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Mars Storm Rucker (born January 9, 1997) is an American actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, writer, collaborative artist and musician. They are best known for being the first out nonbinary and genderqueer person on Broadway.[1]They made their Broadway debut in 2019 as the first out non-binary person on Broadway to originate a role as (Alline Bullock), Tina Turner's sister in the musical TINA, nominated for 12 Tony Awards.[2]

Early life and education

Rucker was born in Richmond Virginia and raised in Houston,Texas. They started dance classes when they were a young child, but became paralyzed with Transverse Myelitis at six.[3] After much rehabilitation and what they say was a "miracle situation", they were able to regain their ability to walk and dance again, after being told they would never be able to walk again. The tv show, Glee, inspired them to dive into Musical Theatre and in their senior year of high school, they decided to choose it as their career.[4]

They attended University of Oklahoma for musical theatre for a year before transferring to Manhattan School of Music for Musical Theatre.

Career

Rucker's first became known due to being the main vocalist of Jahari Stampley's YouTube band that made covers that consistently went viral on social media.[5][6]

Rucker's first prominent professional role was their role as Alline Bullock, Tina Turner's sister in the U.S. original Broadway production of TINA-The Tina Turner Musical in 2019.

Later in 2021, post the Covid 19 pandemic, they were cast as a featured dancer in Bill T Jones choreography and alternate for Lillias White as Madame Sisseretta in musical Black No More, written by John Ridley and music by The Roots MC, Black Thought at the Signature Theatre.[7]

In 2021, Rucker played the featured role of Rochelle in the short film MAJOR, written and directed by Christopher Betts and executive produced by Tarell Alvin Mcraney and Glenn Davis. The film would be nominated for Best Dramatic Short in the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival.[8]

Rucker then gained wider prominence as the alternate for Thoughts 1, 2, and 3, in the critically acclaimed and Pulitzer Prize winning, A Strange Loop.[9] They would record a solo song for the show for the album Broadway's Carol for a Cure and the cast would go on to win the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and Best Musical.[10] They were with the show until it closed on January 15th, 2023.

On December 15, 2022, it was announced that Mars would play the principal role of Dasia[11] in National Black Theatre and Rattlestick Theatre's first co-production together in the world premiere of a new called Amani.[12] It opened February 6th 2023 and closed March 12th 2023. Mars also choreographed for this production (BluePrint Choreography)[13]

Mars would then go on to play themselves and be a writing collaborator[14] in Tik Tok mega star, Dylan Mulvaney's Day 365 Live! show at the iconic Rainbow Room in New York. "The show raised awareness and funds for the Trevor Project, which provides crisis support and mental health resources for LGBTQ+ youth." Along with featuring Mars, the show included Rachel Brosnahan, Dominique Jackson, Jonathan Van Ness, Reneé Rapp, and L Morgan Lee. The 80-minute show was so popular the website would crash the internet and was watched by over 20,000 viewers live. The show would be put on streaming for folks to continue to purchase.[15]

On May 4, 2021, Mars released their sound healing EP called variations in green.[16]

For June 2023 Pride, Mars would be a featured model in Sak' Off Fifth's Gender Neutral Capsule Collection Campaign and be a featured model in the Human Rights Campaign Sexual Health Awareness campaign.[17]

Theatre credits

Year(s) Production Role Location
2019–2020 Tina-The Tina Turner Musical Alline Bullock/Ikette Broadway
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
2021–2022 Black No More[18] Madamme Sisseretta (alt)[citation needed] Off-Broadway
Signature Theatre
2022-2023 A Strange Loop Thoughts 1, 2, and 3 (alt) Broadway
2023 Amani[19] Dasia Off Broadway

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2021 Major[citation needed] Rochelle Short film

References

  1. ^ Connolly, William J. (2019-11-08). "Meet the transenby/non-binary trailblazer making queer history on Broadway". GAY TIMES. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  2. ^ "Tony Awards - TINA The Musical". the-world-of-tina.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  3. ^ "Mars Rucker Was Paralyzed as a Child; Now They're Dancing in Broadway's Tina". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  4. ^ Gotta Dance: Mars Rucker of TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL, retrieved 2024-01-11
  5. ^ Save ME - BTS (방탄소년단) (STRING & VOCALS) - Jahari Stampley ft. Mars Rucker, retrieved 2024-01-20
  6. ^ Gonna Be Alright - Robert Glasper (VOCAL COVER) - Jahari Stampley ft. Stefan Haerle & Mars Rucker, retrieved 2024-01-20
  7. ^ "Full Cast Announced for Black No More!".
  8. ^ "Nominations: February 2023". INDIE SHORT FEST. 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  9. ^ "Mars Rucker in conversation with TDF!".
  10. ^ "A STRANGE LOOP's Mars Rucker Records 'CAROLS FOR A CURE' - Get An Exclusive Look Inside the Session!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  11. ^ AMANI Meet Mars Rucker, retrieved 2024-01-17
  12. ^ https://playbill.com/article/cast-complete-for-national-black-theatre-world-premiere-of-amani-starring-denise-manning
  13. ^ "Cast of Amani!". simplebooklet.com. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  14. ^ "Presenting the cast of Dylan Mulvaney's 365 Live!". www.marquee.digital. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  15. ^ Ferme, Antonio (2023-03-14). "Inside Dylan Mulvaney's star-studded 'Day 365 of Girlhood' show that crashed the internet". Variety.
  16. ^ "Exclusive: How Mars Rucker Found Healing Through Songwriting". Playbill.
  17. ^ "Beyond the Stereotypes: A Deep Dive into Sex Work (Model-Mars Rucker)". Human Rights Campaign. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  18. ^ https://playbill.com/article/cast-complete-for-black-no-more-musical-starring-tariq-black-thought-trotter-lillias-white-and-brandon-victor-dixon
  19. ^ https://playbill.com/article/world-premiere-of-a.k.-paynes-amani-opens-february-16

External links

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