Allegiance coming to Broadway

[RW3]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 12:28pm

BWW Article

[Fantod]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 12:37pm

I wonder what theatre this might take. What size show is it?

[Pootie2]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 12:39pm

Does it have a better chance of recouping if the theater is smaller? The subject matter isn't some family-happy dancing thing. Well, I hope it does decently.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 1:23pm

Yikes, $13 million? I was under the impression this was a small show. Guess not.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 1:27pm

YAAAAYYYYY

[Daddy Warbucks]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 1:28pm

It does have "some" happy music, but generally is a drama. Excellent story. I missed the Globe performance, but saw an early workshop and then a subsequent workshop, and the revised version was fantastic. Amazing cast and music. Hopefully they can get Lea Salonga to come along.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 2:25pm

I hope Takei's name will allow for the show to live beyond the holiday season as it has a good story to tell and very good music, though it's not a very commercial show. I was a sobbing mess at the end of it. I still think Telly Leung, who will inevitably take the lead, is wrong for his character as it was written in SD.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 2:32pm

I enjoy Mr. Takei, but those clips seen in "To Be Takei" looked pretty dire.

[dented146]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 3:11pm

I'm very surprised at the 13M number. I recall a fairly modest set and would expect a modest theater. It was a fine musical and deserves to be seen.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 3:22pm

Where'd the $13m figure come from? It's not in the BWW article...

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 3:33pm

The New York Times. Never trust a BWW article.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/george-takei-to-star-in-broadway-musical-about-interned-japanese-americans

Updated On: 2/5/15 at 03:33 PM

[Pootie2]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 4:20pm

^Thanks, neonlightsxo.

Since this is a project so dear to Takei, I wonder how much he's willing to pump into it to offset potential sale slack. He's not listed as a producer, though. This look similar to Last Ship with Sting heavily involved, but he didn't produce it.

[Pauly3]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 7:16pm

Awesome news! George Takei was a great surprise in the two roles he played in the San Diego debut. Really happy for him now that he and the team are finally staring at time on Broadway.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 7:30pm

It's a great year to be an Asian in theatre. King and I, Here Lies Love, Allegiance. Glad these stories are being told!

[HorseTears]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 7:37pm

How nice it would be to have Lea Salonga back on Broadway.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 2/5/15 at 7:46pm

"I'm very surprised at the 13M number. I recall a fairly modest set and would expect a modest theater. It was a fine musical and deserves to be seen."

The $13 million could include a built in reserve in case they don't build up instant word of mouth and want to be able to push through to awards season.

[canmark]

Posted: 2/6/15 at 2:18pm

Thrilled to hear that Allegiance will indeed come to Broadway. I don’t know a lot about the show, but I am familiar with its subject matter and think it’s an important story to be told.

My family’s Japanese Canadian and my mother (and her family and friends) were put in Japanese-Canadian internment camps during WWII. Not only were men, women and children imprisoned, but they were disenfranchised – they lost the right to vote in their own country. We also have a relative who was in a Japanese-American internment camp. The American/Canadian internment camps are not a well-known chapter of history, but it’s important for people to know that these things did happen in our own countries. And we must be vigilant of all forms of discrimination and injustice.

Due to health reasons I will not be able to attend this show, but I wish it success. Not only is it great that this story will be told, but it’s a great opportunity for Asian-American actors to shine on Broadway. I’m concerned with the size of the theatre – the Schubert seems too big for this size/type of show (correction: I had read that it was going to play *the* Schubert Theatre, but now I read that it is going to play *a* Schubert theatre). Hopefully its running costs will be such that it can play for a good amount of time (I know realistically that this is not going to be a Mamma Mia, but if it could find an audience like a smaller show like Once...). And, of course, hopefully the show is good and audiences respond to the material – which, while serious, is hopeful. It’s about pride. It is about patriotism. It is about American values – which Japanese-Americans embody.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 2/6/15 at 3:54pm

I was just thinking about this show yesterday. Glad to know it's not been forgotten

Updated On: 2/6/15 at 03:54 PM

[Pauly3]

Posted: 2/6/15 at 8:15pm

^At the time, she sounded as if she thought a decision would be (perhaps) a long way off. Now that the time has come (perhaps sooner than thought), I sure hope she can't pass up the chance to recreate her role in Allegiance on Broadway. Her 2nd home is New York, and she's still only 43 (or at least for a few more weeks).

[Pootie2]

Posted: 2/6/15 at 9:14pm

Well, it sounds like a major concern of hers is uprooting family and moving her kid to a new school that may not be permanent, so her priorities have shifted.

This is in contrast with Deedee Magno Hall's situation, who recently joined IF/THEN and left her two young boys and husband in Hawaii, I believe, but her run in IF/THEN is only from this week(?) to the March 22 closing, which isn't a very long commitment compared to a minimum year contract and unknown end date.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/7/15 at 12:43am

"I mean, I'm also getting older. I'm 43 - and the character I'm playing is about 29 or 30. And while I do look pretty young, when I'm 20 to 40 feet away from somebody sitting in the audience, there is only so much suspension of disbelief that I am willing to take on. Also, my life is taking so many interesting turns. My kid is in school, and I don't know if I want to uproot her to Manhattan for a year. There's a lot to consider, and priorities change. I don't know what stage of my life I'll be in when it happens, if it does happen."

I saw her do Cinderella a few years back in the Philippines. I bought it. Sadly there was no stage door. My question for people who know the show is if the character's age is super important. "Mom" roles tend to be thankless parts that can be played by a range of ages.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 2/7/15 at 3:57am

From what I've read, Mr. Takei worked very hard to bring this show to Broadway. I'm thrilled that he has succeeded, and I hope that the show does well. It is essential that Americans (and Canadians, based on one of the other posts) hear the horrifying stories of the internees while they are still alive to tell them.

Another production about the internment of Japanese Americans will play shortly in a small theater in Rancho Mirage, California. The Coachella Valley Repertory Theatre will present "Hold These Truths," a solo play by Jeanne Sakata about Gordon Hirabayashi's long quest for justice. Information about the play can be found at http://cvrep.org/cv-reps-plays-2014-2015-season/ . CVRep does excellent work, and I expect this play to be worth seeing.

[BWNUT]

Posted: 2/9/15 at 6:50am

It worked perfectly at the Old Globe in CA which has about 600 seats (?) I wonder if it would work in a larger theater? I hope it's not another Flower Drum Song. BTW, Salonga played the sister, not the "Mom"

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 2/9/15 at 9:43am

If Lea Salonga isn't interested, I wonder what Yuka Takara is doing these days?

[seahag2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 9:06pm

I'm so excited for this show! I remember when it was really reallllly new and Allie Trimm had just taken on a workshop role. I only knew of this show because I was obsessed with 13 and saw Allie say something about it on her facebook page. I didn't even know who Telly, Lea, or George were. (I was in 7th grade okay this was the beginning of my musical theatre obsession). Nonetheless, this is the kind of story that NEEDS to be told. The american chapter of Japanese internment is so often forgotten and I'm glad a medium like the stage can tell its story. Not only will it shed light on the issue but it'll also give Asian actors jobs that aren't character/stereotypical roles in the process!