Star of the Tony-winning Aida, Leah Allers takes us back stage

Leah Allers, star of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, have been touring with Aida since 2006 and began her China tour in September 2008. As fans of the Tony Award-winning musical, we hooked up with Allers via email to learn a little bit about what life’s like behind the curtain

“It’s never dull!” says Allers. “After touring together for three years, of course we have our off days and get grumpy sometimes, but we are like a big family.”

Unsurprisingly, committing to a touring stage show of Aida’s scale is a full-time, life-changing commitment, as evidenced by Leah’s response when we ask her what her typical day is like: “First thing, we pack up and check out of our hotel room. You become an excellent speed-packer when you're on the road. Then, we load onto the bus, everyone finds their seat and puts on their headphones. When we get to the next city, we have time to check into the new hotel and get dinner, and then it’s off to the theatre to sound check and prepare for the show. Then it’s curtain up!”

For Allers, traveling is fun and exciting. “But,” she explains, “it can be really hard on your voice.” To keep up her vocal health she follows a regiment of warm water, vitamins and “enough Ricola to keep the company in business.”

Taking a Broadway production across the ocean can be exciting, but does not come without difficulties. Before it’s current trek, the show was stuck in customs for several hours. “I suppose that happens when you try to enter the country carrying fake weaponry, giant gold bugs and sarcophagi,” Allers muses.

Backstage mishaps often occur, including running into set pieces, wearing dressing slippers onstage and the usual unzipped dresses and lost wigs. “You have to adapt to each situation. It keeps you on your toes.”

While traveling from city to city and country to country, the integrity and quality of Aida never really changes. “But the energy,” Allers points out, “is always changing according to the audience. People laugh at different places. It’s interesting to see what different audiences find funny or moving.”

After the show, Allers loves to meet her fans at the backstage door to sign autographs and get feedback on her performance. She recalls a time when she and others from the cast spoke at a school in Wuhan: “I love talking to groups of students who are interested in musical theater, and it’s really fun to be helpful to those who are interested in pursuing performing. It’s fun to know that I can inspire young people.”

Anna-Grace Carter

What: Aida

Where: Beijing Exhibition Center Theater

When: Nov. 19-Nov. 23, 7:30pm

How much: RMB80-1,280