George Takei Launches 'Legacy Project' Raises Over 200K in a Week

In these days of exorbitant production costs for commercial Broadway musicals and budget deficits for non-profit museums, who could possibly be able to rally forces to fund both? George Takei -- that's who. And he's doing it at warp speed.

Gay icon and social media maven George Takei has recently launched his "Legacy Project," a crowdsourcing venture aimed to fund his semi-autobiographical Broadway-bound musical "Allegiance" about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II while providing for an endowment for the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). If successful, it will be the first time online crowdfunding has been utilized for a simultaneous profit and nonprofit venture.

In one week, Takei has raised more than $200,000 of the project's $250,000 goal.

According to the Legacy Project's Indiegogo page, typically, a show gets to Broadway with funding by a group of producers and investors. "Allegiance"'s producers have accepted my Takei's call to action for crowdfunding, with a minimum goal of $250,000, but with the potential for much more. The contributions will act as if they had been invested by the JANM. The show will assign a proportional percentage of its profits to the museum, creating a source of funding for it in perpetuity.

"George Takei has been an invaluable friend to the Japanese American National Museum since its founding," JANM's President and CEO Greg Kimura told NBC News. "He is continuously generous with his time and resources, and the Indiegogo campaign is just the latest example of his commitment to JANM and its mission."

However, it is Takei's savvy as a social media maven that has gotten him almost unheard of results for this project.

"Allegiance is the reason I first took to the Internet, knowing that I'd need to build an audience for this untold story." Takei said. "Today, I am grateful to connect daily with millions of inspiring, funny, passionate individuals who prove what I have long known to be true -- that our world is a better place when we all participate."

Crowdfunding a Broadway show or museum is far from boldly going where no man has gone before. The 2011 revival of "Godspell" used online crowdsourcing to come up with its capitalization. One of the earliest examples of crowdsourcing took place over 100 years ago when publishing magnate Joseph Pulitzer appealed to readers of the New York World to raise money to complete the Statue of Liberty.

Inspired by his own experience as a child living in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, "Allegiance" tells an epic, multi-generational tale about the Kimura family, in particular a brother and sister whose bond is tested after they choose opposing paths to save their family. Their journeys take them from the rich California heartland, to the wind swept wastelands of Wyoming, to the battlefields of war-torn Europe.

The show is slated to open during the 2015/2016 season on Broadway.

"As an actor and an activist, it has been my life's mission to tell the incredible story of the thousands of families who endured the Japanese American Internment during World War II." Takei said. "The upcoming Broadway musical Allegiance�and the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) are the intersection of my art and activism. Inspired by my life experiences and those of internees like me, the show celebrates the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity. I consider it my Legacy Project, and I've come up with a way for the JANM to be a part of it."

To become a part of George Takei's Legacy Project, visit:

www.indiegogo.com/projects/george-takei-s-legacy-project>