Chatting with the wonderful & talented Telly Leung!

Telly Leung in Aladdin (Photo: Matthew Murphy)

• Kevin Ray Johnson

I would like you to meet the very talented Telly Leung. Telly has performed on Broadway 8 times. He was most recently seen as the title role in Aladdin. Other credits include In Transit, Allegiance, the 2011 Godspell Revival, Pacific Overtures, Flower Drum Song, and the Closing Broadway Company of RENT where he can be seen in the RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway DVD. He has also performed in the National Tours of RENT and Flower Drum Song, and as Boq in the Chicago Company of Wicked.

I have been a fan of Mr. Leung for many years. He is such a versatile performer who can honestly play any role and make it his own in such a special way. When you see Telly perform, you truly won't be left disappointed in any way. It was a true joy to have the chance to interview such an amazing talent and a true triple threat! 

How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a stage performer?

I didn’t seriously consider being a performer until high school. At first, it was just something I did for fun. I went to a math and science high school in NYC called Stuyvesant, and I found working on the high school musical after school to be a good balance to all the chemistry and calculus I was dealing with all day. But then I started to realize that I was waking up every morning, and I wasn’t looking forward to dissecting frogs.

I was looking forward to dissecting scenes and songs for the high school play I was working on! I also found my “tribe” working on theater, and it gave me a sense of belonging and community. When I applied to colleges, I applied to both “regular” liberal arts colleges and performing arts colleges, and I ended up going to Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama. That’s where I got serious about being a professional. 

Are there any mentors in your life who truly helped you become the amazing artist you are today?

There are many people I consider mentors. I had wonderful teachers all through my life. Mary Ann Feeney was my first chorus teacher and piano teacher in 3rd grade. She just retired this last year after a long career teaching music and performing arts in the public school system.

The teacher that made me love theater was a guy named Vinnie Grasso who taught A/V and mechanical drafting at Stuyvesant but volunteered his time directing the high school musicals. I had a wonderful acting teacher, Julie Sheinman, in high school who helped me with my college audition monologues (she’s still teaching there!) and a great chorus teacher in Holly Hall. My first voice teacher was a wonderful singer named Thomas Shepard, who also taught at CAP 21.

The training I had at CMU is the foundation of my formal training, and I had stellar teachers there. My voice teacher at CMU was a woman named Claudia Benack (she’s still there), and she was like a second mom to me. I also loved Barbara Mackenzie-Wood who I credit with teaching me the “bones” of acting in her amazing text analysis and scene study classes.

There is a wonderful dance teacher at CMU named Judy Conte (still there!) who was there since the very beginning of CMU’s Musical Theater program with notable alums like Rob Marshall, Emily Skinner, Michael McElroy, Megan Hilty, Josh Gad, Rory O’Malley, Leslie Odom, Griffin Matthews, Renee Elise Goldsberry (the list is endless... I could go on and on...). She was my very first ballet teacher.

One of those notable alums was Billy Porter, and he came back to direct me in my senior thesis production of “Company” where I got to play Bobby. Billy taught me a very important lesson about the simplicity (and challenge) of “talking and listening AUTHENTICALLY” on stage - something I see him continue to teach by example on stage, on screen, and on the red carpet.

I consider Liz Caplan (my voice teacher since 2005) to be my vocal angel, and I consider her not only a “mentor” but a friend and someone who saved my voice after my vocal surgery. Among many dear friends who I consider to be mentors is Michael McElroy, who inspires me constantly with his work at BIV (Broadway Inspirational Voices) and his incredible work as a theater educator at NYU. We’ve taught together at NYU and the Jimmy Awards, and I am constantly still learning from him. 

I can go on and on about the amazing teachers I’ve had, but the take away I want your readers to have is this: I would be nowhere without each and every one of them. I wish I could mention them all in this article. They’ve all inspired me to want to pursue teaching full time at some point when I am ready to transition away from performing. 

We are living in some unprecedented times in the world. For all artists (especially actors) it is definitely a time of uncertainty. What has your everyday routine been like during Quarantine, and what are some things you do to keep your spirits up? 

I have always been someone to generate my own creative opportunities. I think all actors are accustomed to a certain level of uncertainty. As an Asian-American actor who understands that there are simply fewer opportunities in show business for people who look like me, I’ve always been someone who creates my own work to stay active - pandemic or not.

Of course, this pandemic has created some unprecedented challenges for all of us as a community. But I also feel like actors are smart and resourceful. I keep busy with teaching and virtual performances. I’ve been doing a lot of video shooting in my apartment and picking up new skills like editing in Final Cut. I’ve taken more time to practice the piano. I try not to worry about the future of our industry, and I find myself oscillating between abject despair and hopeful optimism. 

I feel very fortunate to have the resources to still be able to create art during this time. But, for some people in our industry, this might be a time to take a break. We all have to do what we have to do, emotionally and financially, to survive this strange time. For some, that means leaving New York or leaving “the business.” For those of you out there that are experiencing this, I want to remind you that this situation is no one’s fault. You didn’t create this situation. It has been thrust upon you. We all must make the best with what we have, so do what you must.

But, also remember this: no one can take away your artistry. You are still an artist. You are still a storyteller. You are still someone with a voice and the unique talent to move and educate the human race. I encourage you all to find some outlet for your talent. In a time when we are lifting “essential workers”  up during a pandemic, I want to remind all artists out there that we are essential. We are an integral part of society. We remind people of their humanity and their responsibility to one another. We are promoters of empathy and compassion. That doesn’t just happen on a stage. It can happen anywhere.

Our carefully honed skills as theater artists make us better human beings and better citizens in society, no matter what we decide to do while Broadway is shut down. What we do is essential if we want to get through this pandemic together. 

Telly Leung and Lea Salonga in the Old Globe Theatre's 2012 world-premiere production of "Allegiance." (Photo: Henry DiRocco)

I have truly admired you over the years. Are there any shows, roles, or performances that will always stick out and be near and dear to your heart? 

I will never forget being a part of the final company of RENT. That was special. It was the show that made me want to do theater at 16 years old, and to be on that stage with so many people from the RENT “family” in the audience was an unforgettable experience. I feel so fortunate to have that moment captured forever in RENT: FILMED LIVE ON BROADWAY. That cast has remained very close. We are still very much a family. 

What advice would you give any aspiring artist in these challenging times?

This is a time of great ambiguity, but times of great ambiguity mean that there is also great possibility. My advice: Be creative, and dwell in the possibility of what our industry, our business, our genre, our country, and our world can look like post-pandemic. 

I am constantly inspired by the younger generation and what they have to offer. I work with many young students - many who are high school age - and they are much more prepared and talented than I was when I was in high school! This is a challenging time, but their ability to meet this challenge head-on will make them a stronger (and smarter) generation when they are older.

I am inspired by the intelligence, talent, and political activism of the younger generation. As we discover what the world looks like after COVID, I have a feeling many of us will be turning the tables. It’ll be us who are asking them for advice. 

For more information make sure you visit www.tellyleung.com and check out his beautiful video of “Proud of Your Boy” dedicated to his parents.