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[0:00] Mo Brady: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Mo Brady.

[0:22] Jessica Rush: Jessica Rush has performed in a remarkable six Broadway shows in the last ten years, but a large chunk of that time was spent in the ensemble of Jersey Boys. She's also the co-host of the very great and very good podcast Mama’s Talkin’ Loud, also available on the Broadway Podcast Network. But having spent almost six years and more than 2,300 performances in Jersey Boys, Jess shares with us today how working a long-running show changed her life, both as an artist and a mama. Here, in her own words, is Jessica Rush.

[0:54] Jessica Rush: Hey guys, it's Jessica Rush here. I wanted to talk to you today about the family that we create when we're doing a show. I think anyone who works in the theater understands this, whether it's on stage or on the crew or in management, in the pit, the designers, anyone. It's a super special family, and particularly the ones who are in the building eight shows a week, umpteen hours of rehearsals and put-ins. During this strange time, it has this intermission as we can say, for lack of a better term. I have become acutely aware of what having that family brings to my life and how lucky I've been throughout the years to have wonderful families as part of my story and my journey as an actor. There's something very special about the group of people that do what we do.

And it's amazing, I think, how quickly we find ourselves connecting with one another and, you know, it's almost immediate. I think back on those first days of rehearsal and how quickly the bonding happens and begins, and particularly then once we get into tech and the long hours, but I just, it's so super special and it's something that I'm missing a lot in my life right now. I was thinking about it particularly a couple days ago on August 10th, as that was the 10-year anniversary of the day that I began rehearsals to join the Broadway company of Jersey Boys. Now, I can't believe it's been 10 years, that is crazy, but I was thinking about that time and I ended up being in Jersey Boys for the better part of six years.

I joined right before the fifth anniversary and I was there through getting married and planning my wedding, but I was thinking about that time and particularly right now, because we are all spread far and wide and our theater families are communicating on text threads and we're not connected. And I just thought maybe some others would want to hear my thoughts as well. Maybe they were feeling the same thing. 10 years ago today, I started rehearsals for Jersey Boys on Broadway.

[3:45] Jessica Rush: I joined the company a few months before its five-year anniversary and was there for the closing six years, almost 2,300 performances and over 40,000 costume changes later. Who would have ever thunk? In our business, there are shows that are known as government jobs. Jersey Boys was one of them. Along with Wicked and Phantom, Lion King, and now Hamilton, of course, these are shows that aren't going anywhere. Joining these companies takes the weight off. It allows us actors to breathe and settle in for a second, not worry so much about making ends meet. Maybe people buy a house or get married and have a baby. Hello, me. Or just appreciate the fact that they can take a break from the hustle for a while.

These shows are true blessings and the company is a family. I've been thinking a lot about my friends in those long-running shows and the plans and dreams that so many had for their lives thanks to booking them. You know, there are lots of people who just plan to settle in and stay there until it's over. Or perhaps they want to send their kid to college or maybe they want to begin the surrogacy journey toward adoption. Or maybe they just want to relax for a minute. And that's gone now. It's so surreal and heartbreaking. Jersey Boys was magic. There was something really special about the building, the company, and the family. I didn't realize it at the time. We spent more time with each other than our actual families.

We know the names of each other's parents and kids. We went through weddings, divorces, babies being born, and the deaths of loved ones. I mean, one of my favorite stories is the day that Kara Cooper told everyone she was pregnant. There were lots of dads in the building, but she was going to be the first mom. She did the half-hour call and said, and the role of Mary Delgado will be played today by someone who has a bun in the oven. And if you had heard the screams and the shouts all up and down the stairwell and everyone came running, all those guys, you know, we often said it was like working in a frat house, working at Jersey Boys, being so outnumbered men to women. That day, oh my God, it was amazing.

They came running down, hugging and crying, tears of such joy. We were all bonded in that moment in a way that I can't explain to other people. Strangers truly become your family. The connection we had as a company is something I will always hold so dear. These are not just jobs, and we can't just find something new. Our work is embedded in our souls. It is so much of who we are. You can't recreate the bond that happens inside of a theater. It's just not possible. It's pretty unbreakable. I mean, hell, we still have a group text thread from Jersey Boys three and a half years after we've closed. Who knew when I became a Jersey girl, the years I'd be there or the family I'd gain. There's nothing like it, truly. I cannot wait for the day we are all back with our families. I am sending you so much love out there in this time of uncertainty.

[8:01] Jessica Rush: And more instability than we have ever known. You are not alone. We are connected as artists, as people in our Broadway community, and in our souls as human beings who create. It's a special person that does that. I'm thinking of you all and dreaming of the day we walk back through those stage doors. Be well, friends. Keep breathing and take care.

[8:52] Mo Brady: Special thanks to Jessica Rush for sharing her stories with us today. The Ensemblist was produced today by Jackson Klein and me, Mo Brady. There are two great ways you can be helping The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And the second is by becoming a Patreon member, which you can do at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow The Ensemblist wherever you listen to podcasts, whether that be on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at bpn.fm, the home of Broadway Podcast Network. You can also follow us on Instagram. Thanks for listening. Until next time.