Just like his Twitter description reads, “You may know him from playing Mr. Sulu in Star Trek” but he hopes you know him more for being outspoken about human rights, the funniest guy on Facebook, and for starring in the Broadway hit, Allegience.
Today on ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ the charismatic George Takei discussed his long career as an actor and activist”
“The holiday season is supposed to be shared with people. If you want to have a surrogate family and share it with them, so much the better.”
“To be selling things that can do harm. No no no. I’m against selling things like that.”
“Do what you want to do as long as you’re safe.”
“We started developing Allegience. It’s about interred Japanese-Americans that most Americans don’t know anything about.”
“How should we raise awareness of Japanese-Americans? Social media.”
“My base was small, mostly geeks and nerds from Star Trek. I needed to grow that base. Humor got a lot of likes and shares.”
“We found a rising star in Grumpy Cat.”
“When people shared, they did the work for us. They helped us grow and grow.”
“I got to introduce my social justice into my posts. I started introducing the interment of Japanese-Americans.”
“People were aghast that we were going to do a musical about interment camps. But look at Les Mis and Caberet.”
“I got to complete my life mission: To raise the awareness of Japanese-Americans interment camps.”
“Performing 8 performances a week is a joy. I get to double that joy on matinee days.”
“We’re on Broadway at an amazing time.”
“The story of Allegiance happened over 75 years ago and it’s still just as relevant today.”
“Asian American actors are so under-used.”
“I’m grateful to my fans. It’s a joy for me to connect with them.”
“In 2005 I came out publicly as a gay man. I’ve been closeted all my life because I was passionate about my acting career.”
“In 2005 California passed the Marriage Equality Act.”
“I had heard Schwarzenegger’s speech about the honoring gays and lesbians. Then he played to his right wing base and vetoed the bill. I was raging.”
“I was in my late 60s when I came out.”
“We needed to reach that vast middle about LBGT rights. So we thought of Howard Stern.”
“There’s only a few hours in the day. My energy reserve is limited.”
“We have what we call Team Takei. This way I can act and speak at the same time.”
“I’m 78 years young. My grandmother lived to 104.”
“Everyday is a gift. It’s wonderful. With social media you have to that kind of attitude.”
“Stay current with current affairs and up to date with friends.”
“Humor connects everybody. Whether you’re a CEO or teenager.”
“My grandmother always said life is a human comedy.”
“Be yourself. Be genuine.”
“Be topical. Share your opinions on current events.”
“Sometimes I learn a great deal with people who don’t agree with me.”
“Use humor, topicality, and be genuine all on social media.”
“I began life behind bars and here I am now on the radio. It’s transformation. That kind of story is an important story for all of us.”
“We transformed a dark chapter of American history and made a musical about it. We talk about the resilience in Japanese-Americans.”
“When we were in the early stages of development we knew we needed a world class singer. Then we saw Lea Salonga was passing through LA.”
“Lea was tweeting, ‘Oh wow, I’m in Sulu’s living room!’”
“The first show I ever saw was a road company show of ‘Kismet.’”
“I don’t believe in bucket lists. I believe in doing what you can do now. Living it.”
“My dream was to be on Broadway. Now I’m doing it with music.”
“Bring your family and friends and share this as a group.”
“It’s gotten cool at night and the hearty ones are still there. It’s my obligation to sign their programs.”
JIM GLAUB of Serino Coyne Advertising
“I come up with creative campaigns to engage the Broadway community using a lot of digital tools online.”
“It’s amazing to see where we’ve come from the 15 years I’ve been doing this.”
“We had the opportunity to be the first Broadway show live on Facebook. The livestreaming app called Mention is only available to celebrities.”
“An American in Paris is getting a lot of love on Facebook so we went backstage with the main actors.”
“We were in rehearsal, nothing was working and then we went live and it was amazing.”
“This will be our 3rd year working together on the TONYS.”
“It was an extremely difficult and exciting undertaking. Multiple cameras, and a live 2 and half hour broadcast on the red carpet.”
“Legacy, music, women, diversity, future are my 5 phrases to describe Broadway.”
“We’re the Rotten Tomatoes of Broadway.”
“We list all shows running in NYC. We score them, price them, and we have a way for audience to contribute their voice as well.”
“We launched 3 months ago. We’ve had 21,000 join the site. We have more reviews than Hamilton than anyone else.”
“The Broadway audience is excited to join the conversation.”
“The theater audience love theater. They aren’t leaving snarky reviews. They share their love.”
“We took a year off and saw over 250 shows. We called it our ‘gap year for grownups.’”
“80% of the theater in NYC is not on Broadway. 50-60 shows running and Broadway is 20% of it.”
“Off Broadway and Off-off Broadway, 30% of the shows in NYC is $25 or less.”
“Nobody likes to read long reviews by consumers. If it’s too short, it’s not useful. Pick 5 adjectives, rate from 1-10, then basically say who would like the show.”
“Every show has an audience. There’s no such thing as a bad show.”
“Booming, super innovative, highly emotional, embracing new tech, diverse are my 5 terms to describe Broadway.”
Join ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ next Wednesday when she talks to sex therapist Dr. Tiffannie. Only on Sirius Business Channel 111 at 12pm ET/9 am PT.
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