Rachel chats to Gay Times about all things 10th Anniversary & more.

In the lead up to #Wicked10 Rachel took a break to chat with William Connelly about coming back to play the green girl on the West End, how her Elphie has evolved & so much more... it's well worth the read over on GayTimes.

"Welcome back to London… Rachel: Thank you!

Is it nice being back? It’s absolutely brilliant! God, it’s such an honour to be back for a start. This is a role that I hold very dear to my heart and it has taught me a lot, given me a lot, and to be asked back for the 10th anniversary is HUGE!

There really is no play like home… YEAH! [Chuckles]

How long before your move to Wicked on Broadway had you been playing Elphaba here in London?  If it’s 11 months per contract including rehearsals, and I did three contracts here in total, that would make it 2 years 9 months in London with the last six months pregnant with my son which was another challenge. Heck, not only did I sing Elphaba eight times each week but I did it pregnant! [Laughs] 

You then moved to New York to star in Wicked on Broadway. How long was that for? A year but actually in the show for 11 months. It was actually 10 to begin but I was extended for seven weeks before joining the London production again now for another five months. That’s not far from five years in total as Elphaba when I’m all finished in January."   To read the full interview please click through.

Rachel & Carrie chat to Tyler Mount

Almost 2 weeks ago, Carrie St Louis, the current Glinda to Rachel Tucker's Broadway Elphaba posted a tease on her Instagram, at the fact her & Rachel had just recorded a fun interview with Tyler Mount for his Playbill Vlog. This was enough to get us very excited about the interview.

@racheltucker01 and I had our Wicked way with @tylergmount for his @playbill vlog today! Episode coming soon! 💚💖 #neverhaveiever #witchtakeover #thesilliest

A photo posted by Carrie St. Louis🙆🏼 (@carriestlouis) on Apr 7, 2016 at 4:24pm PDT

Then as if that wasn't enough to have us dying to see this interview, last week Rachel posted a group of photos from the interview on her Facebook..

 

Today Tyler teased that the video would finally be released ...

Find out about the time @WICKED_Musical's Elphaba AKA @racheltucker1 pooped her pants on today's episode! TODAY AT NOON!

— Tyler Mount (@TylerGMount) April 18, 2016

Get all the details on Glinda's AKA @carriestlouis CRIMINAL past - specifically what she stole from her dentist office. TODAY AT NOON!

— Tyler Mount (@TylerGMount) April 18, 2016

Then suddenly the wait was over & we got to see his fabulous Vlog with Rachel Tucker & Carrie St Louis, so without further ado..

We couldn't help but Gif the last few moments for you all.. so enjoy these wee gifts for you all.

Rachel on 'Show People' with Paul Wontorek

Earlier today Broadway.Com shared this weeks episode of "Show People" and lucky for us their guest was Rachel Tucker. Click through to check it out or watch below.

"Wicked Star Rachel Tucker on Green Ears, Belting Lessons from Tina Turner & Being Saved by The 'Lord'"

This is such a fabulous interview with Rachel, just finished & already need to watch again. It's funny I was just thinking today that there had not been enough proper interviews with Rachel since she started back in Wicked & then boom.. here we go.

Must apologise for my lack of updates on the blog recently, there's been so much happening & then my own little trip to New York to see our green girl in action. There's been incredible new promo pictures posted recently & i've been waiting patiently for them all to be released before sharing in a blog post, but have been Tweeting/Instagramming & adding to our Facebook page as soon as I become aware of them. So if you're not already following us on those please do click through & join us.

Also will be running a few competitions soon to win a couple of Playbills from Wicked on Broadway, so keep an eye out for those on Twitter, as soon as I decide what you'll need to do to enter.

Will get to catching up on some of the important things that belong on the blog for you guys asap & hope to do some little write ups about the Wicked shows I saw whilst over there & just how much Rachel's Elphaba has evolved. She was out of this world in London & now over on Broadway with the opportunity to revisit this character, she's completely blown her own bar out of the water & truly does live in the 'skin of Elphie' as Paul mentioned above. I'd been trying to find a way to describe how she just 'IS' Elphie & he kind of hit the nail on the head. I could honestly babble on for hours about how 'perfect' her Elphaba is but i'll save it for when I can make it make sense. Just know that if you have NOT been to see Rachel on Broadway yet, you need to get on it. Break out the piggy bank & make that happen.

For your information: Rachel will not be performing on the following dates & has tweeted that her contract is up on 19th June 2016, so honestly guys, get those diaries out & start planning.

Rachel in Japan

So as you may know, Rachel is currently in Tokyo, Japan for the "New Years Musical Concerts 2016." Co-stars for the concert are Laura Osnes, Robert Marien, Matt Laurent & Howard McGillin.

We've just found this video Rachel did before leaving for Japan, to let everyone know she was heading over.

Backstage with Rachel Tucker!

Earlier today Backstage.com released the next addition to their "Backstage Life" series & our girl Rachel Tucker was the one in the spotlight this week. She took as behind the scenes with a few photos from backstage featuring Jonah Platt (current Fiyero) & Kara Lindsey (current Glinda, till 31st Jan).. check out the original article on Backstage.com.

The View & Broadway.com's Character study with Rachel

The View. 

On Wednesday 16th of December 'Michelle Collins' from ABC's "The View" made her Broadway debut. In the video below Michelle chats to Rachel about getting green & then you get a few sneaky clips of Rachel actually on stage in Wicked on Broadway. It's a very interesting watch, so check it out below. 

 "Michelle Collin's, a co-host of ABC's THE VIEW is a big time musical theater fan. As she explained to THE TALKshow's audience, "When I was given the opportunity to appear on Broadway it was truly a dream come true." Below, watch Collins make her 28-second Broadway debut in Wicked, after she gets a little advice from the show's current stars, Kara LINDSAY and Rachel Tucker. "                                   BroadwayWorld

Michelle Collins in Broadway's Wicked
Candace Cameron Bure and Raven-Symoné surprise Michelle Collins at her Broadway debut in WICKED The Musical!
Posted by The View on Wednesday, 16 December 2015

A video posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 3:07pm PST

A video posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 3:13pm PST

#racheltucker #broadway #wickedthemusical #wicked #theview #Elphaba #elphie

A video posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 3:14pm PST

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Character Study with Rachel Tucker, on Elphaba!

Earlier this evening Broadway.Com released a new "Character Study" video with Rachel chatting about the Elphaba as a character, who she understands her to be & why she's such a great role model, all over top of a gorgeous video of Rachel transforming into the character of Elphaba.

I have to say, I absolutely love this video. Reminds me of why I love Rachel Tucker's Elphie so much, and it has everything to do with her understanding of the character & how comfortable she is in her green skin.. there's just something about Tuckphie.

Also love that fact she's got a picture of her first Glinda with her over there.. and do we wish Lou could go to the party too!

#elphie #Elphaba #wicked #wickedthemusical #greenified #racheltucker #broadway

A video posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 3:42pm PST

Check below for more pictures we've put on Instagram from this video.

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ICYMI: New 'Out Of Oz' video.

As you may remember from our earlier blog on the Out Of Oz series, Wicked are in the process of a slow roll out of some re-imagined takes on the Wicked music.. it started with Rachel Tucker & Aaron Tveit's version of Defying Gravity & early last week they finally released the next instalment. Which lucky for us Rachel is in. It's a gorgeous re-interpretation of 'I'm Not That Girl' with Rachel's co star & Glinda, Kara Lindsey. Broadway.Com describes it as bluegrass, but i'd just describe it as a nice upbeat & fun version of this gorgeous song. I don't know about you but I love it when people take well known/loved songs & turn them on their head in an out of context kind of way. It gives the song a completely fresh meaning having it sung as a duet. Anywho enough rambling just in case you've not seen it, we've added it below for you. First though check out the teaser video they released with Rachel introducing the video.

“A simply beautiful song.” –Rachel Tucker, Broadway’s Current Elphaba Share this behind-the-scenes clip! We’ll release the entire new #OutofOz video when we have 1,000 shares on Facebook!
Posted by WICKED The Musical on Tuesday, 8 December 2015

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Instagram Catch Up....

There's always some interesting pics & sometimes clips on Instagram, so I thought' i'd embed some below for you guys, in case you missed them. All credit to those who took the photos. Speaking of Instagram, i've set up an Instagram account for the blog, so check us out on Instagram at RachelTuckerBlog.

A photo posted by WICKED💚💚💚 (@thewizardandi) on Dec 5, 2015 at 8:08am PST

A video posted by Kirsty (@lifewithkirsty) on Dec 4, 2015 at 9:40pm PST

A photo posted by Jennifer Richard (@ny165) on Nov 22, 2015 at 2:59pm PST

A photo posted by @broadwaybae on Oct 14, 2015 at 6:13pm PDT

Greenifying Spam!

(We just loved this video so much we had to take all the screen caps).

A photo posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 4:00pm PST

A photo posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 4:02pm PST

#racheltucker #greenified #wickedthemusical #wicked #Elphaba #elphie

A photo posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 4:03pm PST

#racheltucker #elphie #Elphaba #wicked #wickedthemusical #wickedthemusical #greenified

A photo posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 4:04pm PST

#greenified #wickedthemusical #wicked #Elphaba #elphie #racheltucker

A photo posted by Tucker FanBlog (@racheltuckerblog) on Dec 17, 2015 at 4:05pm PST

Wicked Celebrates 5000th performance on Broadway

This post is a little bit belated, apologies but I was on holiday when it was all happening. Wanted to still write an update about it though because I wanted to make sure these pictures were on the blog & just in case anyone missed it.

So.. on 28th Oct Wicked on Broadway hit a milestone, they performed their 5000th show, making it the 11th longest running show in Broadway history. They celebrated with a rather Wicked cake after the show.

"The hit Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman musical Wicked celebrated its 5,000th performance Oct. 28 at 7 PM at the Gershwin Theatre.

The musical is now the 11th longest-running show in Broadway history, having surpassed the record-breaking original runs of classics including Fiddler on the Roof; Hello, Dolly!; Miss Saigon; My Fair Lady; 42nd Street; and Cabaret. It's expected to overtake the original run of Rent (5,123 performances) in about four months."                                  Playbill.com

We are loving the pictures of Rachel, the cast & the cake. 

Rachel & her Broadway Glinda, Kara Lindsay

Fiyero Time - Behind the scenes at Wicked with Fiyero

So Broadway.com has started a new series of video blogs called #FiyeroTime, with Jonah Platt taking us on a weekly sneak peak behind the scenes of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre.

Jonah will be doing a question & answer session each week so make sure you send him your questions @JonahPlatt.

Rachel makes a brief appearance in both of the first two #FiyeroTime blogs & the whole blogs themselves are well worth the watch for any Wicked fan whose interested in what happens back stage on an average day!

Wicked Day Picspam

It's been an exciting week for Wicked with Wicked on Broadway celebrating it's 5000th show earlier in the week & then of course Wicked on Broadway's 12th birthday on the 30th Oct & extended Wicked day fun, with it spilling over into Halloween, I mean why not?

Yesterday we were treated to some epic sneak peaks behind the scenes at Wicked on Broadway, thanks to the twitter take over's on @Wicked_Musical's twitter feed.

The day started like any other in twitter land then quickly exploded into a fun filled & very ‘Wicked’ pic & video spam kinda day, but not the bad spam, the BEST spam! Firstly @WickedUK kicked off the proceedings with a Wicked Day message from THE green girl herself .. Rachel Tucker.

From @WICKED_Musical on BROADWAY, #WickedUK's former Elphaba, Rachel Tucker, has a special #WickedDay message! https://t.co/scAPiBiOm7

— Wicked UK (@WickedUK) October 31, 2015

Theatre Mania Chats to Rachel & More..

 TheatreMania caught up with Rachel recently to chat about opening as Elphaba on Broadway, how she fell in love with the show & much more..

Rachel makes Elphaba on Broadway Debut..

So last week on Tuesday 15th September, Rachel Tucker returned to playing the role of Elphaba in the musical Wicked, but this time on Broadway in New York, at the renowned Gershwin Theatre. Where it has been playing since it opened on Broadway on 30th October 2003.

In case you missed all the news about Rachel's return to the role of the green Witch, but on Broadway, check out some of these articles... Playbill, WhatsOnStage, OfficialLondonTheatre, The BelfastTelegraph, U.tv, SomethingAboutJaime & the more recent Broadway.Com, Playbill & NewYorkTheatreGuide articles.

Rachel previously played the role of Elphaba to critical acclaim* in London's West end for the best part of 3 years from March 29th 2010 - October 27th 2012. Making her the longest running Westend Elphaba to date.

*Rachel won the 2011 WhatsOnStage award for 'Best Takeover in a Role' & the West End Frame's Award for "Best Performance of a Song in a Musical, for her "Defying Gravity."

So.. on Tuesday 15th September we woke up to an updated cast list on Wicked The Musical's website, with Rachel's new headshot & the reality of it all finally set in for us.. Rachel was BACK as Elphaba.

Rachel to appear at Broadway Flea Market

Just seen on the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Facebook page, that Rachel has been added as a guest for the 'Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction 2015' on Sunday September 27th. Rachel will be there at the signing booth between noon & 12:50pm. So make sure you get there at the right time. Check out the website for all the info on how the day works, so that you don't miss out on your chance to get Rachel's autograph.

Exclusive interview with Rachel Tucker

Recently we had the great honour & privilege of having a chat with Rachel at The Bridgehouse theatre in Penge, about her upcoming return to playing the green girl, but this time in Wicked on Broadway.

 We asked all the questions we thought you'd want to know & maybe a few extras. This was our first time interviewing someone, let alone a Westend & Broadway star, so go easy on us!

We can not thank Rachel enough for giving up her precious time to chat with us, it means a lot that she is so generous to her 'fans' & wanted to take time to do this for us. Thank you from the bottom of ours hearts Rachel, you truly are one of a kind & it was a pleasure to chat with you & share a tiny moment of what is such an exciting time. We are so proud of you, you are living the dream & it's so inspiring to watch!

So without further ado.. one ridiculously long (24 mins to be exact) but hopefully informative interview with Broadway's next Elphaba: Rachel Tucker....

Rachel Tucker takes over as Elphaba on Broadway!!

So BIG NEWS!!!! Rachel is going green again but this time on Broadway!!!!

Songs in the Quay of Life @ 54 Below

On March 2nd Rachel appeared with her fellow Last Ship mates to perform at "Songs in the Quay of Life," an evening of seafaring songs to benefit Wallsend Boys Club. When the concert was originally announced Rachel wasn't on the bill but the week before the gig, she tweeted to confirm that things had changed and she was going to be able to make it, so off she flew to join the crew.

From what we've seen so far it looks like it was an incredible evening, filled with talent & beautiful music. We've been paying close attention waiting for videos, and although some were up very quickly, we were waiting for a fellow fan to send a few cheeky snaps, for official photography & official video to be released before giving you guys a mega run down of all things "Songs in the Quay of Life."

A gorgeously haunting arrangement of Fields of Gold from the company of The Last Ship, including Rachel. The cast sung this song after their final show on Broadway for the last 'Saturday Night Shout' so I dare say it has special meaning for them all & they really do sing it with such heart, it's just gorgeous.

Another stunning song 'Elysium' written by Dawn Cantwell. Performed by the ladies of The Last Ship, lead by the incredible Shawna Hamic with Alyssa DiPalma, Rachel Tucker & Dawn Cantwell.

There is another video with slightly different angle here.

Different Angle here

To watch the full playlist of the whole show of "Songs in the Quay of Life" click through from the video below. Massive thanks to FamousInNY for the amazing videos (and thanks to Fred Berthelot for his videos too).

We've also been sent some snippets from Jennifer Greenfield too, on the off chance the show wasn't being filmed, we had to have a minion on hand to do our bidding & can't thank her enough for all her help & updates about the gig. So thank you lovely. Check out some of her photos below too.

Official Images from Getty's

Jennifer's Images....

MaryFlynn on Tumblr has put up audio files to stream of Shiver Me Timbers & Practical Arrangements  & she's also shared some pictures on her Tumblr as well.

We also saw this lovely shot from Liza Horan on Twitter.

Also while we have you here, can we remind you about Rachel's upcoming gig "Back From Broadway" at the St James Theatre... and in case you missed this piece of news, Rachel's added a matinee, so anyone who was concerned about not making it home from an evening show, now has the chance they needed, so getting booking people, it's a show not to be missed.

Sting Joins Cast of The Last Ship

On 9th December 2014 Sting joined the cast of The Last Ship, for a strictly limited run in the show. We've found a few photos from curtain of his first night in the role of 'Jackie White' previously played by his good friend Jimmy Nail.

(Of course this image is from The Last Ship's Facebook page, on the 9th of Dec)

Video footage from the curtain call of Sting's first show of The Last Ship. 

Post

BWW TV: Sting is Back on Broadway! Inside His Opening Night in THE LAST SHIP! Video

 Images below are from Gettys Images check out the rest of the gallery for a few more shots from Sting's debut.

Massive Congratulations to Sting for his debut. 

While we're talking about Sting, we'd like to congratulate him on his Kennedy Center Honors medal. What an achievement. We hear the cast of The Last Ship made a crazy trip after their show, to be there to congratulate & perform for him..

 "The evening’s showstopper was Bruno Mars leading a glorious rock-and-roll carnival of “So Lonely,” “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle” that ended with Mars jamming with the cast of “The Last Ship” — who had made a mad dash to Washington after Sunday’s matinee in New York to surprise the show’s creator and composer."   

According to Wikipedia "The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions toAmerican culture. The Honors have been presented annually since 1978 in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events that culminate in a performance honoring the Honorees at the Kennedy Center Opera House."

Below is a video of President Obama's speech at the Kennedy Center Honors, talking about this years honorees. 

Apparently the show will be aired on 30th December in the US, so we'll keep you posted when video appears. Not sure yet if Rachel joined the cast in Washington, but we'll let you know.

Rachel on The Today Show!

Below is a link to the Today show video which Rachel and the cast of The Last Ship feature. Follow this link if you have trouble viewing this video.

Sting commented on the show that the show is a three-way love story and here we get an insight into the story - brilliant for those of us who are still saving our pennies to get to NYC!

Enjoy ...

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Possible Release Date for The Last Ship OBCR & some extras..

According to @NewYorkTheater on twitter, "The Last Ship" is aiming for the original Broadway Cast Recording to be released for the Christmas season on Dec 16th. We can't confirm this as yet but  hope this is true. As we can think of nothing better than a brand new album with Rachel on it, to fill our Christmas stocking's with this year.

EDIT* We've just been informed by a lovely fan @JenGreenfield that Amazon have 'The Last Ship: Cast Recording' on pre-order ready for release on 16th December too. So it is looking much more likely that our stockings will be appropriately filled.

Speaking of the cast recording, we've found a few more photos on Playbill.com to add to the collection from the studio.

Photographer: Joseph Marzullo/WENN © Playbill.com

While we have you here, we'd like to draw your attention to a rather impressive & glowing review of 'The Last Ship' from British Theatre.com. Here's what they had to say about Rachel's portrayal of Meg Dawson.

This review is a fantastic read & we suggest you check out the rest of it at BritishTheatre.com.

Last thing to share with you today is, thanks to Broadway we have some great photos of Rachel with more celebrities who've visited The Last Ship. It's only Billy Connolly, Gloria Estefan & Andy Cohen.

Photographer: Bruce Glikas, © Broadway.com

Opening Night Video! Sting Launches His New Musical "The Last Ship"

Found another video with a few great moments with Rachel.

(We've set the video to start where Rachel comes in, she's in it a few times, but the whole video is fabulous so perhaps scroll back & watch it all.)

Rachel is "On Top of the World" and so she should be, she's on Broadway Baby!

Thanks to BroadwayWorld.com for this fabulous video.