I received an email from my aunt Rose a couple of months ago, about a musical named “Allegiance” premiering at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. My cousin Erica’s high school and Stanford classmate Jay Kuo is the writer/composer of this musical, so my aunt Rose wanted to make sure I knew about it.
{Photo taken from the Allegiance Facebook page. We were not allowed to take photos during the show.}
Todd and I got tickets for a Thursday night showing on 10/18. Todd is a fan of George Takei on Facebook and he had talked about being a part of this musical in San Diego. The musical is about the Japanese-American internment during WW II, which wasn’t talked about extensively in history books in school. It was a dark period of our American history. As a child, George Takei’s family was sent to internment camps in Arkansas and California, so this musical is very personal to him.
We went to the musical not having many expectations, except that my friend Anne had seen it and loved it. We had no idea that the cast consisted of such talent as Lea Salonga (Tony Award winner for “Miss Saigon”)and Telly Leung of numerous Broadway musicals (and also a Warbler on “Glee”). The singing was so so good, and they each gave such a strong performance with amazing stage presence. The live orchestra was also fantastic. Towards the end of the show, I was moved to tears, as were many in the audience judging by the amount of sniffling I heard! I was engrossed in the story, the music, the singing, the costumes… all of it!
The show concluded its run at the Old Globe Theater this past Sunday. It broke the Old Globe Theater’s box office record and became the highest grossing show there in its 77 year history. 
{Photo taken from the Allegiance Facebook page.}
This show will most likely be Broadway-bound in 2013. If you get a chance to see it, you should! It is well worthwhile.
Lastly, a few night time shots of the outside views at the Old Globe. We only had our small camera with us so the pictures aren’t the best quality. But it was a beautiful night full of beautiful music and stories.
More links about Allegiance:
George Takei Takes Story Of Internment To The Stage
Q-and-A: Catching up with George Takei
I have yet to see Lea Salonga on stage, so next time she is cast in a local production, I will definitely NOT skimp on tickets and watch her!
ReplyDeleteLea Salonga was truly amazing! Her voice range was unbelievable and she just commands the stage. So good!
DeleteIt looks like it was a great musical. Since moving here I don't get to see many plays or shows but love reading your blog posts about them. Thanks for sharing.
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