Allegiance

About the show

In 2001, aged World War II veteran Sam Kimura prepares for a Pearl Harbor anniversary ceremony. A woman arrives and tells him his estranged sister Keiko (Kei) has died; as Kei's executor, she gives Sam a packet and tells him the funeral will be held that afternoon. Angered by the opening of his old family wounds after nearly 60 years of estrangement, he berates his once-beloved sister for not leaving him in peace. Kei's ghost informs Sam that she couldn't rest in peace without making one last attempt to reconnect with him ("Prologue"). It is 1941, and Sammy is a newly elected class president who dreams of "Going Places", like college and high political office ("Wishes on the Wind"). His widowed father Tatsuo and grandfather Kaito (Ojii-chan) own a farm in Salinas, California. Sammy adores his older sister Kei, who has postponed her dreams to help raise him. Tatsuo is always pushing Sammy to be better and reach his potential. Sammy believes that Tatsuo blames Sammy for his wife's death in childbirth. After the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December, the US government fears that Japanese-Americans might be loyal to the Empire of Japan. Although Tatsuo advises his family to keep a low profile, Sammy volunteers for the military but is rejected as an enemy alien. Even as Japanese-Americans in the Western US are incarcerated in internment camps, Mike Masaoka, head of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), advises them to trust the US government. Sammy's family sells their beautiful farm for a discounted price and are sent to the bleak Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming ("Do Not Fight the Storm"). There Kei counsels patience; Tatsuo grimly accepts the events that led to internment ("Gaman"). Sammy believes military service is the way to prove internees' patriotism and win their freedom ("What Makes a Man"). When Ojii-chan becomes sick, Sammy asks the white Quaker volunteer nurse at the camp, Hannah, for cough syrup. She tells him it is only for the staff, but Sammy persuades her to give him the medication ("I Oughta Go"). Sammy helps the JACL organize the camp to petition for concessions ("Get in the Game"). Hannah and Sammy begin a relationship that causes additional tensions because interracial marriage is illegal ("Should I"). Tatsuo, outraged by the unjust loyalty questionnaire intended to identify "disloyal" Japanese, refuses to swear his allegiance to America; against his father's wishes, Sammy continues to try to enlist ("Allegiance"). Ojii-chan persuades Kei to go to the dance by insisting that mountains can be moved one stone at a time ("Ishi Kara Ishi"). Sammy and Hannah wish for a world where they could be together ("With You"). Kei has fallen in love with a draft resistance leader, Frankie Suzuki. Masaoka and the JACL advise internees to swear allegiance on the loyalty questionnaire to avoid being separated from their families ("Paradise"); Tatsuo is sent to a brutal prison for refusing. Kei reflects on her dead mother and Sammy's childhood ("Higher"). The siblings choose diverging paths: Sammy will risk his life in military service, while Kei joins the resistance advocating for internees' rights ("Our Time Now"). Masaoka obtains permission for Japanese-Americans to enlist, but only if they take the most dangerous assignments in Italy. Sammy enlists in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Nisei unit. Frankie pledges to resist the draft unless his family is freed; Sammy condemns Frankie as a draft-dodger in an interview with Life magazine that trumpets Sammy's combat record ("Resist"). Tatsuo is given a copy of the magazine and released from prison because of Sammy's actions. Kei and Frankie help lead the camp's resistance ("This Is Not Over") before Frankie is jailed ("Resist" (reprise)). Hannah promises to help Kei win Frankie's freedom ("Stronger Than Before"). Sammy sees Hannah while on leave ("With You" (reprise)) before he leads a suicide mission, which kills most of his fellow soldiers ("442nd Battle"). In camp, during a scuffle between Frankie and a military policeman, Hannah is accidentally and fatally shot. Ojii-chan dies peacefully while tending his vegetable garden. Upon release, Frankie asks Kei to marry him ("Nothing in Our Way"). After the Enola Gay bombs Hiroshima ("Itetsuita"), America celebrates victory, and each internee is released and given $25 and a bus ticket ("Victory Swing"). After the war, Sammy learns that Frankie and Kei have a daughter, Hanako, named after Hannah. Aghast, he confronts Tatsuo, who tells him that Frankie was the son he always wanted. Already furious at Kei and Frankie for their role in the draft resistance, their involvement in Hannah's death is the final straw; he accepts a job in Washington offered by Masaoka. Kei argues with Sammy, calling him a coward for leaving ("How Can You Go?"). She tries to stop him, but only manages to tear the Purple Heart off of his uniform. Sammy bitterly insists that his sacrifice was worth losing his family ("What Makes a Man" (reprise)). Back in 2001, Sam opens the packet from Kei: inside is the Life issue, featuring Sammy's exploits, that Tatsuo had kept since the war. Sam attends Kei's funeral; her executor tells him her mother wanted to give Sam something else, and hands him his old Purple Heart medal. He realizes that the executor is his niece, Hanako. He breaks down, aware of his chance to forgive and to share in the love and compassion of his family ("Still a Chance").