Allegiance the Musical

On Oct. 20th, members and friends of APIA (the Asian Pacific Islander Faculty Staff Association) drove down to San Diego's Old Globe Theatre to catch the world-premiere run of the musical, Allegiance, starring Tony award winner, Lea Salonga, and George Takei from the original Star Trek series. (Mr. Takei is not singing if you're wondering.)  Allegiance explores the injustices and difficult choices facing Japanese and Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during WWII. Much of the musical deals with the conflict and confusion between the Japanese Americans who chose to show their allegiance and patriotism by joining the ranks of the all-Japanese troops and fighting on European battlegrounds and others who chose to protest their incarceration by their "no, no" responses on the controversial loyalty oath resulting in their incarceration at the Tule Lake internment camp which segregated those labeled "disloyal". 

 Afterwards, there was some discussion about the portrayal and negative emphasis on one of the characters, but all in all, the group enjoyed the performances and quality of the singers.  Several members were able to dine at a nearby izakaya-style restaurant.