Allegiance starring Tony® and Olivier® award winner Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables), “Star Trek” icon George Takei in his Broadway debut at age 78, and Broadway and “Glee” star Telly Leung, will play its final performance on Broadway on Sunday, February 14, 2016. Performances began at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street) on October 6, 2015 and the production officially opened on November 8, 2015.
Telly Leung, George Takei, Christopheren Nomura and Lea Salonga in ‘Allegiance’. Photo by Matt Murphy
The Allegiance Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring music and lyrics by Jay Kuo, and produced by Lynne Shankel & Joel Moss for Sing Out, Louise! Productions, will be released by BroadwayRecords.com on January 22, 2016. Click here to preorder. It will be available on ITunes worldwide on January 29, 2016 (Broadway Records/Yellow Sound).
Check out video clip of the making of the Allegiance Original Broadway Cast Recording featuring Dan Horn and other cast members.
Broadway’s ‘Allegiance’ to Record Cast Album on Dec. 7
The cast of ALLEGIANCE at their first preview curtain call at the Longacre Theatre in New York on October 6, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
At the time of its closing, Allegiance will have played 37 previews and 113 regular performances. Producers also announced a national tour and international productions are in the works. Allegiance had its world premiere in a record-breaking engagement at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in 2012.
Lea Salonga, George Takei, Telly Leung, Michael K Lee and cast. Photo by Matthew Murphy
Sing Out, Louise! Productions and ATA, producers for Allegiance said: “Bringing Allegiance to Broadway was not only a labor of love for our entire creative team and this company of extraordinary artists, but it was also a work with deep commitment to social relevance and impact. We are so proud to have brought George Takei’s very personal family history to the stage and – in the process – to have surfaced a chapter of history that was painfully unknown to so many. By its last performance Allegiance will have been seen on Broadway by approximately 120,000 people, a number that eerily echoes the number of Japanese Americans who were directly impacted by the events that inspired our musical, and whose rights were trampled in the name of pure fear and intolerance. We look forward to continuing to share this essential story – more relevant than ever, given today’s headlines – and this moving score with theatergoers across the country and around the world for many years to come. Audiences who have experienced Allegiance on Broadway have left the theater transformed, uplifted, enlightened, inspired, informed, and entertained. We remain committed to finding more ways in which the true impact of Allegiance will continue.”
Allegiance is the vibrant and unforgettable story of one family’s resilience in the face of seemingly-insurmountable odds, inspired by Takei’s real-life experience as a Japanese American during World War II.
George Takei and David Henry Hwang in conversation at The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University in New York on December 7, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang
During a conversation between Takei and Tony-award winning playwright David Henry Hwang in December at The Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University, Hwang shared, “I finally got to see Allegiance this weekend. It’s really extraordinary. You guys have done a fantastic job. One of the things that I think is amazing from a dramaturgical standpoint is just a series of impossible choices that these people are faced with. They try to navigate through one impossible choice, then that causes another impossible choice, so that there is constantly this vice that’s closing in. It rips apart families and it’s very moving. Congratulations. I think it’s fantastic.”
Click below to read more of their chat.
Allegiance features a book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo. Olivier Award® nominee Stafford Arima directs, in his Broadway debut. Andrew Palermo serves as choreographer.
The cast of ‘Allegiance’. Photo by Matthew Murphy
The cast is as follows: George Takei as Sam Kimura/Ojii Chan; Lea Salonga as Kei Kimura; Telly Leung as Sammy Kimura; Katie Rose Clarke as Hannah Campbell; Michael K. Lee as Frankie Suzuki; Christópheren Nomura as Tatsuo Kimura; and Greg Watanabe as Mike Masaoka. The ensemble features Aaron J. Albano, Belinda Allyn, Marcus Choi, Janelle Toyomi Dote, Dan Horn, Owen Johnston II, Darren Lee, Kevin Munhall, Manna Nichols, Rumi Oyama, Shea Renne, Catherine Ricafort, Momoko Sugai, Sam Tanabe, Elena Wang, Scott Watanabe and Tony Award® winner Scott Wise.
Telly Leung and cast. Photo by Matthew Murphy
Michael K. Lee, George Takei and Lea Salonga. Photo by Matthew Murphy
Allegiance illuminates one of American history’s lesser known chapters as it tells the story of Sam Kimura (Takei), transported back nearly six decades to when his younger self (Leung) and his sister Kei (Salonga) fought to stay connected to their heritage, their family, and themselves after Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II. An important story told with great resonance and intimacy, Allegiance explores the ties that bind us, the struggle to persevere, and the overwhelming power of forgiveness and, most especially, love.
George Takei and Lea Salonga. Photo by Matthew Murphy
Allegiance has implemented a digital lottery for $39 seats available each day via allegiancemusical.com/lottery. Entries can be submitted the day of the preferred performance, either by 11AM for matinees or 3PM for evening performances. Winners will be notified via email or text, depending on what they select during the entry process, and winners may purchase up to 2 tickets which will be held at the box office. Allegiance will also offer a limited number of $39 rush tickets for patrons 35 years old and under for each performance beginning at the opening of the box office each day. There will be a limit of 2 tickets per customer. Cash or credit cards will be accepted for all lottery and rush tickets, and seat locations will vary depending on availability.
Click here to purchase tickets. For more information go to www.AllegianceMusical.com.
Broadway’s ‘Allegiance’ starring George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung, ends run on February 14
Japan Society presents ‘George Takei: From Barbed Wire to Broadway’ on Jan. 25
Scott Watanabe makes Broadway Principal Debut as Tatsuo Kimura in ‘Allegiance’
Marcus Choi Makes Broadway Principal Debut as Frankie Suzuki at Today’s Matinee of ‘Allegiance’
“Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu and His Quest for Justice” by Lorraine K. Bannai
Photos: Lunch with Tony Winner Lea Salonga and George Takei, Stars of ALLEGIANCE
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
Lia Chang. Photo by Garth Kravits
Lia Chang is an award-winning filmmaker, a Best Actress nominee, a photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Examiner.com, Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2016 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at lia@liachang.com
