News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

VIDEO: Rachel Tucker & Guy Retallack Talk JOHN & JEN on Backstage with Richard Ridge

John & Jen is now available to stream on Broadway HD.

By: Jan. 15, 2022
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.



Broadway is back and BroadwayWorld is bringing you all of the interviews you crave with your favorite Broadway stars! Richard Ridge is keeping up with all of their latest projects on Backstage Live, bringing you in-depth interviews weekly. Below, watch as he chats with husband and wife, Rachel Tucker and Guy Retallack.

Retallack directs Tucker (alongside Lewis Cornay) in a brand new digital capture of Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald's musical John & Jen, an intimate look at the complexities of familial relationships in a changing America. Filmed in summer 2021 at the Southwark Playhouse in London, it is now available to stream in Broadway HD.

The digital capture of John & Jen, by Bray Productions and Stage2View productions in association with BroadwayHD, has been updated since the last revival to reflect modern times, and is an emotional rollercoaster of a musical that explores the dynamics of family relationships. The musical starts off in 1985 with John and Jen, brother and sister, who were born seven years apart and grow up together totally inseparable. Jen makes a "forever pact" with her little brother to always protect him against anything and anyone, including their own dad. The production fast forwards to 2005, where Jen lives alone in Canada with her baby boy whom she has named John, a living memorial to the brother she failed to protect. The beautiful and haunting score emotionally captures the zeitgeist of contemporary America.

Retallack said of the project: "What struck me immediately was how much John & Jen is a musical for now, despite being written almost 30 years ago. Andrew's haunting score and Tom's incisive narrative capture contemporary America. I felt inspired to ask the writers to update the timeline, because of what I saw happening all around us, families being torn apart for the beliefs they hold, and I'm delighted they agreed."

watch as the duo tells us even more about how they became involved with the project and what they've been up to otherwise!




Videos