One hundred twenty-thousand Japanese, mostly U.S. citizens, were imprisoned behind barbed wire during World War II. Meanwhile, 20,000 Japanese were recruited to serve in the U.S. army — a huge contradiction, and a disgrace.
It’s a story that has been told in the courts and Congress but not on Broadway. Somehow the story is incomplete until it is told on Broadway.
Enter Mark Mugiishi, a surgeon practicing in Honolulu. He’s also a primary fundraiser and producer of a Broadway play called "Allegiance" (not to be confused with the serial on NBC). It’s been a journey for Mark and his friends, but he’s confident that the play will open later this year.
Allegiance is a powerful story about internment. It’s the story of an AJA (Americans of Japanese ancestry) family in California that spends the war at Heart Mountain, Wyo., and the effects of the internment on that family.
Yes, "Allegiance" is a musical. Music heightens the emotional intensity of the story. It makes the viewer experience much more powerful and the play more universally appealing.
Allegiance is an epic tragedy, involving love and family, hardship and resilience, cruelty and disaffection, loyalty and patriotism. When the play was staged at the Old Globe in San Diego two years ago, it filled the house for 100 days.
A play like this changes and improves as it waits for its Broadway opening. It has greater depth now than it did in San Diego. The original was darkly political but has since evolved into more nuanced development. The scenes, staging and music have all been made creatively better.
The stories of Japanese families interned under Executive Order 9066 have often been stories of families that lost everything and toughed it out in silence. But that’s not the case in "Allegiance."
"Allegiance" deals with the polarization of the Kimura family. They could not agree on how to deal with what the government was doing. It’s very troubling, just as their treatment was.
It’s a winner because it hits all the bases: Pearl Harbor, the war, the injustice of the camps, the life of the AJA family in the 1940s, the 442nd Regiment and the 100th Battalion. These icons are compelling not only to AJAs, but to everyone.
After all these years we need a better national statement, a deeper national literature, on what happened to the AJAs in the harsh hysteria of that period. "Allegiance" will help provide that.
In large part this is a Hawaii story. There were five camps here. While local AJAs were being sent to the mainland, the 442nd was being sent to Italy. It’s a story that has had a huge effect on the evolution of our state. We can hardly forget, now that that generation is dying off.
George Takei of "Star Trek," with 8 million Facebook followers, plays the patriarch Sam Kimura. He himself was interned and was the inspiration for the story. Lea Salonga of "Miss Saigon" and "Les Miserables" plays Kei Kimura, who falls in love with activists. Telly Leung of "Rent" and "Pacific Overtures" plays young Sammy Kimura, torn between country and community.
"Allegiance" brings us together, makes us proud and reminds us of how many stories we have in Hawaii that could be on Broadway. Stories like this could be an endless source of literary diversification. It’s time we learned to tell them. This and "The Descendants" are only a beginning.
Musical productions aren’t cheap. Investors will ultimately have to contribute $13 million to put "Allegiance" on Broadway. To Mark’s credit, a quarter of that has come from Hawaii. The rest will come from East and West Coast cities, and from the U.K. and Europe. Just as Broadway is now a global enterprise, so is "Allegiance."
Once the opening is set, the team will create sets and costumes; go on a cross-country casting call (including Honolulu); contract the cast and the orchestra; start selling tickets; do rehearsals and previews; and otherwise prepare for the opening.
Many plays fail, but "Allegiance" has the look of success. As Takei says, "This is a story you’ve never heard about a family you’ll never forget." We hope it opens soon, runs for decades and goes on tour, including to Hawaii, where it will touch us more than "Cats" or "The Lion King" ever did.
Go to allegiancemusical. com and you can get a place on the ticket line for $5. You can also get the music on Amazon. Lea Salonga’s rendition of "Gaman" is very moving.
We’re rooting for you, Mark, and for "Allegiance." Let’s fill up some planes and join them for the outpouring at the opening.
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Jay Fidell, a longtime business lawyer, founded ThinkTech Hawaii, a digital media company that reports on Hawaii’s tech and energy sectors of the economy. Reach him at fidell@lava.net.
