George Takei to make Broadway debut in Allegiance
Star Trek icon George Takei is set to make his Broadway debut (at 75 years old!) in the musical Allegiance, directed by Olivier Award nominee Stafford Arima, at a Shubert Theatre yet to be named.
Previews are set to begin on 6 October 2015, with an official opening on 8 October 2015.
Producer Lorenzo Thione released the following statement:
"Allegiance takes audiences on an uplifting and emotional journey into a too-often overlooked moment in American history, and does so with both dignity and humor. The result is life-affirming and extraordinary. After seeing how audiences reacted to this story in San Diego, we knew we had to get it to Broadway."Inspired by Mr. Takei's real life childhood, Allegiance is "the story of family, love and patriotism set during the Japanese-American internment of World War II. On the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, a meeting with a young journalist forces WWII veteran Sam Otsuka (Takei) to remember his family's relocation from their California farm to the Heart Mountain internment camp. As they struggle to adjust to their new home, young Sam and his sister Kei find themselves torn between loyalty to their family and allegiance to their country."
Allegiance features a book by Marc Acito, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo, and is produced by Lorenzo Thione and Andrew Treagus.
The world premiere production of Allegiance was staged at San Diego's The Old Globe. Alongside George Takei, the cast also featured Tony winner Lea Salonga and Telly Leung.
George Takei is best known for his role as Mr. Sulu in the original 'Star Trek' TV series and its accompanying six movies. Other screen credits include 'Larry Crowne,' 'The Great Buck Howard,' 'The Red Canvas,' 'You Don't Mess With the Zohan,' 'DC 9/11: Time of Crisis,' 'The Green Berets,' 'Majority of One,' 'Kissinger and Nixon,' 'Prisoners of the Sun aka Blood Oath,' 'Return From the River Kwai,' 'An American Dream,' 'Hawaii Five-0,' 'True Justice,' 'The Big Bang Theory,' 'Community,' 'Heroes,' 'Will & Grace,' 'Malcolm in the Middle,' 'Freddie,' 'Scrubs,' 'Grosse Pointe' and 'The Six Million Dollar Man.'
George Takei in AllegianceOriginally published on