiance. The video became a viral video in less than 48 hours. Good free ride on promo for Allegiance right there.

I hope this show is still running by spring of 2016. Coz that's the only chance I have to go down south and watch Allegiance.

Scarywarhol said: "Haterobics, I have to disagree that they got their subjectivity as producers "sorted out" by hiring a third book writer. Nobody who works creatively in musical theatre and isn't directly involved could listen to these lyrics and think they are competent. I applaud the team for having such passion, but it seems really dangerous. "

I haven't been to the show yet, so I can't say. But realizing you need to bring someone else in to write, since it is a skill set you may not have completely nailed down, is not a move every show has made. I'm talking about the intent... there are many ways to get to an unsatisfying result, though.

As someone who took one of the surveys, they were very comprehensive, and I was impressed. It didn't seem desperate at all -- they honestly wanted to know what people thought. And as someone else said earlier, I would also love to see the aggregate data.

A Director said: "Just like Amazing Grace, this is a vanity project."

Out of curiosity, have you even seen Allegiance? Or has the knowledge you've acquired on a message board given you the authority to make such a proclamation?

Wow, there are lots of varied opinions on this thread. This seems to be a very divisive show. Here's my 2-cents, such as it is:

It's a flawed show, for sure, but I thought it was good overall. I found the story, themes, and staging to all be compelling enough to hold it together for me. The book has issues to be worked out. For example,

**SPOILER

I thought the nurse's death was a really bizarre turn of events, and not in a good way. I also wish that the Grandfather had a more fleshed-out final moment before dying. Both of their deaths being revealed to Sam in the same scene lessened the emotional impact of both of them.

**END SPOILER**

On the whole I thought the 2nd act was weaker than the first, but the final scene was incredible moving, and actually made me cry quite a bit. You could tell that it Takei's performance in that scene was really coming from a true place in his heart.

The score definitely has some great moments. I enjoyed most of the songs in the first act, but very few songs in the 2nd act. However, there was a lot of really bland, generic music in this show, and even more bland, generic lyrics. The song, "I Oughta Go" comes to mind in particular, when Sam says "I'm not going 'til I get what I want." Like, we can tell that's what the song is all about without him having to say it so directly. There's a lot of 2-dimensional lyrics like that which really bugged me.

I actually thought the staging and choreography were really good. While I'm usually not a fan of heavy projection-use, I thought it was well-integrated in this show, and created pleasing stage-pictures. The performances were good, but nothing to write home about. As I said earlier, Takei's performance in the final scene was the most excellent part of the evening for me.

I'd be interested to revisit this show after opening to see what else they change. I also think that it's a show I would get more out of the 2nd time. I wish this show well, and hope this important historical story reaches many people.

For those wondering about rush and/or stage-door:

Got to the rush at 9:00am, first in line. 2nd person arrived at around 9:10. Probably 10 people in line at 10am. Seats were in the balcony, but the view is perfectly fine. It didn't feel like I was very far away, like some Broadway balconies do.

Stage-door was pretty crowded. A lot of people were crowding in the streets, forming a full circle around the actors' car. The supporting actors came out first, and managed to make their way around to the people in the street. Salonga followed, and I think she mainly signed for just the people behind the barricades. She signed and posed for pictures. As soon as she left, Takei came out, and was very kind and generous with his time. He posed for pictures and chatted with his fans.

Updated On: 10/11/15 at 04:13 PM

haterobics said: "Is there a show that isn't divisive on here, though?! "

Haha, well there's often a wide-spread consensus, even if its never universal. Also, my reaction was partly due to the fact that it's been in previews for 5 days and there's already almost 200 posts in this thread.