Sept. 7 - Oct. 21: George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban star in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical at The Old Globe, San Diego

San Diego, CA

WORLD PREMIERE -

 Allegiance - A New American Musical headlines an all-star cast lead by George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paola Montalban September 7 - October 21, 2012 (Opening Night: Wednesday, September 19) on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre Center, Contrad Prebys Theatre Center, San Diego, California 

 Television and film icon George Takei, Tony Award-winning actress Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Paolo Montalban lead the cast in the world premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical, a story of family, love and patriotism set during the Japanese American internment of World War II.

George Takei will play Sam Kimura, a former internee who revisits the ghosts of his past, and Ojii-san, the grandfather and pillar of strength of the Kimura family. 

Meeting George Takei and hearing his personal story inspired Allegiance creators Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione to bring the story of the Japanese American internment to the stage.

Best known for portraying Mr. Sulu in the “Star Trek” series, Takei’s acting career has spanned more than five decades with more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles to his credit.

Takei and his family, along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans, were unjustly incarcerated behind the barbed-wire enclosures of United States internment camps at the outbreak of World War II. Takei spent part of his childhood at Camp Rohwer in Arkansas and at Camp Tule Lake in Northern California. 

On the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, a meeting with a young journalist forces WWII veteran Sam Kimura to remember his family’s relocation from their California farm to the Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming.

Directed by Stafford Arima, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Marc Acito, Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, the production features choreography by Andrew Palermo and music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Lynne Shankel. 

Tickets are currently available by subscription only. Single tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 10 at 12 noon. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park, in San Diego, California.

(from left) George Takei will star as Sam Kimura and Ojii-san, Lea Salonga as Kei Kimura and Hana Suzuki, Paolo Montalban as Mike Masaoka, Allie Trimm as Hannah Campbell and Telly Leung as Sammy Kimura in the World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Marc Acito, Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, directed by Stafford Arima, Sept. 7 – Oct. 21, 2012 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.

Lea Salonga will appear as Kei Kimura, a young internee who falls in with a group of activists, and Hana Suzuki, the interviewer who impels Sam to delve into his memories. Salonga originated the role of Kim in the West End and Broadway productions of Miss Saigon, winning the Tony and Olivier Awards, among others. She was the first Asian to play Eponine in Les Misérables on Broadway, returned to the show in 2007 as Fantine and reprised the role for the sold-out 25th anniversary concert in London. Salonga’s feature film credits include the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan.

Telly Leung will play young Sammy Kimura, who is torn between fighting for his country and honoring his community – and his family. Leung most recently appeared in the Broadway revival of Godspell. His other Broadway credits include Flower Drum Song, Pacific Overtures and the final company of Rent. Leung also originated the role of Boq in the Chicago company of Wicked. His television and film credits include “Glee” (Wes, Dalton Academy Warblers) and Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. His first solo CD, I’ll Cover You, will be released in the fall.

Joining the cast is Paolo Montalban as Mike Masaoka, the polarizing real-life leader who encouraged cooperation with the internment despite being Japanese American himself. Montalban is best known for playing the Prince in Wonderful World of Disney’s Cinderella and has appeared on Broadway in Pacific Overtures and The King and I.

The cast also features Michael K. Lee (Frankie Suzuki), Paul Nakauchi (Tatsuo Kimura) and Allie Trimm (Hannah Campbell) with Katie Boren, Jon Jon Briones, Geno Carr, Karl Josef Co, Marc de la Cruz, MaryAnn Hu, Brandon Joel Maier, Kürt Norby, Ann Sanders, Jill Townsend, Kay Trinidad and Scott Watanabe (Ensemble) and Jennifer Hubilla and Conrad Ricamora (Swings).

The creative team includes Donyale Werle (Scenic Design), Alejo Vietti (Costume Design), Howell Binkley (Lighting Design), Jonathan Deans (Sound Design), Darrel Maloney (Projection Design), Jan Gist (Dialect Coach) Telsey + Company (Casting) and Anjee Nero (Stage Manager).

The cast and creative team of Allegiance: (back row, from left) actors Jon Jon Briones, Michael K. Lee, Marc de la Cruz, Scott Watanabe, Conrad Ricamora, Brandon Joel Maier and Kurt Norby and co-book writer Lorenzo Thione; (middle row) choreographer Andrew Palmero, music director Laura Bergquist, music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator Lynne Shankel, actors Jill Townsend, Paul Nakauchi, Ann Sanders, Geno Carr, MaryAnn Hu, Paolo Montalban, Telly Leung and Jennifer Hubilla, composer, lyricist and co-book writer Jay Kuo and co-book writer Marc Acito; (front row) actors Kay Trinidad, Katie Boren and Lea Salonga, director Stafford Arima and actors George Takei and Allie Trimm. The World Premiere of Allegiance – A New American Musical, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Marc Acito, Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, directed by Stafford Arima, will run Sept. 7 – Oct. 21, 2012 at The Old Globe. Photo by Henry DiRocco.

The Old Globe will present a variety of supplemental seminars and exhibitions during the run of Allegiance that will explore the history and significance of the Japanese American internment.

• INTERNMENT: THE SAN DIEGO EXPERIENCE – Free Seminar
Monday, Sept. 10 at 7:00 p.m. (Reception at 6:30 p.m.)
Learn how the Japanese American internment affected San Diego County, where over 2,000 citizens were put into the camps, at this informative seminar. (RSVPs are required for this FREE event. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve a seat.)

• INSIGHTS SEMINAR: ALLEGIANCE – Free Seminar
Monday, Sept. 17 at 7:00 p.m. (Reception at 6:30 p.m.)
Members of the creative team discuss the history of the production and the issues they faced in the creation of Allegiance. No RSVP is necessary for this FREE event.

• IN THEIR OWN WORDS: STORIES FROM FORMER INTERNEES – Free Seminar
Monday, Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. (Reception at 6:30 p.m.)
Former internees share their unique, first-hand perspective of the historical events that take place in Allegiance. (RSVPs are required for this FREE event. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve a seat.)

• “THE TAG PROJECT” – Theater Lobby Installation by Artist Wendy Maruyama
Wendy Maruyama’s “The Tag Project” features groupings of ID tags resembling those worn by Japanese Americans as they were sent to the internment camps. Approximately 11 feet tall and weighing more than 100 pounds, each grouping contains enough tags to represent every person in one of the 10 U.S. internment camps.

• “ALLEGIANCE: A SAN DIEGO PERSPECTIVE” – Museum Exhibition
The Old Globe and the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego present a museum exhibition throughout the run of Allegianceabout the history of Japanese Americans who lived in San Diego prior to World War II and their removal to the internment camps. The exhibition will contain photographs, artifacts and materials about the internment and how it affected San Diego County and its citizens. Located in the Museum of Man Annex directly adjacent to the Old Globe Theatre, the exhibition is free to the public and will be open two hours prior to each performance.

Marc Acito (Book) wrote the book and additional lyrics for the Globe’s world premiere production of A Room with a View. Acito’s play Birds of a Feather, which tells the true story of the nationwide controversy caused by gay penguins in the Central Park Zoo, won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical for its world premiere at The Hub Theatre. Birds of a Feather will appear next at Diversionary Theatre. Acito will also return to the Hub to create a stage monologue adaptation of his first novel, How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater, which won the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction, was Editors’ Choice by The New York Times and was a Top Teen Pick by the American Library Association. Translated into five languages, it also inspired a sequel, Attack of the Theater People. A former professional opera singer, Acito regularly performs “singing commentaries” on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and has written about theater for The New York Times, Playbill and American Theatre.

Jay Kuo (Music, Lyrics and Book) marks his fourth musical with Allegiance. His composing career began at Stanford where he wrote and producedUpwardly Mobile, a coming of age story. Kuo’s second musical comedy,Insignificant Others, played from 2006-2008 in San Francisco at the New Conservatory Theatre Center, Zeum and Theatre 39 and won the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Original Script. His third work,Worlds Apart, about star-crossed lovers in the cultural divide, performed in concert at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre in late 2006 and in New York City at New World Stages in 2008. Kuo has also been part of the producing teams of many Broadway shows and national tours.

Lorenzo Thione (Book) began working on Allegiance in 2008 alongside friend and composer Jay Kuo following an encounter with George Takei, whose experience in the internment camps inspired them to write a musical about this dark and mostly unknown chapter of American history. Thione is also a serial entrepreneur, theater producer and community activist and was the co-founder of Powerset, Inc., an internet search company that was acquired by Microsoft in 2008 and whose technology was subsequently re-launched as part of Bing. He is the co-founder, chairman and president of Artify It, an internet-based startup that is bringing high-quality contemporary art within the reach of everyone. Thione has also co-founded and helped grow StartOut, a national non-profit organization dedicated to fostering and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders within the LGBT community. Thione serves on the board of trustees of StartOut and of several companies in the U.S. and abroad.

Stafford Arima (Director) previously directed Ace at the Globe. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for his direction of the West End premiere of Ragtime. He recently directed the first revival of the infamous Broadway musical Carrie (MCC Theater). His other work includes Altar Boyz (Outstanding Off Broadway Musical Outer Critics Circle Award and seven Drama Desk Award nominations), The Tin Pan Alley Rag (nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award as Outstanding Off Broadway Musical, Roundabout Theatre Company), Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living In Paris (Stratford Shakespeare Festival), Candide (San Francisco Symphony), The Secret Garden (World AIDS Day concert), Bright Lights, Big City (Prince Music Theater), A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim (Boston Pops), Guys and Dolls (Paper Mill Playhouse), Abyssinia (Goodspeed Musicals), Bowfire (PBS television special), The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea (San Diego Repertory Theatre), Children’s Letters to God (Off Broadway) and Marry Me a Little (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). His projects in development include A Separate Peace (based on John Knowles’ novel) and Bare.

Andrew Palermo (Choreography) previously choreographed the Globe production of Ace. He is the Founding Artistic Director of dre.dance, an American contemporary dance company. In addition to concert dance, Palermo’s stage direction and choreography credits include Kristin Chenoweth at Carnegie Hall, The Frank Loesser Songbook with New York Philharmonic (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), The Mikado(Carnegie Hall), Lyrics & Lyricists (92nd Street Y), The Aluminum Show(international tour), V-Day (Urban Stages), Journey to the West (37 Arts),Great Joy (New Amsterdam Theatre), Esther Demsack (Summer Play Festival/The Public Theater), DanceBreak 2011, Ace (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Bright Lights, Big City(Prince Music Theater), Vices (Theatre Aspen), Elton John and Tim Rice’sAida (Music Theatre of Wichita), Man of La Mancha (Music Circus), For the Record: Paul Thomas Anderson (Rockwell: Table & Stage), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music), Hairspray (American Musical and Dramatic Academy Los Angeles),She Loves Me (Westminster Choir College) and Hair and The Wild Party(Wichita State University). He is also working on the upcoming production of The Other Josh Cohen (York Theatre Company).

Lynne Shankel (Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations) has written orchestrations and arrangements for San Francisco Symphony featuring Bonnie Raitt, The Dallas Opera Orchestra featuring George Hearn and Tony Bennett’s famed 80th birthday celebration at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. She was music director/arranger for the Broadway production of Cry-Baby as well as the resident music supervisor for the Tony Award-winning revival of Company, for which she conducted the Grammy Award-nominated cast album. She was music director/arranger for the Off Broadway hit Altar Boyz, for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Orchestrations. Shankel was music supervisor for the San Francisco premiere of The World of Nick Adams at (Davies Symphony Hall). Her other Broadway credits include Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and The Lion King. Her Off Broadway credits include Vanities, Altar Boyz, The Thing About Men, Summer of ’42 (music direction, vocal arrangements and orchestrations), The Cocoanuts andMilk and Honey. Shankel has worked regionally on Band Geeks!(Goodspeed Musicals), Pop!(Yale Repertory Theatre), Cry-Baby (La Jolla Playhouse), Party Come Here and The Opposite of Sex (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Vanities (Pasadena Playhouse, TheatreWorks),Princesses (The 5th Avenue Theatre, Goodspeed), Tom Jones (North Shore Music Theatre), Summer of ’42 (Goodspeed, TheatreWorks),Twelfth Night (Long Wharf Theatre) and Rough Crossing and Camino Real(Hartford Stage). Her recordings include New York City Christmas (Sh-K-Boom Records), Betty Buckley: Heart to Heart (KO Records), Altar Boyz(Sh-K-Boom), Summer of ’42 (Jay Records) and Lauren Kennedy: Here and Now (PS Classics).

TICKETS to Allegiance – A New American Musical can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Tickets are currently available by subscription only. Single tickets will go on sale on Friday, Aug. 10 at 12 noon. Performances begin on Sept. 7 and continue through Oct. 21. Ticket prices start at $39. Performance times: Previews: Friday, Sept. 7 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 7:00 p.m, Thursday, Sept. 13 at 8:00 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 p.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. There will be no performance on Thursday, Oct. 11. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors and groups of 10 or more.

Additional events taking place during the run of Allegiance – A New American Musical include:

POST-SHOW FORUMS: Allegiance
Tuesdays, Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, Wednesday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 13 (matinee) FREE
Discuss the play with members of the Allegiance cast and crew at post-show discussions led by the Globe’s creative staff after the performances.

OUT AT THE GLOBE: Thursday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. $20
An evening for gay and lesbian theater lovers and the whole LGBT community, Out at the Globe includes a hosted wine and martini bar, appetizers and door prizes. Everyone is welcome. $20 per person. RSVP at (619) 23-GLOBE. (Tickets to Allegiance are sold separately.)

LOCATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego’s Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Valet parking is also available ($10). For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional regional theaters and has stood as San Diego’s flagship arts institution for over 75 years. The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theater’s education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Catered Affairand the annual holiday musical, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theaters across the country.

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

Katie Boren

KATIE BOREN (Ensemble) has appeared on Broadway in Lysistrata Jones, and her other theater credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Avenue Q andMiss Saigon. Boren is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and is a graduate of Ithaca College.

Jon Jon Briones

JON JON BRIONES (Ensemble) appeared in London in the original cast ofMiss Saigon. He has played The Engineer inMiss Saigon in Germany, U.S. Tour, U.K. Tour, Asian Tour, Philippines and the closing season in London. Recently he played the title character in The Romance of Magno Rubio ([Inside] the Ford, LA Weekly Theater Award nomination for Leading Male Performance). His favorite theater credits include Fredrik inA Little Night Music (East West Players), Yellow Face (Center Theater Group), Lukas in Peregrinasyon (Ma-Yi Theater Company), Tateh inRagtime, Enjolras in Les Misérables and Laertes in Hamlet. His favorite television credits include Cosme Caliyag on “Las Vegas” (recurring), Asian Elvis on “Sons of Anarchy,” “Miami Medical,” “Monk” and “Southland.” His recent film credits include Mr. Fan in Model Home, Father Mena in Blood Ransom, Raul in Nico’s Sampaguita and Genie in Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage.

Geno Carr

GENO CARR (Ensemble) returns to The Old Globe after playing Papa Who in last year’sDr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!In San Diego he has been seen in The Servant of Two Masters (Craig Noel Award nomination), The Music Man and miXtape(Lamb’s Players Theatre), Parade, Little Shop of Horrors and Sweeney Todd (Cygnet Theatre Company), I Love You Because andA Christmas Carol (‘08/’09) (North Coast Repertory Theatre) and A Waltz Dream (Lyric Opera San Diego). Carr has appeared Off Broadway in Bush Wars and on the National Tours of Phantom, The Buddy Holly Story and Grease, and his favorite regional credits include The Producers, The Full Monty, Forever Plaid, Peter Pan and South Pacific.

Karl Josef Co

KARL JOSEF CO (Ensemble) made his professional theater debut in last year’s workshop of Allegiance. He was most recently seen as Thuy in Miss Saigon (Fulton Theatre). His other credits include Costs of Living (Stephen Schwartz/ASCAP workshop co-starring Telly Leung), Suites by Sondheim concert with Lea Salonga and Paolo Montalban (Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts) and The King and I with Lorenzo Lamas (North Shore Music Theatre).

Marc de la Cruz

MARC DE LA CRUZ (Ensemble) is making his debut at The Old Globe. His theatre credits include the award-winning Prison Dancer(New York Musical Theatre Festival 2012, Outstanding Ensemble Performance),Disney’s High School Musical (First National Tour), Where Elephants Weep (Cambodia), David Byrne’s Here Lies Love (The Public Theater), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Making Tracks (San Jose Repertory Theatre), Miss Saigon (North Carolina Theatre), Pippin (The 5th Avenue Theatre) and The Wedding Banquet (Village Theatre and Asia Tour).

MaryAnn Hu

MARYANN HU (Ensemble) has television and film credits that include SooLin on the NBC sitcom “Whoopi,” “Law & Order,” “Falling for Grace” and the upcoming “De Loba.” Her Broadway credits include Bloody Mary understudy in the original cast of Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of South Pacific, as well as having played the role on the First National Tour. She also appeared on Broadway and in the National Tour of Miss Saigon. Her Off Broadway and regional credits include Cordelia in Falsettoland (National Asian American Theatre Company), The Audience (Transport Group), The Beautiful Warrior(Vineyard Theatre), The Yellow Wood directed by BD Wong (New York Musical Theatre Festival), Heading East, Mrs. Mullin in Carousel directed by Baayork Lee (National Asian Artists Project), Tuptim in The King and I andSong of Singapore. Her workshop credits include Bruce Lee: Journey to the West directed by Bartlett Sher, Frank Wildhorn’s Tears of Heaven, originating the role of Madame Du in Maury Yeston’s Peony Pavilion,Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and The Wedding Singer.

Jennifer Hubilla

JENNIFER HUBILLA (Swing) has played the lead role of Kim in the U.S. Tour of Miss Saigon. She was invited by Sir Cameron Mackintosh to join the U.K. Tour, where she again played the role of Kim. She then worked in the U.K. four years as a singer, actress and voice-over artist. Her other theater credits include Aladdin, Tea, A Little Night Music, Marry Me a Little, Songs for a New World and The Fantasticks, among others. Her voice-over credits includeFlashbacks of a Fool starring Daniel Craig and Wild Child starring Emma Roberts. She played the lead in several short films, one of them titled By the Water’s Edge, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Hubilla also recently did a KFC commercial that is now on air.

Michael K. Lee

MICHAEL K. LEE (Frankie Suzuki) has appeared on Broadway as Kayama in Pacific Overtures, Simon in Jesus Christ Superstar, Steve in Rent and Thuy in Miss Saigon. His international credits include Chris in Miss Saigon in Korea, Where Elephants Weep in Cambodia, They’re Playing Our Songopposite Lea Salonga in the Philippines andA Twist of Fate opposite Laura Michelle Kelly in Singapore. In the U.S., he has successfully broken down traditional casting barriers, performing Tommy in The Who’s Tommy (Seattle Footlight Award for Best Actor in a Musical), Jesus and Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar and Aladdin in Disney’s Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular. His other U.S. credits include The Last Five Years (2009 Ovation Award nomination for Lead Actor in a Musical), The King and I, Making Tracks, Heading East, Mame (Hollywood Bowl), The Wedding Banquet, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Could It Be Magic? The Barry Manilow Songbook, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Beijing Spring and Sweeney Todd.

Telly Leung

TELLY LEUNG (Sammy Kimura) most recently appeared in the Broadway revival ofGodspell. His other Broadway credits includeFlower Drum Song (2002 revival), Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures (2005 revival) and the final company of Rent. He originated the role of Boq in the Chicago company of Wicked. His favorite credits include Angel in Rent directed by Neil Patrick Harris (Hollywood Bowl), Song Liling in M. Butterfly (Philadelphia Theatre Company), the world premiere of Give It Up! aka Lysistrata Jones (Dallas Theater Center), Godspell (Paper Mill Playhouse), Bernstein: Mass (Baltimore Symphony, The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall), Harold Bride in Titanicand Barnaby in Hello, Dolly! (The Muny), Simon in Jesus Christ Superstar(Music Circus), Thuy in Miss Saigon (Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera) and Lun Tha in The King and I with Lou Diamond Philips (North Carolina Theatre). Leung has been featured on the recordings for Godspell (Sh-K-Boom Records), Flower Drum Song (DRG Records), Pacific Overtures (PS Classics), Wall to Wall Sondheim (Live from Symphony Space), Dear Edwina (PS Classics) and the Grammy Award-nominated Bernstein: Masswith Marin Alsop (Sony/Naxos). His television and film credits include “Glee” (Wes, Dalton Academy Warblers), “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. Next he will be releasing his first solo CD, I’ll Cover You (produced by Yellow Sound Label).

Brandon Joel Maier

BRANDON JOEL MAIER (Ensemble) is making his debut at The Old Globe in Allegiance. His San Diego regional work includes Leo Frank in Parade and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors (Cygnet Theatre Company), Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde (Moonlight Stage Productions) and Chip Tolentino in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and I Love You Because (North Coast Repertory Theatre). His directing credits include Little Women, Rumors, Les Misérables and I Love You Because (assistant director). Maier also conceived, compiled and directed the San Diego State University fairy-tale revues WISH: A Musical Revue and WISH II: Villains and Sidekicks.

Paolo Montalban

PAOLO MONTALBAN (Mike Masaoka) most recently starred in Honk! at Two River Theater Company. His Broadway credits include Pacific Overtures and The King and I. He has appeared Off Broadway in The Romance of Magno Rubio and Two Gentlemen of Verona. His regional credits include Flower Drum Song, Nero, The Boys from Syracuseand The Long Season. Montalban is best known for playing the Prince in the ABC/Wonderful World of Disney movie musical Cinderella opposite Brandy. His other television and film credits include Kung Lao in the TNT series “Mortal Kombat: Conquest,” supporting and featured roles in “One Life To Live,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Camelot for “Live from Lincoln Center,” Sondheim! The Birthday Concert,American Adobo, The Great Raid and Just Wright. He performed as a guest artist with the San Francisco Symphony and as a soloist in the Suites by Sondheim concert at Alice Tully Hall.

Paul Nakauchi

PAUL NAKAUCHI (Tatsuo Kimura) began his theater career in the National Tour of The King and I with Yul Brynner. He understudied and performed the role of The King of Siam on Broadway in the 1996 revival opposite Donna Murphy. He also played The King on London’s West End with Elaine Paige. Most recently he toured Asia in the Broadway Asia production of The King and I, recreating the same role. He toured the U.S. in the First National Tour of Miss Saigon understudying and playing the role of The Engineer. His movie credits include The Great Race and Dark Metropolis, and he has been seen on television in “ER,” “The Young and the Restless,” “General Hospital,” “Saturday Night Live,” and “Knots Landing.” His voice inhabits characters in the animated features The Invincible Iron Man, Doctor Strange andAlpha and Omega and the television cartoons “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “Batman: The Brave and the Bold,” as well as numerous video games including Cars 2, Call of Duty: World at War and the soon-to-be-released Lost Planet 3, to name a few.

Kurt Norby

KÜRT NORBY (Ensemble) has appeared regionally in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (The Old Globe), Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin and Zhivago (La Jolla Playhouse), Man of La Mancha and Sweeney Todd (Cygnet Theatre Company), miXtape,Leaving Iowa, Room Service, Hello, Dolly!, The Voysey Inheritance and The Winslow Boy(Lamb’s Players Theatre), Evita, The Desert Song and Bye Bye Birdie (Welk Resorts Theatre), Beauty and the Beast (Moonlight Amphitheater), Suds: The Rocking ‘60s Musical Soap Opera, Urinetown,Fiddler on the Roof and The Scarlet Pimpernel (Starlight Musical Theatre) and Miss Saigon (Fullerton Civic Light Opera). His film credits include 29th & Gay, U R Pre-Approved and Rubix Cube Dinner.

Conrad Ricamora

CONRAD RICAMORA (Swing) is making his Globe debut. Regionally he has appeared at Walnut Street Theatre, Prince Music Theater, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, North Carolina Shakespeare Festival and Clarence Brown Theatre Company. Ricamora just played Ninoy Aquino in a two-month collaboration with David Byrne and Alex Timbers in the creation of the new showHere Lies Love. He will continue this work next March in the full-scale production at The Public Theater. He also appears in Talladega Nights with Will Ferrell.

Lea Salonga

LEA SALONGA (Kei Kimura, Hana Suzuki) is a Filipina singer/actress best known for originating the role of Kim in the West End production of Miss Saigon and bringing it to Broadway, winning the Tony and Olivier Awards, among others. She was the first Asian to play Eponine in Les Misérables on Broadway, returned to the show in 2007 as Fantine and reprised the role for the sold-out 25th anniversary concert in London. Salonga wowed audiences and critics in her first ever cabaret show at New York’s famed Café Carlyle in 2010 and returned in 2011 for another engagement. In August 2011, she released a live version of her 2010 concert, “Lea Salonga: The Journey So Far,” and it rose to #3 on the iTunes Jazz charts. Honored with an appointment as a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Goodwill Ambassador in October of 2010, Lea has vowed to act as advocate for the Youth and United Nations Global Alliance initiative. Salonga’s feature film credits include the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan and Mulan II. In honor of her portrayal of the beloved princesses, Disneyland bestowed upon Salonga the honor of Disney Legend in the summer of 2011.

Ann Sanders

ANN SANDERS (Ensemble) has appeared on Broadway as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Christmas Eve in Avenue Q and most recently in Leap of Faith. Internationally she made her debut as Ellen in Cameron Mackintosh’s Miss Saigon and was seen in the National Tour of Lincoln Center Theater’s South Pacific. Sanders portrayed the role of Trina for the Off Broadway production of Falsettoland(National Asian American Theatre Company at Vineyard Theatre). Her regional credits include roles in The King and Iwith Lou Diamond Phillips, Hair, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, Showboat, The Marvelous Wonderettes and It’s a Grand Night for Singing. Her television credits include CBS’s “Unforgettable” and “As the World Turns,” Showtime’s “The Big C,” ABC’s “All My Children” and Disney’s “Johnny and the Sprites.” As a soloist she has performed at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Symphony Space in New York and Carnegie Hall.

George Takei

GEORGE TAKEI (Sam Kimura, Ojii-san) and his family, along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans, were unjustly incarcerated behind the barbed-wire enclosures of United States internment camps with the outbreak of World War II. Takei spent most of his childhood at Camp Rohwer in Arkansas and at Camp Tule Lake in northern California. At the end of the war, Takei and his family returned to his native Los Angeles where Takei graduated from Los Angeles High School and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCLA. Takei’s acting career has spanned more than five decades with more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles to his credit. He is best known for portraying Mr. Sulu in the “Star Trek” television and film series. Takei’s theatrical credits include Shimon Wincelberg’s Undertow (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Philip Kan Gotanda’sThe Wash (Manhattan Theatre Club and Mark Taper Forum), Frank Chin’sYear of the Dragon (The American Place Theatre), Fly Blackbird! (Billy Rose Theatre and Metro Theater), Snow White (Brighton Dome), Aladdin (The Hexagon Theatre in Reading, England and The Central Theatre in Chatham, England), Stephen Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures (Loft Theatre) and Peter Shaffer’s Equus (East West Players). In March 2012, Takei performed in an all-star reading of 8 by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Rob Reiner at Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. Takei is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He shares a Grammy nomination with Leonard Nimoy in the Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording category. He has a star on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame, and his signature and hand print are in cement in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. A community activist, Takei is a member of the Japanese American Citizens League. He also is chairman emeritus and a trustee of the Los Angeles-based Japanese American National Museum, where Takei and his husband Brad Takei were married in 2008.

Jill Townsend

JILL TOWNSEND (Ensemble) appeared as Swing/Nimue/Tom in the National Tours ofCamelot and Maggie in A Chorus Line. Her selected regional credits include Miss Dorothy in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Eileen in the West Coast premiere of I Love a Piano (Musical Theatre West), Winnie Tate in Annie Get Your Gun and Patty Simcox inGrease (Music Circus), Kim MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie (San Diego Musical Theatre and Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities), Val in A Chorus Line(San Diego Musical Theatre and American Musical Theatre of San Jose), Luisa in The Fantasticks (North Coast Repertory Theatre), Mistress inEvita (Fullerton Civic Light Opera) and Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Universal Studios Hollywood).

Allie Trimm

ALLIE TRIMM (Hannah Campbell) previously appeared at the Globe as Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirsand Phyllis Who in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Her Broadway credits include Kim MacAfee in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2009 revival of Bye Bye Birdie. Prior to that, she made her critically acclaimed Broadway debut as Patrice in Jason Robert Brown’s musical 13. Her favorite regional credits include Patrice in 13 (Goodspeed Musicals), Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden (Lamb’s Players Theatre) and The Will Rogers Follies and Annie Get Your Gun(Moonlight Stage Productions). Trimm has participated in a number of readings and workshops includingSweet Valley High, Pregnancy Pact, Allegiance and The Water. Her film and television credits include Disney’s Prom, “30 Rock” and “Private Practice.”

Kay Trinidad

KAY TRINIDAD (Ensemble) has appeared on Broadway as Aquata in the original cast of The Little Mermaid. Her Off Broadway credits include Diane in the original New York cast of Bare, The Roar of the Greasepaint – the Smell of the Crowdand Martha and Kit in Ninja: The Musical. Her regional and National Tour credits includeSeussical the Musical, The King and I, Making Tracks and Bye Bye Birdie. She can be heard as Marcy Park on the Stage Stars recording of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She has also appeared in the film March!

Scott Watanabe

SCOTT WATANABE (Ensemble) just ended a five-plus-year run in Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular. He was also featured in the Broadway, Los Angeles and Toronto productionsThe Phantom of the Opera. His other Broadway credits include Pacific Overtures. His New York credits include Kismet and Candide. Regionally he has been seen as The Engineer in Miss Saigon, Padre in Man of La Mancha, Charlie in Annie Get Your Gun, Captain Lesgate in Dial M for Murder, Ito in Mame, Candide, Camelot, Kayama in Pacific Overtures (San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nomination for Best Actor), The Prince and the Pauper, Franklin Shepard in Merrily We Roll Along, Evita, Pasquale inThe Most Happy Fella, Chess, Jake in Paint Your Wagon, Lun Tha in The King and I. His television credits include “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

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Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist.