Allegiance
is a strong word. It invokes a serious tone and serious loyalty often at times
when as a country we are at our weakest. It is not altogether different than
having faith. You are basing your opinion on what you perceive to be the truth.
Unfortunately sometimes our faith betrays us when our country decides war is an
excuse for incomparable treatment of its citizens. Sadly there are way too many
examples of this. For tonight though we are focused on a specific incident
during World War II (WWII), the Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps
after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
This
intense period of history is the subject of a new play on Broadway, Allegiance.
It is a musical inspired by the life of George Takei (of Star Trek fame), one
of the show’s leading men. As a fan of “Real Time with Bill Maher” I have seen
George on the program a few times. Bill is always quick to point on a movie or
book we should know about. It is how I found out about “To Be Takei”.
During
that documentary I first learned about this play, which tells the story of a
Japanese-American family living during WWII. It was a fascinating movie and
that’s where I learned Takei’s family had lived in and through the internment
camps. He was five when they were forced at gunpoint to leave their home and
belongings. Infamously called “All They Could Carry”, there is book and movie
with the same title.
But
before we delve further into the details of the play, I have a confession to
make.
I
have never seen Star Trek. I may as well also tell you that I have never seen
Star Wars either. Not so much as a credit or scene on YouTube (a site I despise
because I think it is the ruination of the world). I will not be viewing either
of these shows in the future, as I have no interest what so ever. For those
thrilled about the latest movie who have seen it three times already and are
planning to go again this weekend (you know who you are) I say God bless. I
will be writing and sleeping this weekend.
I
know that so called Trekkie fans will probably flock to Broadway just to get a
glimpse of this legendary actor. It is much the same way those who loved Harry
Potter movies flocked to see “Equus” and “How to Succeed in Business Without
Trying” (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2011/04/for-how-to-succeed-in-business-without.html)
staring Daniel Radcliffe. I knew this would be the case at the stage door as
well so I avoided it. I walked away with more than I bargained for anyways.
Allegiance
has a cast more talented than most I have seen. As previously mentioned George
Takei played Sam Kimura, Telly Leung portrayed Sammy Kimura, and Lea Salonga
was Kei Kimura.
Charles
Isherwood of the New York Times said:
“If
anything, the authors, feeling the responsibility of illuminating this shameful
chapter in American history, pack the show with so much incident and
information that “Allegiance” often feels more like a history lesson than a
musical. A singing history lesson, yes, but a history lesson nonetheless.”
Talk
about reducing something to within an inch of its life. I wouldn’t even
categorize the synopsis that way.
For
starters that music was unbelievable. I had been worried about that because I
couldn’t picture what kind of songs would be appropriate for the situation and
the intensity. They blew me away. I want the soundtrack for sure.
If
the first fifteen minutes of this play doesn’t take your breath away then you
don’t deserve to be sitting in this auditorium. I had tears slowly streaming
down my face for the first quarter and the last. It wasn’t so much sadness as
it was the rawness of the situation. It didn’t feel like a play. I felt like I
was watching the real thing with all of the real frightening, shocking, and
appalling things that no one knew would happen there. Making it worse was that
they were all American citizens so they didn’t expect to be treated that way.
Of course they are right. It never should have happened. But it did.
Worse
yet was that history was not quick to right its wrong. It took over forty
years. Then in 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act which
would give the nearly one hundred thousand people who had survived the
internment camps $20,000 and an apology as retribution.
I
wonder if the President, then or now, would consider that an appropriate
response to the years of lives lost and traumatized. I suppose it was a gesture
as there probably hardly a thing that can remove that pain. I wonder what the
victims of the Holocaust would feel about this. While the situations were
different I cannot seem to think of one without the other. The U.S. might not
have had any death chambers but it certainly wasn’t intent on securing the
health of their prisoners, and they were prisoners’ no longer citizens while
they remained in the camps.
Now
that I am all engrossed in this topic I can’t stop researching it. I feel like
I am seeing something relevant everyday all day. But isn’t that the way it
works when you suddenly pay extra close attention to a topic?
An
incredible talented ensemble cast accompanied the three leading actors.
Certainly one of the best I have ever seen. They were all magnificent and
worked together so well. I really believed they were who they were portraying
and that they had formed these bonds. They appear unshakable both during the
sad times and the lighter, funnier moments.
It
occurred to me this week that I have been in this theater before. That was the
time I was with Kelsey Grammar and Douglas Hodge. Oh and like two hundred plus
adoring fans. So I began frantically searching my blog for this post. I looked
for over a half an hour. I could remember vividly see La Cage Aux Follies twice
and had a great time. I remembered the outline of the theater and everything
yet my blog appeared nowhere. I couldn’t imagine why I couldn’t find it. Then I
searched online to find the date of this production. It was in 2010. I did not
begin writing my blog until 2011. That explained why I could not find it, it
did not exist anywhere besides in my mind. Wow a time where I did things and
then didn’t write about them? It seems so bizarre. I guess now I know why I
continue to write.
In
yet another coincidence I learned even more about the Japanese- American
internment camps recently by watching TV.
CSPAN had a new program called “Landmark Cases”. It was on for twelve
weeks (I still have the last one Roe v. Wade on my DVR) and each week they
featured one of the most influential Supreme Court decisions. It was
fascinating. There were guests, experts in the field, and even someone involved
in the case. Whenever possible there were photos, audio files, and even video
of the historic decisions. That is where I learned about Korematsu v. United States, the case in which the Court upheld the
relocation orders. Fred Korematsu’s daughter Karen was featured in a video and
on the program talking about her family’s experience. That first case was
decided on December 18, 1944.
During
the television show they also mentioned a book to read for those interested in
the topic. It is called “Justice at War” (http://www.amazon.com/Justice-War-Story-Japanese-American-Internment/dp/0520083121).
I have added it to my list and will be reading it soon.
For
those in or going to California you can take this one step further and visit
the Japanese-American National Museum. Whenever I am ever in the area I would
love to check it out.
A new bill introduced
in the Senate this month would establish Tule Lake as a National Historic Site,
making it the third internment camp that held Japanese Americans during World War
II an official historic site. It was the largest of all of the internment
camps. Currently the camp is under repair and preservation and it should be
open July 2016.
It is ironic that we will be talking about FDR this
week, as this was his greatest mistake. It pains my heart to think about it. He
did SO much good but sadly his greatest mistake is just as large. I can
overlook the packing of the Supreme Court and serving four terms as President
(the only President to do so) but this left an imprint on our society I fear we
are only now realizing as a whole.
In our current times of terrorist acts and increasing
number of shootings I pray we don’t regress to prior actions. Fear is a
powerful motivator yet it leads us blindly into an unanticipated future. But it
is up to us as a nation to learn from our mistakes before they get to the level
of discrimination against our own people.
For More Information on Allegiance:
For More Information on George Takei:
For More Information on Internment Camps:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp
Comments
Post a Comment