Wednesday, January 6, 2016

"Allegiance" - the musical - to close its Broadway run

The "Allegiance" cast will make a final bow on Broadway, Feb. 14.

THE MUSICAL Allegiance, which opened just two months ago on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre, has set a closing date for its Broadway run - Feb. 14, 2016.


The silver lining, however, is that the producers are making plans for a national tour.

In a statement, 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."

By the time the show closes, it will have played 37 previews and 113 regular performances.
The storyline is partially inspired on the life of actor George Takei (who also stars) and his experience in Japanese/American internment camps during World War II.  Allegiance also stars Tony winner Lea Salonga and Telly Leung, and tells the story of a family uprooted and forced to adapt to a new mode of life demanded by a frightened country which would not dare to accept difference.

Lea Salonga and George Takei.
Allegiance, according to press notes, "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 epic story told with great intimacy, Allegiance explores the ties that bind us, the struggle to persevere, and the overwhelming power of forgiveness and, most especially."

The show features a book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione, and music and lyrics by Kuo. A cast recording of Allegiance will be released Feb. 5 through Broadway Records/Yellow Sound.

The complete cast comprises Takei as Sam Kimura/Ojii San, Salonga as Kei Kimura, Leung as Sammy Kimura, Katie Rose Clarke as Hannah Campbell, Michael K. Lee as Frankie Suzuki, Christopheren Nomura as Tatsuo Kimura and Greg Watanabe as Mike Masaoka with Aaron J. Albano, Belinda Allyn, Marcus Choi, Janelle Dote, Dan Horn, Owen Johnston, Darren Lee, Manna Nichols, Rumi Oyama, Catherine Ricafort, Momoko Sugai, Sam Tanabe, Kevin Munhall, Elena Wang, Scott Watanabe and Tony winner Scott Wise. 

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