By Ameera Steward | The Birmingham Times
Racquel Williams, a Homewood High School graduate, knew she always wanted to sing on a big stage and now she has a chance — on Broadway.
That’s right. Williams recently made her Broadway debut in The Book of Mormon — a musical comedy following two missionaries sent to Uganda to preach their faith.
“It’s just such a rare thing to happen [landing a role on Broadway],” said the 28-year-old. “So thankfully I think parents taught me to be persistent and not let the dream die because … I felt like I was born for this, so I always knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of time.”
Williams is playing what is called a “swing,” meaning she covers multiple roles — all of the female ensemble members as well as the lead.
The role is “pretty challenging” said Williams mostly because her brain doesn’t rest when she’s on a different track [ensemble role], and she’s always thinking of what is next as well as how to make sure she’s not in the way of ensemble members.
“To prepare I was given six weeks of rehearsal with the dance captain to learn every track,” she said. “Usually if I get the call that I am on for a track that day, I go through the whole show in my head and follow dance charts made by the dance captain, and review all the music.”
A Star is Born
Originally born in San Antonio, Texas, Williams is the middle child and has three sisters and one brother.
“My childhood was a lot of my parents taking me from rehearsal to rehearsal since I was a part of Birmingham’s Red Mountain Theatre Company and show choir in high school,” she said. “My siblings were either in sports or academics, so theatre wasn’t a huge thing I was exposed to. When I realized I wanted to do theatre my mom made sure to buy movie musical DVD’s I could watch and get inspired.”
However, it wasn’t until the age of 13 when she realized it was theater that had her heart.
“It wasn’t an actual musical that’s on Broadway … but it had music in it and Jordan Fisher [an actor and singer] … who’s Orpheus in [the play] Hadestown … that was the moment that I knew it was theater,” Williams explained. “I was so inspired by it, that’s when I knew I wanted to be in musical theatre.”
From that moment on she participated in shows at the Red Mountain Theater and began participating in the Homewood Middle School show choir. She was a part of both until she graduated from Homewood High School in 2014.
“I remember singing solos at the high school [Homewood] when I was in middle school, [thinking] this is the greatest thing ever,” she said.
“Singing for the high schoolers as a middle schooler obviously made me feel cool because older people thinking I was talented was a great feeling,” Williams recalled. “I also looked up to the people in show choir — The Network was the name of the show choir group everyone wanted to be a part of at the high school. Scott Thorne, my choir teacher, was such an awesome teacher and created incredible shows with a variety of music. It was just a blast getting to go to class everyday.”
“Talent That Was Undeniable”
Receiving so much support from her school, specifically Thorne helped her decide how far she wanted to go with her dream, she said, adding that Thorne “always knew that there was something there for me. He always believed in me.”
“From the time I saw her in 7th grade, I knew she was different,” Thorne told The Birmingham Times. She had a talent that was undeniable. In high school, everyone in the show choir world, nationally, knew Racquel because she won almost every single solo contest – including one [where] the judge was a Broadway singer who was blown away by her talent.
“I always knew she had the talent to make it to the Broadway stage, I am just so proud she had the grit and work ethic to get there,” he added. “Seeing her on that stage in her first of many Broadway shows was one of the highlights of my life. This is just the beginning for her.”
In addition to Thorne, Williams’ mother Theresa DeLeon, and Keith Cromwell, The Director of Institutional Advancement) of the Red Mountain Theater all “shaped me [into] the professional I am today,” she said.
“I enjoyed Red Mountain Theatre Company so much that I stayed with the program for four years,” she said.
Cromwell said he was able to see Racquel make her Broadway debut and “as usual when I see one of my kids succeed, I have tears in my eyes. I remember seeing Racquel perform for the first time at Glen Iris Elementary School [in Birmingham where she was a student], even at that moment I thought what a bright light.
“She continues to grow, overcome challenges and become not only a spectacular performer, but a spectacular human. It was an honor to be a part of her journey and an utter delight to watch her in her success,” Cromwell said.
After graduating from Homewood 2014, Williams relocated to New York where she studied an integrated program combining music, band, and acting at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). She graduated from the two-year-program in 2016.
Transitioning to New York from Homewood wasn’t a big adjustment for Williams because “I always felt like I was meant to be born here [New York],” she said. “It was just [an] immediate draw.”
What she misses most about home is “I wish I could explore more of the new restaurants and places that have opened up since leaving. And okay, maybe I miss the peacefulness of Homewood,” she said.
One of her first auditions out of [AMDA] was for Book of Mormon “because my professor was in the original cast…and this is the show that ends up being my Broadway debut,” she said.
On Oct. 1, Williams made her stage debut as one of the ensemble members the cast calls the ‘Steak Knife’ track.
Williams said she can’t explain what that means. “You’ll just have to come see the show,” she said.
