Call it a pledge of “Allegiance” — with historic magnitude.
Dr. Mark Mugiishi, a first-time Broadway producer of the new wartime internment camp musical, “Allegiance,” premiering tonight at the Longacre Theatre in New York, is on the threshold of making history. He heads an island delegation of 275, including 130 show investors and their families and guests, now in New York for the launch.
For the past four years, Mugiishi championed a fundraising drive among his Hawaii colleagues and friends, amassing the largest sum — undisclosed but impressive — of the show’s $13 million budget. It’s also his birthday weekend: The Honolulu surgeon turned 56 Saturday on the eve of opening night.
“I’ll celebrate belatedly,” he said.
Weeks of anticipation and “shinpai” — Japanese for worries and concerns — preceded tonight’s premiere.
He packed Big Island cookies and Hawaiian Host macadamia nut chocolates as omiyage for cast and crew.
He purchased a tuxedo, since the premiere is a formal event, but gave up on lei, since his midweek departure was too far ahead of opening night and the logistics of presentation (when, where and to whom) made the floral tradition a challenge.
Mugiishi’s name will appear first among all the investor-producers and above the title of the show, reflecting his formidable fundraising feat.
“Hawaii’s 130 investors cumulatively put in a sizable number in the multimillion dollars toward the musical with a $13 million budget,” he said.
While not revealing the total, one can guesstimate that with a 130-member hui and a $25,000 minimum, isle investors ponied up at least $3.25 million. Mugiishi said each $25,000 meant two tickets for donors on opening night, $50,000 translated to four seats, and so on.
Called “Doc” by his colleagues, Mugiishi is the former ‘Iolani basketball coach who never played the game but led his team to seven high school championships. He is senior vice president of clinical affairs at Hawaii Medical Service Association. He also is a surgeon/physician at the Ekahi Health/Central Medical Clinic at Kuakini Hospital.
He joined the fundraising team for the upstart musical, with book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, based on the emotion-charged theme of innocent Japanese-Americans unjustly incarcerated in camps during World War II. Though not spotlighting a Hawaii internment facility at Honouliuli, the impact of such governmental crimes still resonates with islanders.
“Allegiance” is based on the internment memories of actor George Takei, who stars with Lea Salonga and Telly Leung, and features original songs by Kuo. It is directed by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Andrew Palermo.
INVESTOR NOTES: Investors could bond with the show’s internment plot.
Said Karen Ono, wife of gastroenterologist Warren Ono: “It’s just a fascinating story. My mother and her family were living in the Sacramento area during the war, so we invested because of the emotional bond and a passion for the story.”
Dan Arita, a Data House technology specialist for 40 years, said, “This is a story that needs to be told and perpetuated — for the greater good of America … the wartime story of people whose lives were changed when they were placed into an internment camp, without committing a crime.”
Trevor Benn, who is not Asian, but whose wife is Japanese, is founder-owner of Benn Pacific Realty. He said his passion for the show is separate and distinct from ethnicity. “I hope it’s a wild success, not just financially, but for the basic understanding of the story — about a family who had everything taken from them, when they did nothing wrong,” he said. …
HAWAIIAN CONNECTION: Two cast members have Hawaii ties. Salonga, who portrays Kei Kimura, is married to Robert Charles Chien, whose family is here; Greg Watanabe, who plays Mike Masaoka, the only true-to-life character who was the president of the Japanese American Citizens League, has an aunt here who is part of the Sumida Watercress Farm hui. …
And Hawaii’s Melanie Tojio Lockyer is an associate director; she earlier starred in “Miss Saigon” and “Les Miserables.”…
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist; reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com; read his “Show and Tell Hawaii” blog at www.staradvertiser.com.
