George Takei's Allegiance - Charing Cross Theatre

Saw this today, there’s a tag line on the poster that says it’s “uplifting” but it’s literally the opposite. I thought the performances were great, but the whole thing was a bit dull and boring. In shows you usually get happy bits, then sad bits, then happy bits, but this just seemed to go sad, sadder, even sadder, saddest. I just came out of it feeling a bit deflated tbh, especially after arsenals loss to Everton just before.

I am glad I went to this and the cast sang well, with great ensemble work and did the most they could with the material. Whilst the songs fair moved along, the lyrics were at best serviceable and I felt that there could have been more to the storyline in terms of exploration of the after effects of the war and the effects on the Japanese community. It just wasn’t very subtle and a lot brushed over. My friend was a lot more emotional than me though.

Staging in traverse was a mistake. It hampered the cast (so only half could perform to each side at any one time) and most of the time they were performing to the orchestra side ways to the audience. Good on the decision to ask the audience to move forward (the first rows would have been empty otherwise). A decent 3 stars for me.

I probably learned more from the article I read which had initially piqued my interest (not the headline which focuses on William Shatner!).

www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/nov/28/star-trek-george-takei-on-william-shatner-love-and-life-as-an-enemy-alien

I enjoyed this tonight. It's an easy story to understand with good singing and the score is pleasant enough even if there are few stand-out songs.

Great to see George Takei, what a legend together with his Star Trek chums and unchum. Been watching it since I was five or six and still in love with the series and most of its sequels.

Note to Charing Cross Theatre: it's a really bad idea, maybe even on safety grounds, to have a stall selling stuff just in front of the only exit from the auditorium.

Can anybody advise where is best to sit for this? I’m seeing different versions of the seating plan and I’m slightly confused. Is the production along the lines of ‘in the round’?
Thanks for any help.

It's traverse seating, so two banks of tiered seating rising up with the stage between them at the bottom. There's a very small balcony too, either side of the stage, but only about 4 seats on each side with a terrible view so avoid them.

Yes, that running time sounds about right (from the best of my recollections). Hope you enjoy it if you’re able to get there.

When I saw it in January, it finished at 21:55, including curtain call and play-out music. (That's rounded to the minute, not to the nearest five.)

I caught the Saturday matinee and this was in fine form. I got third row centre through Rush, but a family had taken over seats including mine, so I went for the front row (only shortly before everyone else was invited to move forward, but few did). This isn't selling as well as it should, but I think it's a case of people just not knowing the venue. I hope to get back for at least one more viewing before this closes.

Saw this on Monday with a lovely Q&A afterwards. George Takei has an amazingly sonorous voice and very well rehearsed anecdotes. The other cast members were lovely as well. It's very conventional as a musical and hits all the main Hollywood tropes with somewhat forgettable music. Did wonder if the message was packaged up this way too help it sell to American audiences.

Nonetheless, I found the overall soundtrack beautiful, the actors were giving it their all and I found myself moved. So, overall would recommend.

The venue is a bit dreadful - very warm and stuffy, worn out seating and extremely smelly toilets with broken door locks.

I managed to get a rush ticket for the final matinee. The centre of Row F, which you might think would be an excellent view, but I hadn't realised just how badly positioned the seats are, so you're almost directly behind the person in front. There's a lot of leg room, but the ankle means that almost everyone has a head in view. I did hear someone two or three rows behind me saying she hadn't seen anything during the first half.

Thankfully, I could see enough and also know the show, although I may have felt less charitable had I been visiting for the first time and paid the full prices (which I got the impression was the case for most of the audience).

Another excellent show with everyone on fine form. One nice thing about not being on the front row is I didn't have to hide my tears as much at the end.

It was a rather odd crowd. I got a clear view of the front row in the main section and many really looked like they didn't want to be there, including two people desperately holding their Foot Asylum bags all the way through (I'm not sure if they worried about them being stolen, or thinking they might have to make a swift exit).

The show has been pretty much sold out all week and it's a pity this hasn't been the case for the entire run. I expect a transfer is out of the question, but we can hope.

I decided against joining the very long meet and greet queue at the end, but the cast can't get much of a break between shows when greeting everyone. Hope they've had an excellent final performance.