George Takei is beaming up to Boston.
The “Star Trek” actor is coming to town to speak about what it was like to live in U.S. internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II at a Boston Public Library event on Tuesday night. Takei will take part in an hour long Q&A session at Central Library’s Rabb Hall in Copley Square, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Takei, who became a pop culture icon for his role as Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek,” will also chat about his hit Broadway musical “Allegiance,” which is based off of his childhood experiences at various relocation centers during WWII. Tuesday’s event will include a performance by the cast of the SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of “Allegiance,” which premiered earlier in May and runs through June 2.
The musical centers around the fictional Kimura family, who end up joining the 120,000 other Japanese-Americans that were forced to leave their homes in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Actor Sam Tanabe plays Sam Kimura in SpeakEasy’s “Allegiance,” a man who wants to prove his devotion to his country by fighting for the U.S. in the war. However his sister Kei (Grace Yoo) isn’t a fan of the decision as she objects to the U.S. government’s treatment of Japanese-Americans.
“Allegiance” is described as an “uplifting testament to the power of the human spirit,” featuring a family that must “choose between duty and defiance, custom and change, family bonds and forbidden loves.”
Tickets to Tuesday’s event are free, but are only available on a first come, first serve basis.
If you go:
Central Library, Rabb Hall, 700 Boylston St., Boston, bpl.org
