JOHN & JEN Starring Rachel Tucker and Lewis Cornay to Stream on BroadwayHD

The beautiful and haunting score emotionally captures the zeitgeist of contemporary America.

By: Dec. 13, 2021
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.

JOHN & JEN Starring Rachel Tucker and Lewis Cornay to Stream on BroadwayHD

BroadwayHD will be bringing 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, exclusively to the platform globally on December 15th. Filmed in summer 2021 at the Southwark Playhouse in London, the worldwide premier of the updated production stars Olivier Award nominee Rachel Tucker (Come From Away, Wicked, The Last Ship Broadway productions) and Lewis Cornay (The Book of Mormon West End production). Produced by Bray Productions with direction by Guy Retallack. The digital capture is directed by Austin Shaw (42nd Street: The Musical, Anything Goes, An American in Paris) with orchestrations by Jason Robert Brown (13, The Last 5 Years) and Andrew Lippa.

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.

Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald said, "This new London-born production of "John & Jen" has been gloriously captured on film and forever captured our hearts. You'll see, when Rachel Tucker and Lewis Cornay inhabit our musical, just how deeply two great singing actors can move, inspire, and entertain. Powerfully directed on stage by Guy Retallack and masterfully filmed by Austin Shaw, this production of "John & Jen" will help the show reach a new audience of families and musical theater lovers, and we couldn't be happier."

Guy Retallack, director said, "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. Over the course of an hour and a half we traverse generations. This heartrending musical captures the intricacies of family relationships with astute lyrics and a swelling score. John and Jen is a compelling story where we recognise ourselves and the choices we might have made. Bring tissues!"

Austin Shaw, producer said, "This production of John & Jen has so much emotional power and grows in your heart the more you see it and hear it. It's always a privilege to work with a wonderfully collaborative creative team who have delivered a first class show on stage, and ensure that their work is captured for new audiences to enjoy on screen forever".

Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane, co-founders of BroadwayHD said, "John & Jen is such a powerful musical exploring family relationships and was really brought to life this summer at the Southwark Playhouse. We are thrilled to bring this new digital capture to BroadwayHD so viewers around the world can experience the story."

To learn more about BroadwayHD, visit www.broadwayhd.com.


Vote Sponsor


Videos