TCU Alumna Jackie Raye Is Living Her Broadway Dream in “Wicked”

At a February matinee in New York City’s Gershwin Theatre, the cast of Wicked takes the stage for the second scene of Act 1 to the tune of “Dear Old Shiz,” as students arrive at Shiz University for the first day of school in Oz. When Nessarose — a student who uses a wheelchair — rolls onto stage, a curtain rises for Jackie Raye ’16. This is her first time performing a principal role on Broadway. 

Raye joined the national touring production of Wicked in September 2019 as a swing, a performer who understudies multiple roles. On tour, she performed as part of the ensemble and, at times, as Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good, and Nessarose, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the East. 

After five years on tour, Raye joined the New York City-based cast of Wicked as a swing. Performing as Nessarose that February afternoon made the Broadway dream she had been working toward since childhood a reality.

“My principal debut on Broadway … was an insane feeling,” Raye said. “I’m doing this for my younger self … my little quiet self did it. And she followed her dreams and fell down a lot of times along the way, but it still happened. And it was just a beautiful day.” 

By high school, Raye knew she wanted to perform on Broadway. She spent her teenage years in school productions and community theatre, her feet tap dancing beneath her desk while she listened to her teacher.

Finding Her Voice

Raye was born in Fort Worth, where her father worked for the TCU football team as a special teams coordinator before moving his family to Georgia. Raye described herself as a very shy child. 

“I was singing in fourth grade choir, and my choir teacher told my mom that I had a great voice and I should try out for the Georgia Children’s Choir,” Raye said. “I was mortified and I said, ‘I will not be singing.’ ” 

Shyness did not hold Raye back for long. One night after watching her older sister’s dance performance, Raye told her parents that she wanted to perform — and she meant it. She took private dance and voice lessons throughout middle school and, in eighth grade, stepped on stage for the first time. 

By the time Raye went to high school, she knew exactly what she wanted out of life — to perform on Broadway. She spent her teenage years taking part in school productions and community theatre. During the day, her feet tap danced beneath her desk while she listened to her teacher’s instructions. 

A spring break trip to New York with her family sealed the deal. 

“I remember even at 17 wanting to memorize the streets and how the grid system worked … I wasn’t intimidated by it,” Raye said. “It fueled me and it made me happy. New York is crazy, but it’s always been a very happy place for me.” 

There’s No Place Like TCU

Raye’s decision to join TCU’s competitive musical theatre program came from her personal connection to the university, her desire to balance academics with fine arts and the Nordan scholarship. The curriculum gave her a new focus on acting. 

“I was doing a lot of singing and dancing as a teenager,” Raye said. “But Theatre TCU gave me the acting tools of what I do for a living.” 

She immediately made an impression in the theatre department, landing the title role in No, No, Nanette during her first year. 

“Not only was she talented … she worked hard and improved during her time here,” said Harry Parker, professor of theatre. “She was focused. She was pleasant, easy to get along with … I remember that her peers tended to call her ‘Mama Jackie,’ which was an indication that she was probably a little more grown up than the rest of them.” 

“I was doing a lot of singing and dancing as a teenager. But Theatre TCU gave me the acting tools of what I do for a living.”
Jackie Raye

Raye believes that TCU helped shape who she is today, both as an actress and as a human, from her love of Stephen Sondheim musicals to her lifelong friendships. 

“She’s so fiercely loyal and loves everyone — to know Jackie is to love her,” said Taylor Quick ’16, Raye’s TCU roommate, close friend and a swing on the national tour of Wicked. “She’s so bubbly and vivacious and no matter where we are, we are laughing.”

Big City, Big Breaks

Raye got a jump start on her Broadway dreams through Theatre TCU’s Senior Showcase, a program that takes graduating seniors to New York to spotlight their talents in the hopes of signing with an agent, which she did. 

Raye, front row far left, signed with an agent through Theatre TCU’s Senior Showcase. Photo by Amy Peterson

One of her first steady roles was with the Disney Cruise Line cast as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Raye spent an entire year performing at sea. 

After the contract ended and she returned to New York, Raye took jobs in hospitality while juggling small acting roles. She continued to put in work through consistent auditions and personal voice and dance coaching. 

A couple of years later, Raye applied to a three-session Wicked seminar that gave actors the opportunity to work with the show’s directors — and was waitlisted. Two of the three sessions had passed when she got an email saying that someone had dropped the seminar and there would be one space at the final session. She decided to join even though she would be two lessons behind her peers. 

The following day, she sang a selection of songs for Glinda. The music director stopped her after class and invited her to audition for the show’s tour the next day. 

Raye landed a spot as a swing on the national tour of Wicked and, for the next five years, she traveled the United States, performing eight shows per week and stepping into lead roles dozens of times. During her time on tour with Wicked, highlights included performing alongside Quick. 

“I was on as Glinda,” Quick said. “Glinda comes down in the bubble and there’s a part where I take Jackie’s hand and I looked at her and I was like, ‘I’ve known those eyes for over 10 years.’ It was such a special moment.” 

Raye also got to perform in Dallas in the first touring Broadway show to reopen after the pandemic — and invited her TCU professors to attend the final dress rehearsal. 

“The moment the show started, and the first actor walked out on stage, I began to weep,” said Jennifer Engler, chair of TCU’s theatre department. “It was so exciting to me that one of our students was a part of that process and a part of bringing Broadway back.” 

Another memorable moment came the night Raye performed in Atlanta as Glinda, to an audience that included her family, friends and former theatre and dance teachers.

Tapping into Glinda’s enthusiastic and expressive character, Raye kicked so hard that her pink shoe flew off her foot and landed on the bed next to Elphaba. Without skipping a beat, Raye picked up the shoe and pretended to use it as a phone. The audience erupted with laughter. 

Home at Last

Raye was a swing on the “Wicked” national tour for five years and is a swing on Broadway, where her principal debut came as Nessarose.

One Sunday morning in 2024, Raye woke up feeling decisive — she knew that it was time to leave the national tour, and she submitted her notice. The very next day, she was asked to join the Broadway production in New York.

“It felt like the right timing after five years to step away and revisit my loved ones who were patiently waiting for me to come home while they supported me for many years,” Raye said.

While being on Broadway in New York is calmer than the tour life, it still involves a very rigorous schedule: eight performances a week and only Mondays off.

“You need to be quite strong physically and mentally to be on stage every single night,” Raye said. “So that’s taking care of myself … making sure I’m in the gym and I’m lifting heavy things and I’m still taking dance training and I’m getting sleep and I’m nourishing my body.”

In her free time, Raye enjoys solving Sudoku puzzles, shopping with friends, attending church and visiting her family in Georgia. She also makes a point to stay in touch with her TCU family. Raye has helped with and performed at Theatre TCU’s Alumni and Senior Showcase in New York — the same event where she found an agent. 

Among her future dream roles is Christine Daaé from Phantom of the Opera. For now, she continues to pour her soul into her Wicked roles. 

“My goal,” she said, is to “spread joy, be humorous, be funny, have a twinkle in my eye — make the day light.”