Back on Broadway: Rachel Tucker Talks Returning to COME FROM AWAY

BroadwayWorld's new interview series Back on Broadway is taking readers on the exciting journey of Broadway's return to the stage! Featuring interviews with cast and creative team members of Broadway's returning shows, Back on Broadway will highlight how members of Broadway shows are preparing for live performances, what they've learned from the last year and half, what is most exciting to them about Broadway's long-awaited return, and much more!

Next up in the series is Rachel Tucker, who returns to the cast of Come From Away!

What was the first day back in rehearsal like for you?

I was so nervous and excited to meet all the members of the cast and crew again, it had been so long! My son "mum you sound like me going to my 1st day of school!"

It was fun but also super intense as I had a lot to catch up on as the others had recently done the film, so I felt I've got a lot of catching up to do!

What has been the best part of the rehearsal process so far?

Honestly, getting to rehearse the show with my fellow cast members. There is nothing like breaking down, taking time over the score that we all know, and with the text we have been able to re-address and play around with different actions, thoughts, vocal lines. Approaching it anew. It's been so Precious.

What is different this time around vs. rehearsing for a show pre-pandemic?

Rehearing with the cast.

When I came here to join the company pre-pandemic, I had a weeks' worth of rehearsals and a put in with the cast and then I was on so no time to get to play and work with the current onstage cast but this time I've got to know, laugh, play, cry, and managed to squeeze in a few drinks, with this beautiful bunch of human beings, that for me has been a total highlight of this process!

What are you most looking forward to about your show beginning performances?

Telling our story! After the last 18 months we have all been through, if there is one story I personally would want to watch, it would be this one!

This story is so relevant and rings true right now. Us humans need to rely on and support each other at this moment more than ever before. That what I want to get across through our show.

Do you have a favorite moment in the show that you're looking forward to putting back on stage?

There isn't one particular moment, as I feel this show moves from one moment into the next without you even realizing and it's all so very important right now.

What have you learned from this experience the past year and a half that you will carry with you in the future?

That life is way too short and far too precious to ever take it for granted! I will cherish every single moment on stage like I never have done before in the past. And to hear & listen to people and help in any way I can to make injustices and racism not be part of my every day. To lean in more.

What does the return of Broadway mean to you?

It means that New York is ready to reopen and welcome the world back in. If Broadway is closed NY is too so it's massive to me and everyone involved in every play and show on Broadway and off Broadway. We need to lead this post pandemic reopening with great care and all do our bit to stay safe and healthy so we can come back for good!

COME FROM AWAY began performances on February 18, 2017, and officially opened to critical acclaim on March 12, 2017, at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street), where the show continued to play to standing- room-only audiences until it was forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12, 2020, the evening of its third anniversary on Broadway. On Tuesday, September 21, 2021, Come From Away will return to Broadway to play its 1,251st perforrmance.

COME FROM AWAY tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.

On September 11, 2001, the world stopped. On September 12, their stories moved us all.