George Takei's musical ALLEGIANCE has had quite a journey. It premiered in San Diego in 2012, three years later transferring to Broadway and now, another eight years hence, has finally found its way to the London stage at the Charing Cross Theatre. The show has been something of a passion project for Takei (better known as Star Trek's original Mr. Sulu) because the subject matter is very close to his heart, having been based on his own family history. In 1942 a five year old Takei and his family were taken at gunpoint from their home in Los Angeles, and put in concentration camps found in Arkansas and Tule Lake, California. As were thousands of Japanese-Americans whom it was thought might be loyal to the Land of the Rising Sun when America declared war on Japan in World War Two. It is a story that has not been widely told until now, Takei's musical follows the journey of the fictional Kimura family as they are separated and treated like enemy aliens for the duration of the hostilities.
The show has music and lyrics by Jay Kuo, and whilst no obvious earworms spring up it remains a powerful score. The UK production has been directed by Tara Overfield Wilkinson who makes the most of the small stage area of the Charing Cross Theatre, with the audience placed on two sides, as she transports us back in time. The story starts in 2001 when old Sam Kimura is preparing for a military parade of veterans receives a notice to say his sister Kei has died, a sister he hasn't seen for fifty years. We are then back in 1941 when the young Sammy is a teenager, dreaming of a bright future, but the bombing of Pearl Harbor changes that for all Japanese-Americans. The family find themselves in an internment camp, under house arrest. In order to try and prove his loyalty to America, Sammy tries to enlist in the army but is rejected as an enemy of the US. What follows is the struggle of a group of people swept along with events they have no control over.
The 85 year old George Takei gives a stirring performance as the old Sam Kimura and also Sam's grandfather Ojii-Chan. You can tell his long struggle to bring this story to the stage fills him with pride and a desire for this part of American history to be recognised. His star quality is evident throughout. Telly Leung was sadly absent in the role of the young Sammy Kimura and was instead replaced by Sario Solomon, giving a sensitive and three dimensional account of the young man trapped in a nightmare scenario. One of the strongest features of the show is the singing, and nowhere is this more evident than Aynrand Ferrier as Sammy's sister Kei. Her vocals are sensational, and give the show much of its heart. In songs 'Gaman' and 'This Is Not Over' she leads the company like a flower in full bloom. So too Megan Gardiner - as kindly nurse Hannah Campbell - brings a striking stage presence and voice to her role. Each of the company members are required to play several roles throughout the evening and the vocal choral numbers soar during the show. The moody lighting by Nic Farman compliments the effective settings by Mayou Trikerioti, manages to convey the stark living conditions in the camps with even worse horrors of war.
A word too for the five musicians who make up the band under the musical direction of Beth Jerem, they manage to summon up the sound of the 1940s and bring out the very best in Jay Kuo's score. Allegiance could have been a downbeat evening given the persecution, hardships and sacrifices endured, but somehow the show manages to uplift and convey the strength of spirit of that particular generation. We left the theatre convinced we had seen theatre of quality and substance. Allegiance was worth the wait, and we hope that we haven't seen the last of this production in the UK.
Rob & Ian
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