Q&A With Rachel

Rachael Hughes, who recently went to see Wicked with her sister Claire and wrote us an excellent review of her day - which you can see a couple of posts down - also sent our Rachel some interview style questions. Being the absolute star that she is, Rachel responded and answered all of the questions in some detail, and Rachael - that's Miss Hughes not Miss Tucker - was kind enough to share those answers with us.


Q. Your fans love the individuality you bring to the songs through your riffs. Are they part of your planned performance or do they just happen when you’re in the moment?

A bit of both actually! During rehearsals there was so much to learn and get right and, as the music is simply amazing enough as it is, I didn’t feel the need to add more to it! But, I’ve found some little moments that, when it feels right, I want to say more with the song and music so I just let myself go that little bit extra!

Q. How hard is it to maintain your enthusiasm when you do so many performances of the same show? How do you do it?

Elphaba is a beautifully, complex character. To play it with truth and conviction every night takes a lot of processing both physically and mentally so there really isn’t a chance to be anything other than in the moment! However on those occasions that I’m not 100% I try to give just what I can and usually the enthusiasm happens naturally!

Q. The Wicked Day 2010 charity auction went really well. Were you surprised at how much your customised T-Shirt and jewellery fetched?

Yes! I didn’t watch any of the items on eBay so I only found out after, I was really shocked at how much they went for. So thanks to those who really did dig deep for a very good cause!

Q. You recently Tweeted that you couldn’t wait to see your “wee mummy’s face” did you have a nice time catching up with your family?

It was a gorgeous break with my family- we saw Billy Elliot which was fab! We also took Mum and Dad to Bath for a night. We had never been so it was such a culture shock, beautifully stunning!

Q. Many People would love to have your vocal on a London Cast recording, how would you feel about it if you were approached? Who has the power to make it happen?

Good question! Well that lies with the powers above! I know there has been a lot of interest in a London cast recording however I don’t think it’s something in the producers interest. I’m sure if it was possible one would have been done before now. But who knows? Maybe if there is a big enough noise made by a big enough amount of you then they might just change their minds!!! Personally-I would love it!

Q. Have you ever gone home with your green make up on? What would Guy say if you did/have?

No, but there has been water cuts in the building before and I think Nikki Davis-Jones had to go home green, he he he! No, we must take it off as it is part of our costume. Think Guy would laugh!

Q. How’s Barnaby settling in? Has he destroyed any of your shoes yet?

He’s been amazing! He’s house trained already and he obeys some basic commands, sit, down and stay. He especially loves his 2 new doggie hoodies!!! Which he chews on but no shoes...yet! Oh, but he loves my slippers!

Q. What would you say to any aspiring stars out there? Any words of advice?

Yes-Don’t give up! It’s a long, hard slog most of the time and I think it should be because you don’t realise but you learn most things along the way! You get to know who you are as a person and performer. Maybe try getting some qualifications in teaching that will make you your living when you’re not “so lucky”. And yes- luck has a lot to do with it-right time, right place and the right thing! But as my Dad always used to say to me “The harder you work the luckier you become!”

Thank you so much to Rachel for answering these questions and allowing them to be published.

Another Wicked Day For Andy

Have I used that title before? Probably, but I've seen Wicked so many times now I know I'm going to start repeating myself.

This was a bonus trip really. I was actually going to London on Tuesday to watch my football team - Bristol Rovers - play at Charlton. It was a night match so I stayed at a Travelodge in Whyteleafe. Not ideal but the closest I could find with a reasonable price at short notice. It was about 20 miles from Charlton and roughly the same distance from Victoria.

I had purchased tickets to the Wednesday matinee performance of Wicked and my plan was to get there early enough to catch Rachel going in. Unfortunately the traffic getting in to central London was horrendous and by the time I actually found somewhere to park and ran to the theatre it was nearly 2:00pm. 3 hours to travel 20 miles, I don't know how people put up with that every day. Anyway, I knew I was too late so I didn't even bother going to the stage door.

I was delighted to see that Sarah Earnshaw was on as Glinda because as I've mentioned before I actually prefer her to Louise and it will probably be the last time I see her before she leaves in February.

My seat was in Row C of the stalls, 5 seats in from the right. A great view at a very fair price of £27.50. The only scenery you can't see is the yellow brick road.

I was actually sat next to a group of school kids - probably aged 8-10 - who were lucky enough to be on a day trip to the Apollo Victoria. I was a bit concerned they might play up but I needn't have worried. From the moment Sarah came down on her bubble they were transfixed by the wonder of the show.

Being a matinee I wondered whether the cast would hold back a little knowing they'd have to do it all again at 7:30pm but there was no sign of that. I really don't know where they get their energy from.

Sarah was even funnier than I remembered and her BALL GOWN screech probably caused a localised earthquake. I think because she has been there so long she just seems to know exactly how to play every scene and like Rachel, she never switches off, even when Glinda is in the background she'll be swinging her handbag or flicking her dress in all the right places. Little things but they do make a difference.

I love Sarah and will miss her when she leaves but as always Rachel was the star of the show. I actually found myself welling up during 'The Wizard and I', 'Defying Gravity, and 'No Good Deed' such was the power and feeling behind her vocals. Every time I see her she just seems to get better and better. I think it's probably because unless you're actually there watching the show you can't believe just how amazingly special this lady is.

Her on stage chemistry with Sarah was incredible, especially when you consider they have limited opportunities to perform together. 'Loathing' was hilarious and their 'For Good' was the most heart felt I've seen.

I wouldn't want to be responsible for casting the next Elphaba because how do you replace someone like Rachel. The simple answer is, you can't. Thankfully we don't have to worry about that for at least another 12 month's.

After the show I did walk down to the stage door. I knew I wouldn't see Rachel but I thought I might catch a couple of cast members. I waited about 10 minutes when Cassie Compton - NessaRose - actually approached the stage door from the other side of the road. She had obviously got out pretty sharpish after the matinee and was returning with something to eat. I told her how much I enjoyed the show and asked her to pass on my best wishes to Rachel.

Then it was back to the car for the long drive home.

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In other news - Rachel will be performing at Lee Meads Christmas Concert at the London Coliseum on Sunday 19th December. One of our readers - Alice - was kind enough to send us this information and the below link to Lee Meads website which has a few more details about the show.

Lee Meads Website

Box Office: 0871 911 0200

Book Online: Link

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Finally, I came across these excellent pictures from Wicked day showing Rachel in that stunning t-shirt which ended up selling for £410.00. The EBay auction actually raised a staggering £4519.47 for the Woodlands Trust.

Rachaels Wicked Review

Thanks to Rachael for sharing her Wicked experience with us. She very kindly took her sister Claire to see the show for her Birthday. Now I have pictures of both girls with our Rachel but I'm not totally sure 'Witch is Witch' so if either of you are reading this please leave a comment to let us know.


Rachaels Review

My sister Claire and I arrived at the stage door about 12.30pm, feeling very nervous and completely unsure of where to look to spot anyone and what to say if we did. This was highlighted by the fact that Louise Dearman turned up about 10 minutes later and all we managed was a feeble ‘Hi’ and a star struck gaze as she disappeared through the stage door. To be honest we didn’t fully realise it was her until a tick tock after the door had closed, she is so tiny! Which really does not come across on stage.

So, one failed attempt down, we were determined to make sure we got the autograph of the next cast member we saw. We didn’t have to wait long for Julie Legrand to show up, looking much more approachable than her character! She was really lovely and said “ ahhh, the Grimmerie” in a very Madam Morrible like way, when we produced it for her to autograph, she even wrote a personalised message for us.

With one successful meeting under our belt we were feeling a renewed sense of confidence and were lamenting even more deeply our complete fluff up with Louise.
About an hour into our vigil we were joined by a group of lovely American women who were all waiting for Lee Mead and were so excited at the prospect that we agreed that they could push us out of the way as soon as he showed up.

Next to arrive was the delightful Rachel Tucker who was all smiles. The main thing we noticed was how very charmingly Irish she is, you could tell how much work she must have put into her stage voice for Wicked. We asked her to sign a page near the front of the Grimmerie with a picture of a green baby Elphaba, Rachel hadn’t seen it before “is that really in here? I look like a boy!” she exclaimed, nevertheless she graciously signed it and stopped and had a photo with each of us.

Time was marching along swiftly now and we were beginning to wonder who might be left to accost when Clive Carter showed up, who was also very lovely, and stopped to have a little chat with us, asking if we were staying to see the show today whilst he signed our book. George Ure wasn’t far behind and although in a bit of a rush was more than happy to bestow his autograph upon us. He was trying to juggle his drink and bag with our book and pen so I offered to hold his coffee for him. He agreed and thanked us but you could tell that there was a moment’s hesitation where he assessed if we were the crazy stalker like fans who would steal it and sell it on ebay! Ever bright and cheery he disappeared through the door reunited with his coffee cup and calling “enjoy the show darling” over his shoulder.

We waited for quite a while after this, seeing only members of the ensemble that we knew by sight but unfortunately not name. Eventually, shortly before 2.00pm and just as we were giving up hope of seeing anyone else Lee Mead showed up. After the lovely American ladies had a nice chat with him, we got his signature and a photograph. Despite the fact that Lee was running late, he still made time for us and stopped for a chat. He was really friendly and definitely as charming as he comes across on stage.

All in all it was a marvellous first stage door experience and the show only seemed better (as if that was even possible) after having met most of the cast.

Rachel Tucker was brilliant, she has such an amazing stage presence you can’t but help being absorbed in watching her from the very first word. Her performance of Defying Gravity made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and No Good Deed left me with goosebumps! Louise was hilarious in the Popular scene, we noted she had added some extra bits in to it and they worked brilliantly, Rachel had also slightly changed her ‘toss, toss’ attemps only adding to our amusement. Lee Mead was compelling as Fiyero, bringing the part to life and managing to make the characters emotional transition very believable. He appeared to be very comfortable in the role, dancing with movements so graceful he seemed to float accross the stage at times. The only disappointment, according largely to Claire, is that he didn't get more opportunities to sing! (Can you tell who her favourite is?!)

The last time we went I hadn’t paid too much attention to Clive Carter or Julie Legrand apart from when they were prominently feauturing in a scene, this time however, having the luxuary of being better aquanted with the plot and feeling somewhat obliged after extracting conversations and autographs from both, I decided to watch them more closely. I was rewarded by spotting Clive indulging in some excellent background acting. When Glinda and Elphaba are arguing in front of him in Act 2, he sinks to the floor appearing to have a heart attack in reaction to the shock, after a little while he ‘passes out’ until he hears Glinda mention Elphe and Fiyero where he suddenly perks up and sits forward to listen to the gossip attentivly. Completely worth a watch!

We will definitely be booking yet another show while this cast is still together and will make sure that we are looking extra hard next time for a petite blond walking towards the stage door!

Andy's Wicked Day

It wasn’t until I woke up on Sunday 31st October that I eventually gave in to temptation and decided to make the trip to St. Pancras Station to experience my first ever ‘Wicked Day’.

I rushed around and set off from Bristol at 8:30am. That gave me about 3 hours before the event was meant to start, which I thought should be just enough time. Unfortunately, 50 miles up the M4 the heavens opened and I had to drive through torrential rain from then on. The spray was horrendous and the traffic really built up as I approached Reading and only got worse the closer I got to the capital. When I eventually parked my car in St.Pancras NCP it was just after 12:00pm.

When I entered the station I could hear Rachel and Louise belting out ‘For Good’. Unfortunately St.Pancras is a pretty large place and the mini stage on which they were performing was at the far end. I raced past other Wicked fans and daily commuters but only arrived as the song was coming to an end. I didn’t even get chance to take my camera out at that stage.

Now the order in which things happened after that is a little blurry. I don’t have the best memory and of course due to the fantastic news of Rachel’s contract extension I am writing this over a week late.

I think the first autograph signing session was arranged for 1:00pm, so before that I went for a wonder round. Everything was quite spread out and I know a lot of people preferred 2010’s more intimate setting but I wasn’t there last year so I can’t really compare.

There were Wicked stalls everywhere, some selling merchandise but others happy to take any sort of donation for the less expensive items. I popped a couple of pounds into a collection pot and picked up a Wicked Day 2010 poster.

Costumes from the show were on display in numerous shops, there was a story telling workshop for kids, face painting and other activities. I saw various cast members walking around, George Ure (Boq), Cassandra Compton (Nessarose) and Sarah Earnshaw (Standby Glinda), all of which were more than happy to stop and chat to fans.

I stopped for a bit to enjoy the Wicked karaoke. The standard of those singing varied quite a bit if I’m honest but it was good fun. I might have been tempted to take part had a duet with Rachel been on offer but unfortunately it wasn’t, so I gave it a miss.

By the time I made my way back to the autograph area the queue was very long. I could also see that the Wicked staff were ushering everyone through pretty quickly because they had a schedule to keep to, so I would have barely have had time to say hello. I decided at that point to try and catch Rachel a little later.

That autograph session finished at about 1:30pm – I think – and as the Wicked staff tried to rush Rachel and Louise off to their next assignment I managed to grab a few words with the lady I’d come to see.

I know I always say she looks stunning and that’s no lie but this time she looked even more amazing than ever, dressed in a incredible Wicked t-shirt that she customised herself. Check out the picture at the top of the post or the one at the bottom and you'll see what I mean. I think we’ll need to add fashion designer to her ever growing list of talents.

I got her to sign my Wicked Day poster and told her that I’ll be selling it either on the blog or on EBay, giving the proceeds to the events charity, the Woodlands Trust; more on that later. We could only have a brief chat because the organisers were very keen on everything running to time but she was as lovely as always and seemed apologetic as they encouraged her to get a move on.

After getting a bite to eat I purchased a standard Wicked poster and Wicked card holder from another of the charity stalls. Unfortunately I didn’t get chance to get those signed but whoever purchases the Wicked Day poster will get those as well.

At about 2:45pm it was time for Rachel and Louise – I think Lee was there too – to judge the Glee Club performances. The first act – pictured above – chose Defying Gravity as their song which went down well with the mass crowd of Wicked fans watching on. I stayed to watch the first couple before having to leave for the long drive home at about 3:15pm. I had plans in the evening that I couldn’t really get out of.

I have to say I think it’s a great event and I want to thank Rachel and all the cast for giving up their day off to meet the fans and help raise money for a good cause. I’ll definitely be going back next year.

The Wicked Day 2010 auction is currently on EBay with so much memorabilia you won’t know where to start. The sensational T-Shirt I mentioned above which was designed by Rachel is one of the items available, although you’ll need to dig deep if you want it because bids have been flying in and the current highest is £151.00. Most of the cast designed their own tops for the auction but Rachel’s is clearly the best and is understandably proving to be the most popular. There is only about a day left to run on most items so if you want to pick up a unique memento of the show I suggest you follow the below link and get bidding NOW. Good luck!

WICKED DAY EBAY AUCTION

Wicked Are Lucky To Have Rachel

I wanted to leave the fantastic news about Rachel's contract extension at the top of the blog but I simply had to post at least a little of a Wicked review I've just read on 'Show-and-Stay.co.uk'.

Almost every review I've read since she started back in March has been overwhelmingly positive about both the musical and Rachel but many - like the one on Show-and-Stay - actually pick out our girl as the real star of the show.

Below is a little extract from the Show-and-Stay review, you can read the whole review if you follow the link at the end of this post. I suggest you do, it's a good read.

"On the other hand, Rachel Tucker, as Elphaba, is. Like Lee Mead, she is a product of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TV talent show factory, but while Mead is simply passable as Fiyero, Tucker is the stand-out of the show… and not just because she’s green. With nary a hint of her Irish accent, Tucker gives Elphaba a believability lacking from other characters. Prickly and awkward but with a sensitive side, you root for her from the off. Factor in Tucker’s stunning voice and comic talent, and she alone makes Wicked worth the ticket price."

SHOW-AND-STAY WICKED REVIEW

It's Official - Rachel Extends Stay in Oz

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NOW CONFIRMED BY THE LADY HERSELF

RACHEL TWEETS

"I've just been told it's official - I'm staying for another 'term' at Shiz!! Why am I always the last to know!!! Tee hee hee! CANT GET ENOUGH!"

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Just in case anyone is left in any doubt, it has now be confirmed by Rachel - see her tweet above - that she is staying in Oz after signing up for another term at Shiz. It would therefore seem that BroadwayWorld were spot on with the information in their article - see link in below post - and if that's the case Rachel will be Defying Gravity for another 403 days, at least! We couldn't be happier.........

Elphaba is the best role in musical theatre, it requires someone with mindblowing vocals and incredible acting ability and that is why Rachel is the perfect woman for the job. Arguably the only woman for the job.

I think this news will lead to another record breaking year in 2011 for the West End's most popular show.

Rachel's contract now runs until 10th December 2011

Breaking News: Rachel Extends Contract !!

We haven't actually heard anything official from Rachel just yet but according to the below article from BroadwayWorld.com both Rachel and Louise have extended their Wicked contracts until 10th December 2011.

Cast members are not allowed to leak news regarding their futures until the show gives them the go ahead, so the fact that Louise has already confirmed her contract extension on her Twitter page has to be a good sign and would indicate this is probably accurate information.

I simply couldn't wait another second to post such exciting news but if this does prove to be premature you all have permission to give me a good slap. Let’s hope that’s not necessary.

BROADWAY WORLD ARTICLE

The news of the two leads contract extensions comes after a recording breaking week for the show. Wicked made West End Theatre history with the highest ever recorded weekly gross. For week-ending 30 October 2010, the musical earned an extraordinary £923,612 at the Box Office. Over 20,000 people attended 9 performances of the musical at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre.

This is partly down to the extra half term matinee we mentioned in an earlier post but it's still an AMAZING achievement.

Wicked has now played over 1700 performances and grossed in excess of £115 million at the UK Box Office since its West End premiere in 2006. Now in its 5th year, over 3 million theatregoers have already seen the multi award-winning show.

I've no doubt Wicked will continue to go from strength to strength now it would seem they have secured the services of the shows best ever Elphaba until December 2011.

PS. I'm going to delay my Wicked Day write up for a week or so to ensure all Rachel's fans get chance to see this post before it gets pushed down the blog.

Wicked Day Videos

You'll here all about my eventful time at Wicked Day soon - yes, I was there - but for now enjoy these videos I've found on You Tube.

The first one is of Rachel and Louise singing 'For Good' and was uploaded by linny90120:



Here is another video of the same performance from a slightly different angle. Thanks to Matt for spotting this one:



The second video was also uploaded by linny90120 and shows us one of the many acts that took part in the Wicked karaoke. I would have had a go but I was worried it might cause a mass evacuation of St Pancras so thought better of it.




If you spot any more videos of Wicked day that you think we should feature please let us know.