Fil-Am Jordan De Leon reflects on being part of ‘Mamma Mia’

By Janet Susan R. Nepales

For over 25 years, the story and the music of ABBA in the musical “Mamma Mia!” have become the ultimate feel-good show.

People have fallen in love with the Greek island-setting story of love, friendship and identity. For years, audiences have related to the timeless book by Catherine Johnson, with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.

The musical will be back at the Ahmanson Theatre under the helm of Phyllida Lloyd, and a Filipino American performer will be part of the ensemble and an understudy for the role of Pepper.

Jordan de Leon has actually been part of the show since 2023 in the U.S. tour and then also on Broadway in 2025. This year, he is back in the show at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from June 23 to July 19.

De Leon talked to us in an exclusive virtual interview about his love for this timeless musical, being part once more of this infectious tale of love, frolicking fun, and unforgettable musical experience.

Congratulations on being part of “Mamma Mia!” Can you please tell us about your role in this LA show? And how did you prepare for it?

So, I’m one of the dancers in the show. One of the flipper boys, if you will. If you want to find out what I’m talking about, come see the show. But I am also understudying the role of Pepper in the show. So, I understudy, and I’m in the ensemble every night. As far as preparation for this, it was a pretty standard New York audition process. I went in for my first audition, and I probably had two callbacks, two or three callbacks. Then I found out about a month later that I would be joining the tour. And so, I’ve been with “Mamma Mia!” since November of 2023. I’ve actually been with it for quite some time now.

What is it about this show that keeps you coming back? What is the magic of “Mamma Mia!” for you?

Absolutely. There are two parts to it, right? Number one, it’s the power of ABBA. If you ask anybody, I think everyone has at least one ABBA song that they really love and know every lyric too, and they’re singing along to it, whether they’re in the car at home or they’re singing it just with the radio. I think that’s the power of the music of ABBA. It just brings so much joy.

But also, because of the success of the movie, both movies, actually, I feel that “Mamma Mia!” has become a lot of people’s comfort watch and brings them a lot of joy. So many people at the stage door have told me that when they’re having a bad day, they put on the “Mamma Mia!” film and their day just gets so much better.

And so being part of the live version of that means that I get to be part of that for someone else. I get to be part of something that, for two and a half hours, you come into our theatre, you watch a phenomenal show, you hear your favorite ABBA songs, and the fact that I have now been able to be part of something that, for over two and a half years, has brought thousands upon thousands of people so much joy. That’s why I’ve been here as long as I have.

What are your favorite ABBA songs?

Oh man, I’m a sucker for the song “Mamma Mia!” It’s so good. The big ones, like “Dancing Queen,” and ” Super Trouper” are two of my favorite songs in our show. I sing the backup for, and I always get a little emotional every night. I love that song. And of course, the song “The Winner Takes It All” is still one of my favorites. It changes from day to day.

We have so many ABBA songs in our show, and I find that from day to day I go, oh, I think this song is my favorite today. Oh, I really like “Gimme Gimme” today. It changes by the day. It’s like a mood ring of ABBA depending on my mood that day. It influences my favorite song.

You have been part of “The Prom,” the 2021 US tour, ” Waterfall” in 2015, and Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” also in 2015. Please tell us at what age you realized you wanted to perform on stage.

I started doing musicals when I was in sixth grade. It was right after grade school; I went to go see the national tour of “The Lion King” that came through Chicago. And I remember the second that show started, I went, ooh, I think I want to do that. I think that’s something I want to do.

And so, I started doing musicals in sixth grade. I did them in grade school and in high school. And when I was 16, I did the show “Beauty and the Beast” in high school; I played Lumiere the Candle, and I remember my voice teacher and mentor at the time saw me in the show. And at my next voice lesson, she pulled me aside, and she went, listen, here’s the thing. I think you can do this. I see how much you love it, and I think you’re really good at it. That being said, now, if you want to do it, you’re going to have to hunker down now and start doing the hard work. But ever since I was 16, I knew that this was the thing I wanted to do as my profession.

You’re Filipino American. Anybody in the family who influenced you?

One of my aunts, my Tita Tess, who used to be in a rock band in Germany, influenced me. So, she sang a lot. My parents are huge musical influences on me. My dad used to sing around the house all the time. My mom loves listening to Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, the go-to Filipino favorites. And I think that’s something so universal about Filipinos.

I love that our stereotype is we love singing, we make good food, and we’re exceedingly kind. And the fact that that’s the Filipino stereotype, I couldn’t be prouder of that. But music has just been something that’s always been in my life. And so, because my parents had amazing taste in music, I’ve had that in my spirit all the time.

It’s funny, one of my good friends on the tour, Maddie. She said to me the other day, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who loves singing as much as you do. And I took that as the biggest compliment because, truth be told, I’m singing most waking hours of the day. It’s probably the most Filipino thing about me. Even if I don’t have a Magic Mike nearby. I’m going to be singing.

So, your parents never stopped you from performing on stage?

No. It was one of the coolest things. I think every parent is always nervous when their child says, I want to go into the performing arts because it’s hard. I’ve been doing this for a while now, and I still can say it’s my favorite thing. And it’s also really hard. It’s a marathon.

This career is a marathon. Sometimes things are really good, and you’re on the national tour of “Mamma Mia!” And you’ve been on Broadway with “Mamma Mia!” And sometimes you go months getting no after no at every audition.

But I remember when I told my parents I wanted to major in musical theater in college, both of them went, okay, you’re going to have to work hard. But they drove me to every college audition. They supported me as I was practicing my audition songs at 4 a.m. while they were trying to sleep. And they’ve always championed it for me because they see how much I love it.

I remember my dad still says to this day, he remembers seeing me at my first college audition, and all of his worries faded away. He says that he saw me at this audition for college with hundreds of other kids there.

And he went, my kid loves this, and he’s ready to work at it. Because that’s the hard part about when you go into the arts. You take this thing that you loved as a child, which was a hobby, and you turn it into a profession. And that’s a really hard change for some people.

The thing that keeps me going, and the reason I think my parents have been supportive and have never worried, is they see that musical theater really is my first love. I like to say that I’ve been doing this professionally for years, but I’m still the same 16-year-old theater geek that I was back then.

And that’s what’s carried me through the hard times. And that’s what’s carried me through the rejection and the leaner times. And so, my parents have always just trusted my hard work.

Another huge thing that I got from my parents is that, as most Filipinos do, hard work and determination and my love of what I do would carry me through.

What school did you go to for professional training in the performing arts?

I went to the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m actually proud to say I am one of the very first. I am the first male Asian graduate of the College Conservatory of Music. And my two classmates were the first two female graduates of our program for musical theater. And I wear that as a badge of pride.

As I go about my professional career, it was my dream school. I still think back on the day when I found out I got into CCM (College Conservatory of Music), and it still feels like the equivalent of a lottery win to me. And being the first male Asian graduate, I have a lot of pride in that. To be able to go through such an amazing, rigorous program and also carry that mantle and represent my people in that way.

Do you think the Asian representation is getting better on stage?

I think it is getting better. The numbers are starting to change in a lovely and positive way. But it’s not perfect yet. You and I both know it’s not great. I actually think it is because sometimes the small number of Asian Americans are still one of the most underrepresented groups on Broadway. And that actually fuels my pride in being a Filipino on Broadway.

The thing about “Mamma Mia!” that I really love is that they’ve always cast a very diverse group of people to do this beautiful show. I remember at our first performance when we opened on Broadway, I got to meet the long legacy of Asian Americans and Filipinos who have performed in “Mamma Mia!” on Broadway.

We all came out for a group picture, and they swarmed at me. It’s one of the most beautiful things that I think sometimes being an Asian American and Filipino in musical theater can feel lonely. I’ve looked around at some of my cast members, and I’m the only Filipino in this one as well.

But that moment at the Winter Garden Theatre, at our first performance on Broadway, reminded me that I’m not alone and that I am part of such a beautiful legacy of Asian and Filipino performers, not only in my show, which I’m so proud of, but also on Broadway.

I get to look up to the likes of Ali Ewoldt, Lea Salonga, and Paolo Montalban. There are so much love and community in what being a Filipino is that makes me so proud to be an Asian American and Filipino doing what I do at the echelon that I’m doing it at.

Because for so many young Filipino boys and girls out there, I know that what I’m doing is the dream. I know that there are some parents out there who might not let their parents go into that. And it is not lost on me that I won the lottery with my parents and my little brother, people who have supported me at every step of the way.

Have you worked with Lea Salonga?

I haven’t worked with Lea Salonga personally, but I remember the first time I heard her voice in Aladdin, I went, well, that’s the epitome of, before I even knew she was Filipina, I went, well, that’s, that’s arguably one of the best voices I’ve ever heard. And then I found out she was Filipina afterwards. I was like, we’re doing all right.

So, what were the challenges you encountered starting as a Filipino American on Broadway?

It’s gotten better over the days, but a mentor of mine, J. Elaine Marcos, you know, is Filipina. She has been in the Broadway cast of “Annie” and “A Chorus Line” and so many other things, but she’s also Filipina American, and I look up to her so much.

I remember she said to me, Jordan, with the way the theater industry looks at us, they look at us as Filipinos. The standard on Broadway is still white. It’s still majority white. That’s the truth of the matter. And she said to me, one of the hardest things is when we’re in a room full of white people for a callback or for a role. They look at us, and they say, oh, that’s an interesting take on the role. It’s not an interesting take. I’m just Filipino.

I have a different skin color than the people next to me. My hair texture is a little different than the people next to me, but it’s not a take on the role, right? We’re all human, but because that’s how so many people view us as a take or a different version of a role.

We, as Filipinos, have to be this much better than our white counterparts to stand out. And that’s exhausting. It is what has given me the work ethic that I have because she put that mentality in me; I went, great. If I’ve got to be this much better to be noticed, then I’m going to be this much better.

And now in the loveliest way, now that the industry is getting better with representation and with not looking at us Filipinos and us Asian Americans as a take on the role, they’re just viewing us as humans.

I’ve already done the work, and I’m already up here. So, the struggle has now become an advantage. That uphill battle that I was once climbing. It’s almost like walking uphill constantly and then finding out, no, you could just walk on a flat road now, and you go, oh, well, this is easy.

And that has been a challenge for me. I still look back on some of the roles that I’ve lost out on and thought, oh yeah, I probably lost out on that because I was the take on the role and they didn’t want to do it, but it has made me the performer I am.

It’s made me someone who doesn’t take anything for granted. Whenever people are like, do I have to memorize this before I go into the audition? How do I need to get this ready for the dance call? My answer is always; you don’t have to. I will, and that’s the power of the struggle. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. And I think my struggles have made me a stronger, more resilient performer and person in this industry.

Great answer. So, do you have any dream roles for yourself?

Oh, man. There used to be so many things that I would love to do like maybe be in “Hamilton” one day. I love that show. I love being in “Wicked.” But for me, as someone who really loves being in the ensemble, I’ve made most of my career dancing in the ensemble, and I love playing lead roles.

I do, but it’s always so fun because nowadays I’m like, no, they’re just shows. I want to be part of that team. I want to be part of that family. Because musical theater is such a team sport. It’s the definition of a team sport. It’s not a one-man show. And so, I would love to be part of the team of “Wicked,” “Aladdin,” “Hamilton,” things like that.

But as far as dream roles, I’m now at a place in my life where I would love to originate a role. I would love the dream role to be the one that I build.