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George Takei will star in the World Premiere of Allegiance - A New American Musical, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, directed by Stafford Arima, Sept. 7 - Oct. 21, 2012 at The Old Globe. Photo courtesy of The Old Globe. |
Lea Salonga will star in the World Premiere of Allegiance - A New American Musical, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, directed by Stafford Arima, Sept. 7 - Oct. 21, 2012 at The Old Globe. Photo courtesy of The Old Globe. |
Telly Leung will star in the World Premiere of Allegiance - A New American Musical, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, directed by Stafford Arima, Sept. 7 - Oct. 21, 2012 at The Old Globe. Photo courtesy of The Old Globe. |
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Playwright Lorenzo Thione. The World Premiere of Allegiance - A New American Musical, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Kuo and Thione, directed by Stafford Arima, runs Sept. 7 - Oct. 21, 2012 at The Old Globe. Photo by Cheryl Savan. |
Allegiance - A New American Musical. Illustration courtesy of The Old Globe. |
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Cast and Creative Team
(click on image to download a high-resolution photo) |
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Allegiance is Jay Kuo’s (Music, Lyrics and Book) fourth musical. His composing career began at Stanford where he wrote and produced Upwardly Mobile, a story of five friends coming of age. Kuo’s second musical comedy, Insignificant Others, played from 2006-2008 in San Francisco at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, Zeum and Theatre 39 and won a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Original Script. His third work, Worlds Apart, about star-crossed lovers in a cultural divide, performed in concert at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre in late 2006 and in New York City at New World Stages in 2008. Kuo has been part of the producing teams of many Broadway shows and tours and is a social media consultant. Kuo received his J.D. from UC Berkeley and is an appellate litigator admitted to practice in California and before the 9th Circuit and U.S. Supreme Courts. |
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Lorenzo Thione (Book) is a serial entrepreneur, theater producer and community activist. After having been part of the producing team of shows such as Catch Me If You Can and American Idiot, he began working on Allegiance in 2008 alongside friend and composer Jay Kuo following an encounter with George Takei, whose experience in the internment camps inspired them to write a musical about this dark and mostly unknown chapter of American history. In addition to his work in theater, Thione was also the co-founder of Powerset, Inc., an internet search company acquired by Microsoft in 2008 and whose technology was subsequently relaunched as part of Bing, and is the co-founder, Chairman and President of Artify It, an internet-based startup that’s bringing high-quality contemporary art within the reach of everyone. Thione has also co-founded and helped grow StartOut, a national non-profit organization dedicated to fostering and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders within the LGBT community. Thione serves on the board of trustees of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and of several companies in the U.S. and abroad. A native of Milan, Italy, Thione is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. |
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Stafford Arima (Director) was nominated for an Olivier Award for his direction of the West End premiere of Ragtime. He recently directed the first revival of the infamous Broadway musical Carrie (MCC Theater). His other work includes Altar Boyz (Outstanding Off Broadway Musical Outer Critics Circle Award and seven Drama Desk Award nominations), The Tin Pan Alley Rag (nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as Outstanding Off Broadway Musical, Roundabout Theatre Company), Ace (The Old Globe), Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living In Paris (Stratford Shakespeare Festival), Candide (San Francisco Symphony), The Secret Garden (World AIDS Day concert), Bright Lights, Big City (Prince Music Theater), A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim (Boston Pops), Guys and Dolls (Paper Mill Playhouse), Abyssinia (Goodspeed Musicals), Bowfire (PBS television special), The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea (San Diego Repertory Theatre), Children’s Letters to God (Off Broadway) and Marry Me a Little (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). His projects in development include A Separate Peace (based on John Knowles’ novel) and bare. Arima graduated from York University in Toronto where he was the recipient of the Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Creative Work. |
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With a career spanning five decades, George Takei is known around the world for his founding role in the acclaimed television series “Star Trek” in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise. Takei starred in three seasons of “Star Trek” and later reprised his iconic role in six movies. Takei also stars in the action-comedy series “Supah Ninjas!” which premiered in April 2011 on Nickelodeon. His on-camera television credits include guest appearances on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” “Heroes,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Scrubs,” “Miami Vice,” “MacGyver,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Mission: Impossible,” “My Three Sons,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” and “The Twilight Zone.” He has also appeared on “The Big Bang Theory,” “Psych,” “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “Will & Grace.” Takei has brought his talent to hundreds of characters in film, television, video games and commercials during his prolific career. He is featured in the comedy film Larry Crowne starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, released in July 2011 by Universal Pictures. He can be heard voicing characters in such films as Mulan and Batman Beyond: The Movie. He has voiced characters for numerous animated series including “The Simpsons,” Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword, “Transformers: Animated,” “Kim Possible,” “Futurama,” “Spider-Man,” “The Smurfs” and George Lucas’ “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” Adding to his resume, Takei has provided narration on many projects including the 2009 PBS series “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” the 2006 Peabody Award-winning radio documentary “Crossing East,” centered on the history of Asian-American immigration to the United States, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (cassette), which garnered Takei a 1987 Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording. In addition to a busy acting career, Takei regularly appears on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM satellite radio show. He is also an accomplished author having co-written the science fiction novel Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe with Robert Asprin and published his autobiography To the Stars in 1994. Takei, a Japanese-American who from ages 4 to 8 was unjustly interned in two U.S. internment camps during World War II, is an outspoken supporter of human right issues and a community activist. Takei is Chairman Emeritus and a Trustee of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. He has served as the spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign’s Coming Out Project and was cultural affairs chairman of the Japanese-American Citizens League. He was appointed to the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission by former President Clinton, and the government of Japan awarded Takei the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, for his contribution to U.S.-Japanese relations. The decoration was conferred by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. In 2007, Asteroid 7307 Takei, located between Mars and Jupiter, was named in the performer’s honor in appreciation for his social work. Takei currently lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Brad Takei. |
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Lea Salonga is a Filipina singer/actress best known for originating the role of Kim in the West End production of Miss Saigon and bringing it to Broadway, winning the Tony and Olivier Awards, among others. She was the first Asian to play Eponine in Les Misérables on Broadway, returned to the show in 2007 as Fantine and reprised the role for the sold-out 25th anniversary concert in London. Salonga wowed audiences and critics in her first ever cabaret show at New York’s famed Café Carlyle in 2010 and returned in 2011 for another engagement. In August 2011, she released a live version of her 2010 concert, “Lea Salonga: The Journey So Far,” and it rose to #3 on the iTunes Jazz charts. Honored with an appointment as a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Goodwill Ambassador in October of 2010, Lea has vowed to act as advocate for the Youth and United Nations Global Alliance initiative. Salonga’s feature film credits include the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan and Mulan II. In honor of her portrayal of the beloved princesses, Disneyland bestowed upon Salonga the honor of Disney Legend in the summer of 2011. |
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Telly Leung is currently starring on Broadway in the revival of Godspell. His other Broadway credits include Flower Drum Song (2002 revival starring Lea Salonga), Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures (2005 revival) and the final company of Rent. He originated the role of Boq in the Chicago company of Wicked. His other favorite credits include Angel in Rent directed by Neil Patrick Harris (Hollywood Bowl), Song Liling in M. Butterfly (Philadelphia Theatre Company), Give It Up! aka Lysistrata Jones (Dallas Theater Center, World Premiere), Godspell (Paper Mill Playhouse), Bernstein: Mass (Baltimore Symphony, The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall), Harold Bride in Titanic and Barnaby in Hello, Dolly! (The Muny), Simon in Jesus Christ Superstar directed by Stafford Arima (Music Circus), Thuy in Miss Saigon (Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera) and Lun Tha in The King and I with Lou Diamond Philips (North Carolina Theatre). Leung has been featured on the recordings for Godspell (Sh-K-Boom Records), Flower Drum Song (DRG Records), Pacific Overtures (PS Classics), Wall to Wall Sondheim (Live from Symphony Space), Dear Edwina (PS Classics) and the Grammy Award-nominated Bernstein: Mass with Marin Alsop (Sony/Naxos). His television and film credits include “Glee” (Wes, Dalton Academy Warblers), “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. Leung holds a B.F.A. from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. |
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