"Directed in workmanlike fashion by Stafford Arima, 'Allegiance' has a complicated story to unfold and to humanize. It does a reasonable job of providing a nuanced view of events, the occasional swerve into melodrama notwithstanding…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."
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"If only the creative team behind 'Allegiance' could have worked such gentle magic with the raw and painful material of history. This well-intentioned but mawkish musical about a family interned after Pearl Harbor tries to balance romance, humor and tragedy, but crumples things badly…There’s a complex tale of honor, shame and assimilation here, but it’s been stretched out to cartoonish billboard size."
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"Whenever the authors find ways to dramatize the stark humiliations suffered by people who were, after all, loyal citizens of the United States, 'Allegiance' is momentarily effective…But too much of the show is devoted to far-fetched plot twists whose attempts to gin up excitement…'Allegiance' is so overmusicalized that the book feels anemic. And though often pretty too many of those songs sound too much alike as they reach for grandeur but get stuck at glue."
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"It is of no artistic value whatsoever, save as an object lesson in how to write a really bad Broadway musical. 'Allegiance' is peopled with characters made of solid cardboard. The Japanese-Americans are all noble and true, the Caucasians yawping apes save for a bosomy blonde nurse from Nebraska who—stop press—falls for an internee!...The cast is mostly very fine, especially Mr. Takei and the marvelous Lea Salonga…But the show itself is a dud—and a missed opportunity. "
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"A somewhat ungainly musical that has moments of beauty and passion, as well as a complexity of themes that are not the usual stuff of Broadway shows…Less successful are the staging by Stafford Arima and the dancing by Andrew Palermo, which have the virtue of avoiding Asian cliché but also fail, like the songs, to give the show wings...It’s a triumph of a rare sort, shedding light in a dark corner of our history with uncommon generosity of spirit."
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"There’s noble and meaty material here. But the storytelling has issues. The production, directed by Stafford Arima, is a jumble — super-serious here, airy musical-comedy there. Kuo’s score careens from grand pop opera anthems to earnest but trivial self-help filler songs...'Allegiance' also wants to make a significant statement. But it’s too tangled to say very much."
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"The strength of 'Allegiance' is in the story. Not the musical’s book, which is no more than serviceable, but the disturbing real-life events behind it…Authentic moments are few and fleeting, overwhelmed by standard love songs...In their sincere efforts to 'humanize' their complex historical material, the creatives have oversimplified and reduced it to generic themes...It must be said that the production values are quite high. The design of the show is highly stylized, but in a meaningful way."
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"The powerful sentiments involved are too often flattened by the pedestrian lyrics and unmemorable melodies, making an unconvincing case for this material's suitability to be a musical…The songs and their platitudinous lyrics lack personality, despite the best efforts of the talented performers…The most moving work comes from Takei...His deep personal association to the material and evidence of a generous spirit of forgiveness are among the show's strengths."
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