Original Broadway Cast Members to Join George Takei in ALLEGIANCE's Los Angeles Premiere

East West Players (EWP) and Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) are pleased to announce that for the Los Angeles premiere of the Broadway musical Allegiance, stage and screen star George Takei will be joined by Broadway cast members Elena Wang as Kei Kimura, Greg Watanabe as Mike Masaoka, Scott Watanabe as Tatsuo Kimura, and Janelle Dote as Hanako.

They will be joined by Ethan Le Phong as Sammy Kimura, Eymard Cabling as Frankie Suzuki, and Natalie Holt MacDonald as Hannah Campbell. The ensemble includes Cesar Cipriano, Jordan Goodsell, Sharline Liu, Miyuki Miyagi, Glenn Shiroma, Chad Takeda, and Grace Yoo.

Allegiance will be performed at JACCC's Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles from February 21 to April 1, 2018. Opening Night is February 28. This new production will be directed by East West Players' Producing Artistic Director Snehal Desai. Marc Macalintal is the Music Director, and Rumi Oyama is the Choreographer.

Allegiance in Los Angeles will be co-produced by EWP and JACCC by special arrangement with Sing Out, Louise! Productions and ATA.

Takei, known for his founding role as Mr. Sulu in the acclaimed television series Star Trek and as an influential social media icon, will be performing the roles of Sam Kimura and Ojii-Chan that he originated on Broadway. Allegiance is inspired by Takei's childhood experiences.

With music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and a book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo, and Lorenzo Thione, Allegiance tells the story of the Kimura family, whose lives are upended when they and 120,000 other Japanese Americans are forced to leave their homes following the events of Pearl Harbor. Sam Kimura seeks to prove his patriotism by fighting for his country in the war, but his sister, Kei, fiercely protests the government's treatment of her people. An uplifting testament to the power of the human spirit, Allegiance follows the Kimuras as they fight between duty and defiance, custom and change, family bonds and forbidden loves.

Allegiance (Los Angeles) Director Snehal Desai says, "It's an incredible honor to be able to direct the first production of Allegiance since its Broadway debut. There could not be a more vital and important time to be bringing Allegiance home to Los Angeles and Little Tokyo, where so many still remember the day when the government forced their families to leave their communities and homes. This powerful and moving musical sheds light on this dark chapter of US history with grace and humor. I am humbled to be leading this supremely talented company."

JACCC Director of Performing Arts & Community Engagement and Executive Producer of Allegiance (Los Angeles) Alison De La Cruz says, "We are thrilled to have Snehal and this award-winning design team helm this landmark production. We are pleased to have the opportunity to showcase such amazing Asian American talent on our stage and to welcome new audiences to our community's premier venue and to the Little Tokyo neighborhood."

The creative team includes Se Hyun Oh (Scenic Design), Karyn Lawrence (Lighting Design), Halei Parker (Costume Design), Cricket Myers (Sound Design), Adam Flemming (Projection Design), and Glenn Michael Baker (Property Design), Cesar Cipriano (Fight Choreographer), and Janelle Dote (Assistant Choreographer).

All performances of Allegiance will be staged at JACCC's Aratani Theatre at 244 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Previews are Wednesday, February 21 through Sunday, February 25, 2018, with 8pm shows from Wednesday to Saturday, and a 2pm matinee show on Sunday. Regular performances run from Wednesday to Sunday, with 8pm shows from Wednesday to Saturday, and 2pm matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday. Opening night is Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at 8pm. The production runs until April 1, 2018. For tickets and information, visit AllegianceMusical.com.

East West Players (EWP) is the nation's longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work. Over its remarkable 52-year history, EWP has produced over 230 plays and musicals. EWP's 2017-18 season, The Company We Keep, features notable artistic partnerships and co-productions that reflect on and refract a wide range of Asian Pacific Islander (API) experiences as seen through the lens of gender, race, and sexuality. EWP not only ensures that API stories are told, but works to increase access, inclusion, and representation in the economy.

Founded in 1971, Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) is one of the largest ethnic arts and cultural centers of its kind in the United States. A hub for Japanese and Japanese American arts and culture and a community gathering place for the diverse voices it inspires-JACCC connects traditional and contemporary; community participants and creative professionals; Southern California and the world beyond. JACCC also provides office space in its five-story complex to a wide variety of nonprofit cultural, educational, and community-based organizations in Los Angeles.

The original Broadway production of Allegiance opened on November 8, 2015 at the Longacre Theater in New York City and was produced by Sing Out, Louise! Productions and ATA with Mark Mugiishi/Hawaii HUI, Hunter Arnold, Ken Davenport, Elliott Masie, Sandi Moran, Mabuhay Productions, Barbara Freitag/Eric & Marsi Gardiner, Valiant Ventures, Wendy Gillespie, David Hiatt Kraft, Norm & Diane Blumenthal, M. Bradley Calobrace, Karen Tanz, Gregory Rae/Mike Karns, in association with Jas Grewal, Peter Landin, and Ron Polson.

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