WARP SPEED TO LONDON!
Legendary TV & film star George Takei, making his London stage debut in Allegiance, is hosting a Star Trek Night followed by a Q & A on 20 March at Charing Cross Theatre – and with only 200 seats, this intimate event is one no Trekkie will want to miss!
George Takei, the original and beloved Mr. Sulu from ‘Star Trek’, film and television star, activist and social media icon, is to making his London stage debut in the UK premiere of the Broadway musical inspired by Takei’s true childhood experiences, ‘George Takei’s Allegiance’.
Producers today announce a special performance for Star Trek fans, with a one-off Q & A with George after the show at Charing Cross Theatre, The Arches, Villiers Street, London WC2N 6NL
With only 200 seats available, this intimate event is one no Star Trek fan will want to miss.
Tickets from £23 are available at www.AllegianceMusical.com
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, California-born Takei and his family were placed behind the barbed-wire enclosures of United States’ internment camps along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans. He spent years of his childhood at Camp Rohwer in the swamps of Arkansas and at wind-swept Camp Tule Lake in northern California. At the end of the war, Takei’s family returned to their native Los Angeles. Inspired by this difficult chapter of American history, Takei developed the Broadway musical Allegiance, an epic story of love and heroism in which he starred alongside Tony Award winner Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in its record-breaking world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in 2012. The show won multiple awards and was followed by a Broadway run in 2015-2016.
Now Allegiance gets a new and more intimate production for the UK, conceived specifically for the Off West End space at Charing Cross Theatre, directed and choreographed by Tara Overfield Wilkinson (director, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ UK tour, associate director/choreographer of ‘Come From Away’ UK). Joining Takei will be his Broadway co-star Telly Leung (Broadway’s ‘Aladdin’ and TV’s ‘Glee’).
‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ tells the moving story of Sam Kimura (Takei) as he is transported back nearly six decades to when his younger self (Leung) and his sister Kei fought to stay connected to their heritage, their family and themselves after Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II. A powerful story told with great resonance and intimacy, ‘George Takei’s Allegiance’ explores the ties that bind us, the struggle to persevere and the overwhelming power of forgiveness and, most especially, love.
GEORGE TAKEI
George Takei is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed television and film series ‘Star Trek’. He is an actor, civil rights activist, social media mega-power, New York Times bestselling author, he originated the role of Sam Kimura and Ojii-Chan in the Broadway musical Allegiance and was subject of ‘To Be Takei’, a documentary on his life and career.
Takei’s acting career has spanned more than six decades, with more than 40 feature films and hundreds of TV guest-starring roles to his credit. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Actors’ Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
A community activist, Takei is Chairman Emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s Board of Trustees. In recognition of his contribution to the Japan-United States relationship, in 2004, Takei was conferred with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan. Takei formerly served as chair of the council of governors of East West Players, the foremost Asian Pacific American theatre in the United States. He was a member of the US Japan Bridging Foundation Board of Directors; and he served on the Board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton.
With Takei’s expansion into social media, interest in his personal life grew. In January 2014, ‘To Be Takei’, a Jennifer M. Kroot documentary on George’s life and career, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that January, and was later released in select cinemas across North America.
Among his many accomplishments is a Grammy nomination Takei shared with Leonard Nimoy, in 1987, in the Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording category. He received a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame in 1986. And in 1991, Takei left his signature and hand print, in cement, in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
In addition to the Broadway musical Allegiance, George’s theatrical credits include ‘Undertow’, winner of the Scotsman First Award at the Edinburgh Festival, and ‘The Wash’, written by Philip Kan Gotanda and presented in New York at the Manhattan Theater Club and in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum. He performed in ‘Year of the Dragon’ at the American Place Theater in New York and in ‘Fly Blackbird’ at the Billy Rose Theater in New York and the Metro Theater in Los Angeles. In the UK, George played in a musical version of’ Snow White’ at the Dome Theatre, Brighton, he was the genie in ‘Aladdin’ at the Hexagon Theatre, Reading, and he was the Emperor of China in ‘Aladdin’ at the Central Theatre, Chatham. In 2017, Takei starred in a revival of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Pacific Overtures’ directed by John Doyle at Classic Stage Company in New York City.
Takei is well known to longtime fans of ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ Takei participated in the eighth season of the series, entering camp on the 16th of November, 2008, and coming out 21 days later in third place, losing to runner-up Martina Navratilova and winner Joe Swash.
As an author, Takei’s first book, his autobiography, ‘To the Stars’, was published in 1994; and in 2012 and 2013 he published his second and third books, ‘Oh Myyy! There Goes The Internet’, and its sequel, ‘Lions And Tigers And Bears: The Internet Strikes Back’. The latter two books explored his forays on social media and the Internet, earning placement on the Amazon e-book and paperback best-seller lists in 2012 and 2013, respectively. His fifth book, the Eisner Award winning and New York Times bestselling graphic memoir ‘They Called Us Enemy’, was released in July 2019.
Takei’s social media dominance is best denoted by his numerous awards. Mashable.com named George a “social media superstar” on Facebook in 2012, where he currently has over 19.6 million combined fans. In 2013, Takei won the Shorty Award for Distinguished Achievement in Internet Culture. He has 3.4 million followers on Twitter, and posts on various social media platforms. He expanded his internet presence with the 2015 YouTube series, “It Takeis Two,” starring with husband, Brad Takei. The “reality” series shared the couple’s daily navigation of their world, with George’s vibrant sense of humour and Brad’s less-than-optimistic pragmatism. In 2015, Cosmopolitan Magazine named Takei “One of the Internet’s 50 Most Fascinating People.” Takei and his husband, Brad, were married at the Japanese American National Museum on September 14, 2008. The Takeis reside in Los Angeles, California.
Takei received both bachelor and master of arts degrees from UCLA (’60, ’64). In June 2019, Takei received the Distinguished Alumni Award in Theater from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT). In June 2016, California State University, Los Angeles, presented Takei with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
LISTINGS INFO
Sing Out, Louise! Productions
presents
‘George Takei’s Allegiance’
Book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione
Music and Lyrics by Jay Kuo
Directed & Choreographed by
Tara Overfield Wilkinson
Musical Supervision & Orchestrations by
Andrew Hilton & Charlie Ingles
Lighting Design by
Nic Farman
Sound Design by
Chris Whybrow
Casting by
Sarah Leung Casting
Charing Cross Theatre
The Arches
Villiers Street
London WC2N 6NL
Box office: 08444 930650
Bookingy to
Saturday 8 April, 2023
Performances:
Monday to Saturday evenings at 7.30pm
Wednesday and Saturday matinees
at 2.30pm
Prices:
£20.00 – £70.00
Premium seats £80
A booking fee applies to phone and internet orders;
no booking fee to in person over the counter sales.
A restoration levy applies to all tickets
The box office is open from 2 hours before curtain time on performance days for in person sales
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook – @allegiancemusical
Twitter / Instagram- @allegiancebway
Website – AllegianceMusical.com