Allegiance ★★★★
Charing Cross Theatre, London
Last year this critic learned about the tragedy of the partition of India from DIsney’s Ms Marvel. This year it was time to learn about the scandal of the US internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans in World War II from George Takei’s Allegiance. So far, it’s two points to pop culture and zero points for the British educational system. Where would we be without great storytelling to honour histories that some may find uncomfortable? When Allegiance premiered in 2015 during peak MAGA it became a lightning rod for nationalist trolls. They did not like the difficult questions it posed about the moral foundation of some of the wartime choices. Outside of that particularly fervent crucible its premiere in London should lead to a more sincere recognition of what a touching, uplifting and entertaining musical it is.
Inspired by Takei’s childhood experience in the internment camps, Allegiance tells the story of the Kimura family. The Kimuras are forced to leave their homes to be imprisoned in a camp in Wyoming following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour that prompted the US to join WWII. The camp lacks dignity and the basic means for a humane existence. The camp splinters into those Japanese Americans who think they can regain their freedom by volunteering to fight on behalf of the US against Japan, and those who wish to focus on gaining their freedom from the camps by dissent and protest. Both require bravery. The Kimura family is split when the son Sam (Telly Leung) chooses to join the US army and the daughter Kei (Aynrand Ferrer) chooses to marry the leader of the internal camp revolt.
The cost of war is measured in the betrayal of family loyalty rather than the body count. There are scenes of war but the drama comes from the moment-to-moment decisions, their moral demands and the pain that they inflict on relationships. The toll becomes generational as the children lose their parents, their partners and eventually each other.
Tears come in the second half but there is something heartily uplifting in the way each character is trying to do what they think is best. It generates a font of respect and sympathy. The key characters are good people, caught in the worst of situations. Enveloped in a warm and catchy score and lyrics by Jay Kuo, rejecting symbolism in favour of the empathy of ordinary language, the tale glides easily through the generations. The performances from Ferrer and Luong adeptly capture the passion of youth evolving into the regrets of adulthood and George Takei (as the older Sam and the Grandpa) gives it the regality of a beloved favourite.
When it comes to a night at the theatre Queerguru is always going to choose to have a good time over learning a damn thing. In the case of Allegiance, we didn’t have to choose. We got both.
Review by ANDREW HEBDENQueerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA & CULTURAL STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing, and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement, he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre, and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day.
Labels: 2023, Allegiance, Andrew Hebden, George Takei, London debut, musical, review
