Rachel Tucker

Performances on I'd Do Anything

We Will Rock You

From 22 September 2008, for one year, Tucker played Meat in the jukebox musical We Will Rock You, at the Dominion Theatre, London, under the direction of Christopher Renshaw. A review of the opening night performance of the show in The Stage newspaper said of Tucker's debut that she had "found the perfect stage for her large voice. Her rendition of "No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)" is one of the highlights of a first act that works on many levels."^[17] Tucker was also the first understudy to Sabrina Aloueche for the role of Scaramouche, and played the role on many occasions to cover Aloueche's holidays.

Wicked

Tucker starred as Elphaba in the West End production of the musical Wicked, at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, under the direction of Joe Mantello. She replaced Alexia Khadime on 29 March 2010, starring opposite Louise Dearman (also her debut) as Glinda.^[18] For the entirety of her run, Nikki Davis-Jones was her standby, and went on during Tucker's holidays and other absences. On 1 August 2011, it was revealed that Tucker had extended her contract with the production into October 2012. In June 2012, she succeeded Kerry Ellis as the longest-running West End Elphaba.

For her portrayal of Elphaba, Tucker won a 2011 WhatsOnStage.com Award in the category of Best Takeover in a Role.^[19] She performed "The Wizard and I" at West End Live 2010 and the Laurence Olivier Awards 2012, and "Defying Gravity" at Pride London. On 13 February 2011, she performed "Defying Gravity" as part of a theatre-themed episode of Dancing on Ice for ITV. Tucker also sang the same hit song at West End Live 2011 which was held at Trafalgar Square.

On 10 September 2011, Tucker was joined on stage by Stacey Solomon to sing "For Good" at the end of the show. This was in aid of BBC Children in Need's Pop Goes the Musical, where a whole host of celebrities graced the stages of the West End of London to raise awareness for the charity's 2011 appeal. On 19 March 2012, Tucker won the West End Frame Award for Best Performance of a Song in a Musical for her performance of "Defying Gravity".^[20] Tucker left the role on 27 October 2012 for maternity leave, after over 900 performances. Dearman took over the role on 29 October 2012.^{[citation needed]}

She reprised the role of Elphaba in the Broadway production from 15 September 2015 at the Gershwin Theatre.^[21] Tucker played her final performance on 30 July 2016 and was replaced by Jennifer DiNoia.^[22] For her performance in the Broadway production, Tucker was the recipient of the 2016 Best Female Replacement Award at the 2016 Broadway.com Audience Awards.^[23]

Tucker returned to the West End production of Wicked, leading the show's 10th Anniversary Cast in London, on 5 September 2016 and played a limited run as Elphaba until 28 January 2017.^[24] With over 1,000 performances both in the West End and on Broadway, Tucker remains one of the longest-running Elphabas in the show's history.^[25][26]

Farragut North

Tucker starred in Farragut North playing the role of Ida, which premiered in London at the Southwark Playhouse on 11 September 2013. Produced by Peter Huntley, in association with Daniel Krupnik and Southwark Playhouse, Directed by Guy Unsworth and with original music by Jude Obermüller, the production also starred Max Irons in the role of Stephen, and features Shaun Williamson, Aysha Kala, Josh O'Connor, Alain Terzoli and Andrew Whipp.

The Last Ship

Tucker returned to Broadway in The Last Ship which began at the Neil Simon Theatre on 30 September 2014.^[27] The musical follows the story of shipbuilders in the North East of England using music from Sting's album of the same name. It also starred Michael Esper and Jimmy Nail.^[28] The production closed on 24 January 2015.

Rachel Tucker: Back from Broadway

On 19 April 2015, Tucker hosted two performances, one at 3pm and one at 7pm, at the St James theatre in London with the 7pm show being completely sold out. The special guests that appeared to sing songs with Tucker were George Macguire and Giles Terera, as well as a special performance with her own sister. Tucker sang 24 of her favourite songs, and also talked about her recent experience on Broadway.

Communicating Doors

She appeared off-West End in Communicating Doors at the Menier Chocolate Factory. The show began on 7 May 2015 and closed on 27 June 2015.^{[citation needed]}

UK Tour

Tucker gave three intimate concerts at 'Live at Zédel' in London towards the end of March 2017.^[29] The concerts were directed by Tucker's husband, Guy Retallack, with musical director Kris Rawlinson. Reviews praised the performances of both Tucker and Rawlinson.^[30] The two followed up with an 11-date UK tour, visiting cities and towns such as Belfast, Cardiff, Bury St. Edmunds and Birmingham, beginning in Belfast on 13 May and finishing in Birmingham on 10 June.^[31] They recorded an album, On the Road, a compilation of some of the songs performed on the tour. The album was only available as a physical copy.^{[citation needed]}

Come from Away

Tucker played the roles of Beverley and others in the London production of Come from Away from February 2019.^[32] She was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for this role.^[33] She left the production on 8 February 2020.^[34] She reprises her roles in the Broadway production of the show from 3 March 2020^{[citation needed]} until production was suspended the following week due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^{[citation needed]}

John & Jen

She starred alongside Lewis Cornay in a production of the musical John & Jen. The show was directed by Tucker's husband, Guy Retallack, and had a limited run from July 28, 2021, to August 21, 2021. It received praise from critics, with Theatre Weekly writing that the two leads had "an exquisite chemistry" and that Tucker was "unsurprisingly, incredible in the role of Jen"^[35] while Gay Times wrote "We were expecting big things from West End and Broadway star Rachel Tucker and she truly delivers", noting also that the production was "easily one of the most ambitious and polished musicals we've seen in a studio theatre".^[36]

Sunset Boulevard

In the 2023 West End revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard Tucker played Norma Desmond as alternate to Nicole Scherzinger on Monday evenings from October 16 until the end of the limited run.^[37]

Hadestown

In the West End production of Hadestown, she was a replacement in the role of Persephone^[38] from October 15, 2024, to February 9, 2025.^[39]

The Great Gatsby

She originated the role of Myrtle Wilson in the West End production of The Great Gatsby at the London Coliseum in April 2025 and is expected to continue in the role until September 2025.^[40]

Television

Theatre Credits

The Reason

On 11 August 2013, The Reason was released digitally and physical copies began to ship. ^[44]

On 17 July 2013, it was announced that there will be a delay with the album release, with the new release date expected to be 12 August.^[45] The album launch concert went ahead on 25 July, effectively meaning those that had pre-ordered the album were not the first to hear the songs as planned.

On the Road

On 16 November 2017, On the Road was released digitally on iTunes. ^[46]

Lessons

On 21 May 2021, Lessons was released digitally and on CD.^[47][48]

You’re Already Home

On 3 November 2023, Rachel released her new album, You’re Already Home. It was released digitally and on CD.