George Takei to make Broadway bow in musical

Elysa Gardner | @elysagardner, USA TODAY

And now for something a little different: a Broadway musical starring ... George Takei.

It was announced Thursday that the Star Trek alum, activist and social media icon will make his Main Stem debut this fall in Allegiance, described in a news release as "a new American musical" following "a family's love, loss and heroism during the period of the Japanese-American internment in World War II."

Allegiance, which features a book by Marc Acito and music and lyrics by Jay Kuo, made its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. It will be directed by London and New York stage veteran Stafford Arima, and is set to begin previews Oct. 6 and open Nov. 8.