Chiara Aurelia Is Living Her 10-Year-Old Broadway Dream

It’s only been a week since Chiara Aurelia hit the Broadway stage in John Proctor Is the Villain, but the Booth Theatre already feels like home. “I don’t have a show for like three hours. Why am I here?” the 22-year-old asks Bustle over Zoom from her dressing room.

“You’re supposed to decorate, but I never have time. You throw one thing into your bag, then the room is full of stuff, and you have no idea where it came from,” she adds, pointing to a shelf filled with grocery bags. “Look up there. What is all of that?”

You can’t blame Aurelia for wondering. It’s been a whirlwind summer for the Cruel Summer star, having just made back-to-back stage debuts on and off-Broadway. First, she starred in Julia Randall’s new play Dilaria, which opened in June at the DR2 Theatre; she played Georgia, the level-headed friend of Ella Stiller’s titular character who slowly gets sucked in by her BFF’s dangerously narcissistic ways.

Then, on July 15, she headed uptown to the Great White Way to take over for Sadie Sink in John Proctor, the story of a small-town high school English class that questions the cultural context of The Crucible. The play earned seven Tony nominations, including one for Sink’s performance as Shelby Holcomb, the outspoken classmate whose experiences affect her perspective of literary “hero” John Proctor.

Aurelia’s turn in John Proctor was a long time coming, given that she auditioned for the role of Shelby’s estranged BFF, Raelynn, while the show was still in development. “At the time, [director Danya Taymor and writer Kimberly Belflower] were like, ‘No, you’re more of a Shelby,’” she recalls. “There was a part of me that was like, ‘No, I’m totally a Raelynn.’ Looking back, it unfolded in such a beautiful way. Being able to speak in Shelby’s voice feels so true and authentic to me.”

Despite not landing either role at first, Aurelia saw John Proctor multiple times as a fan while preparing for Dilaria — so when she was asked to take over for Sink, it was a no-brainer. Now, she’s just taking it all in. “When it rains, it pours,” she says. “My friends and family are like, ‘Where did you go? What happened to you?’ I’m like, ‘Um, I’m on Broadway, Mom.’”

While John Proctor’s run ends on Sept. 7, the play is about to enter the spotlight far beyond Broadway: Universal Pictures just announced a film adaptation, with Sink and Tina Fey attached as producers.

“It’s so beautiful that this show is resonating with so many people, and that it’s going to be shared with a wider audience that isn’t able to come to New York and see it in real life,” Aurelia says. “It’s such an important story, and the more people that can witness it, the better.”

On her dressing room staples:

I keep some vitamin gummies to make sure that I’m always taking care of my immune system. Everyone needs a fuzzy robe and some fuzzy slippers. I have a little corner with some belongings from home, like a note from my mom, an orchid bouquet that my mom got me, some of the posters from John Proctor, tiny little knickknacks that represent me.

On learning from Sadie Sink:

Sadie and I grew up together. She’s an amazing actress and is truly fantastic in this role and brought so much life to this play. I shadowed Sadie for a couple days and got to experience her backstage routine, and I definitely learned a lot. We were able to talk a lot about the character and Shelby’s journey. What’s so beautiful is that so many different voices and people can come in and bring a piece of themselves to the role, but the play still stands.

On her pre-show superstition:

I have to go up to the mezzanine before every show. If I don’t, everything will go terribly wrong. In theater, the idea is there are no bad seats, so you should be reaching the people in the front row just as well as you’re reaching the people in the back. It’s also just a beautiful reminder, to the 10-year-old who wanted to be on Broadway, of how large and exciting this theater is.

On her dream celeb attendees:

Julie Andrews or Meryl Streep. Those are the two strong, really cool women that I grew up watching. There haven’t been any guests yet for me, but there are moments where I’m about to go onstage and I peek over, like, “Oh, there’s Reese Witherspoon’s signature” or, “There’s Kristin Chenoweth” — icons who wanted to come backstage and talk to everyone. That’s so cool.

On her first Broadway memories:

The first musical I saw was The Lion King, at the theater next door to where I’m performing now. I remember convincing my mom to take me to New York to see Hamilton. I learned the entire musical front to back just to show how important it was, and we came for my middle school graduation. We just redid a picture of me at 10 years old standing in Times Square with my arms in the air. Now, there’s a photo from when I opened [John Proctor] standing in the same place.