Rachel Tucker: West End and Broadway Star | Wicked Elphaba

Rachel Tucker: West End and Broadway Star, Wicked’s Longest-Running Elphaba

Rachel Tucker is a Northern Irish singer and actress best known for playing Elphaba in Wicked in both the West End and on Broadway.

With more than 1,000 performances as the green-skinned witch, she is one of the longest-running Elphabas in the show’s history and one of British musical theatre’s most in-demand leading ladies.

Early Life and Training

Rachel Tucker was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 29 May 1981. She trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, graduating into a career that would soon take her to the West End and Broadway.

Breakthrough on I’d Do Anything (2008)

Tucker first came to national attention in 2008 as a finalist on the BBC’s I’d Do Anything, the Andrew Lloyd Webber-judged search for a new Nancy in Oliver!.

She competed on the show alongside future stars including Samantha Barks and Jessie Buckley, and the exposure quickly led to her West End debut later that year as Meat in the Queen jukebox musical We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre.

Wicked: The West End Years

In 2010, Tucker took over the role of Elphaba in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London, succeeding Alexia Khadime.

In June 2012 she surpassed Kerry Ellis to become the longest-running West End Elphaba, holding the role for 31 months.

She later reprised the part for the show’s London 10th Anniversary Cast.

Wicked on Broadway

Tucker reprised her acclaimed performance as Elphaba on Broadway from 15 September 2015 at the Gershwin Theatre, opposite Jonah Platt as Fiyero. Her performance won her the 2016 Broadway.com Audience Award for Best Female Replacement.

Come From Away and Olivier Award Nomination

In 2018, Tucker joined the original West End cast of Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre, playing Beverley Bass and others.

Her performance earned her a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, cementing her reputation as one of the West End’s most versatile performers.

Sunset Boulevard, Hadestown and Other Recent Credits

Rachel Tucker has continued to take on landmark roles across London and New York. She has played Meg Dawson in Sting’s musical The Last Ship, directed by Joe Mantello, at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York and the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago.

She has appeared in Sunset Boulevard, alternating the role of Norma Desmond with Olivier Award-winner Nicole Scherzinger, as well as in Hadestown and The Great Gatsby.

Her further theatre credits include Two by Jim Cartwright at the Bridge House Theatre, Communicating Doors at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Farragut North at the Southwark Playhouse.

Music and Concert Career

Beyond musical theatre, Tucker is a recording artist and concert performer who has released solo material and toured her own concerts across the UK and United States. Her powerhouse vocals have made her a fixture on the West End gala and concert circuit.

Rachel Tucker Theatre Credits at a Glance

West End: Wicked (Apollo Victoria), We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre), Come From Away (Phoenix Theatre), Sunset Boulevard (Savoy Theatre), Hadestown (Lyric Theatre), The Great Gatsby (London Coliseum).

Broadway and US: Wicked (Gershwin Theatre), The Last Ship (Neil Simon Theatre, New York and Bank of America Theatre, Chicago).

Off-West End: Communicating Doors (Menier Chocolate Factory), Farragut North (Southwark Playhouse), Two (Bridge House Theatre)

Television: I’d Do Anything (BBC)