Allegiance 

Reviewed by Katie Buenneke 
East West Players at the Aratani Theatre 
Through April 1 

In 21^st century internet parlance, there’s a lot to unpack in East West Players’ production of Allegiance, now playing at Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo. On the first, most obvious level, there’s the timeliness of telling a story about sending Americans off to internment camps — an event that no longer seems out of the realm of possibility given our current Administration. Then there’s the matter of the underrepresentation of Asian-Americans in the media, and the fact that this is a show about, starring, and directed by Asian-Americans. And in case that weren’t enough, there’s also #metoo, conveniently ignored here, but still important. But more on that later.

The show follows Sammy Kimura (Ethan Le Phong), a young man who wants to be a great American and serve in the armed forces. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, though, Sammy, his sister Kei (Elena Wang), their father Tatsuo (Scott Wantanabe) and their grandfather (George Takei) are moved to an internment camp in Wyoming. There, they face a hard life, and some big questions: does a country that imprisoned you for no reason deserve your loyalty? This becomes the central issue of the musical, after Mike Masaoka (Greg Wantanabe), who’s essentially determining Washington’s policy on the Japanese-Americans in internment camps, issues a questionnaire, asking the internees if they would serve in the military, and if they would swear unqualified allegiance to the U.S.

Allegiance tackles some important and thorny issues, but unfortunately the creatives behind it don’t do the subject matter justice. The show is almost entirely sung-through, making it seem like it wants to be an opera, but the score (by Jay Kuo) is not good. There are some fine musical moments, such as the upbeat numbers in Act I — “Gotta Get in the Game” and “I Oughta Go ” — which sound like pop ditties from the 40s. But overall the lyrics are often trite and on-the-nose, giving the score — and thus the show as a whole — an amateurish feel. (Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, who co-wrote the book along with Marc Acito, run the company that helps George Takei monetize his social media following.)

The ensemble does fine work, particularly Le Phong and Wang as Sammy and Kei, respectively. Le Phong lights up the stage — a mix of Fred Astaire with a Disney prince. Indeed, his vocal technique is indistinguishable from that of Adam Jacobs https://stageraw.com/oldStageRaw/2018/01/16/aladdin-theater-review/>Aladdin at the Pantages (Le Phong understudied the role on Broadway and the West End, while Telly Leung, who originally played Sammy on Broadway, is currently playing Aladdin in New York). Wang, as Sammy’s sister Kei, is similarly bright vocally, though neither is afforded much dimensionality by the show’s book.

Under Snehal Desai’s direction, the technical elements are underwhelming, especially given the scope of the production. Karyn Lawrence’s lighting design flatly illuminates bland sets (Se Hyun Oh) and projections (Adam Flemming).

Also troubling is the issue of George Takei. This musical exists because of him: he was in an internment camp with his family, and his experiences inspired the show, so he is inextricably connected to the material. When East/West Players announced last October that the show would be coming to L.A. and starring Takei (who played Mr. Sulu on Star Trek), it seemed like a great moment for L.A. theater and Asian–American visibility. But that was before Harvey Weinstein and the #metoo moment, which prompted an allegation that Takei sexually assaulted a model in 1981. Now, that allegation has, for me, cast an awkward shadow over the production.

It’s a tricky situation for East/West Players to be in, especially when the subject matter is as important as internment, a topic that’s often glossed over in history classes despite how devastating the experience was for internees. Plus, with anti-Semitic and Islamophobic rhetoric alarmingly present in current discourse, the threat of a repeat is as timely as ever. But while we need to tell these and other Asian–American stories, the question remains if, in this case, these are the right people to be telling this story. Are we to expect that artists must be paragons of virtue? No, as every human has their own problems and flaws. But if the allegation of years-ago sexual assault is valid — and Takei’s statements in a Howard Stern interview imply a troubling understanding of consent — there’s a larger issue at hand. After decades of victims of sexual assault being systematically ignored, we live in an era of backlash against such practices. Allegiance is admittedly about a different kind of abuse, but it’s disappointing to me, at least, that East/West Players chose not to address the contradiction of somebody who appears to have abused his power, starring in a semi-autobiographical musical about a nation’s abuse of power. 

East/West Players at the Aratani Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., Little Tokyo; Wed.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sun. 2 p.m.; through Apr 1. AllegianceMuscial.com. Running time: two hours and 40 minutes with a 20-minute intermission.