George Takei to debut in new musical about his life
Star Trek actor George Takei is to make his Broadway debut this weekend, in a musical based on his life.
The 77-year-old gay rights activist will appear in ‘Allegiance’ – a musical about Japanese-Americans imprisoned in camps during World War II.
Mr Takei – who was a child when his family were held in the Rohwer War Relocation Center camp – spoke about the “very, very personal” story, which will draw on his own life.
He was held in camps in the US states of Arkansas and California for four years when he was a child.
The actor told the New York Times: “I consider this my legacy project.
“This is the first time that this dark chapter of American history will be done on the Broadway stage.”
The show is produced by Lorenzo Thione and Andrew Treagus, with the book by Marc Acito and music and lyrics by Jay Kuo.
Mr Takei said: “We talked for a long time about my childhood imprisonment, about my father’s anguish at being challenged over his loyalty to America – my dad was born in San Francisco and played baseball, my mother was born in Sacramento.
“I’m a weeper, and when Jay emailed me a song after that, about my father and the idea of allegiance, I just gushed. I knew I had to do this.”
The show previously premièred at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
