by Sandy Kiyomura
Most of us are aware of Executive Order 9066 where 120,000 people of Japanese descent were interned at “concentration camps” during WWII. Some of us have relatives who were detainees or know of some. It is a very sad part of America history and this musical presents it very well.
“Allegiance” is a musical about the Internment of the Japanese during WWII. If you didn’t get to see this, you missed a powerful and entertaining show. (The SF Chronicle gave it top reviews). The cast was mostly Asian and the musical covered five decades, following 4 generations of the Kimura family before the war, during the war and (a scene)50 years later. There were 25 numbers (songs) and the singing was excellent, the lyrics creative and the dancing entertaining. The lead actress Lindsay Hirata did a phenomenal performance, singing and dancing in most of the numbers. There were some light-hearted moments : “why do Japanese students do well in math? Because they were in Concentration camps”. There were many dramatic scenes that centered around the conflict between men who wanted to volunteer for the Army (under the 442 Go for Broke battalion) and the others who were protesting the war. The latter were called the “no no” boys because they would not pledge allegiance to the US. Most of the “no no boys” were sent to Tule Lake camp. But life was not all bad at the camps. They had baseball, classes and dances. I enjoyed the dance scene where the cast performed an energetic swing dance number. Dances like this must have provided moments of relief during the harsh conditions they were living under. It was sad when a baby died because of lack of medical treatments. One only knows how many deaths (suicides) there were, or how PTSD may have affected the detainees.
Before the show, I went to dinner with my family and friends. One of my friends, Eloy Maoki was born in Peru. But Eloy was also sent to a detention camp (Crystal City) when he was 4 years old. This camp was for the people from the 13 South/Central American countries that the US ordered sent to camps. There were also German and Italian detainees, however the Germans and Italians were given hearings. My daughter found that one of Eloy’s friends, Yuji Ichioka, was her Asian American studies professor at UCLA. Mr. Ichioka was a prominent historian who wrote “Issei” and “Before Internment”. We must not forget history because it is repeating itself these days…and it’s not pretty.
Editor’s note: If you missed the musical, you can see George Takei’s Allegiance the Musical in movie theaters on December 11, 2018. Find a movie theater near you at Fathom Events.
