They Began the SHUCKED Tour as a Family of 3 — and Ended Their Epic Journey as a Family of 4

Quinn VanAntwerp and Mackenzie Bell have a very special place in their hearts for the musical Shucked. 

Bell, 38, performed in an early iteration of the musical, then under the title Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical, and her husband VanAntwerp, 39, opened Shucked on Broadway. Their daughter Lennon was born during previews in New York in 2023. 

After the show played its final performance at the Nederlander Theatre, both Bell and VanAntwerp were given the special opportunity to go on tour with the musical. When the couple was deciding whether or not to take the job and hit the road with their young daughter, they thought, “This is the last time we could ever do it before she has to go to school. She doesn’t have any responsibilities at the moment,” VanAntwerp exclusively tells BroadwayWorld. “Okay, one last adventure.” 

According to VanAntwerp, the beginning was a bit of a “logistical nightmare,” considering luggage for three, a crib, travel and babysitting. But the couple adapted quickly. 

“We packed the bare minimum,” says Bell, “and hoped for the best.”

They decided early on that VanAntwerp would drive their way around the country, and his wife and daughter would fly to the next tour stop if it was more than four or five hours away. Each of Lennon’s grandmothers flew to various cities to help out when Mom and Dad were at work, and VanAntwerp and Bell found babysitters when needed. 

During their downtime from performing in Shucked — VanAntwerp in the role of Gordy with his wife in the ensemble — they explored the various cities with Lennon, now 3, taking her to zoos, aquariums, libraries and parks. 

“In the beginning, we were doing a lot of firsts,” says VanAntwerp. “There’s a great video of her trick-or-treating for the first time when she was 1. She’s actually going to all of the hotel rooms in the company hotel, and everybody got candy to give to her. She dressed up as a little version of [the character of] Maizy.” 

“Basically, all of her friends are 28 to 35!” he adds.  

As the couple began adjusting to life on tour with a little one, they suddenly had to adapt again. Along the journey, VanAntwerp and Bell learned that they were pregnant with baby No. 2. 

“We always were going to have a second kid, but it happened sooner than we had anticipated,” says VanAntwerp. 

“She just needed to join the fun,” says Bell. 

Not only were VanAntwerp and Bell raising Lennon while traveling the country and performing nightly, “We ended up flying by the seat of our pants and finding doctors who would see us,” says Bell, who performed in the show until she was seven months pregnant. 

During a layoff, VanAntwerp moved their family to his native California, and their second daughter Lila was born when they were playing the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles last year. 

“Traveling with a newborn is actually not terrible because she’s so chill, and she doesn’t require a whole lot,” says Bell of making the choice to continue touring as a family of four. “The decision was hard, but I’m glad that we made the decision we made.” 

Bell didn’t go back into the show after Lila, now 9 months, was born; however, she and the girls would still travel back and forth as VanAntwerp continued on in Shucked. “I know Quinn really wanted to finish out the run and finish out his journey with the show,” says Bell. “We love it so much.” 

At times, it was a challenge for the family — and VanAntwerp and Bell note that their older daughter Lennon only knows what life is like living on the road. “My daughter started doing this thing about six months ago where she would put on a show, and then she’d say, ‘OK, it’s time to load out and go to the next city.’ And she’d pack it all up and do ‘load out,’ and then she’d ‘load in’ again and say that she was in a new city.”

Still, VanAntwerp and Bell have had an incredible time getting to work and travel with their growing family. “[Lennon] turned 2 in Schenectady and 3 in Toronto. And she’s had all these big life events. We’ve had Christmases on the road,” says VanAntwerp. “I think, in a lot of ways, it sounds like it’s harder for us because we have to travel a whole family, but I think it’s been really nice for the company to have a family.” 

As for what’s next when the tour officially wraps up June 7 in Las Vegas, VanAntwerp, Bell and their two girls will settle into life in New York — and they’re excited about the change of pace.  

“We’re looking forward to having a home and being stable and really giving her friends and community,” VanAntwerp says of his older daughter Lennon, who’s spent most of her life on tour. “She’s going to start going to pre-K and getting to do all the things that kids should do. 

“That’s our next chapter of life, for sure.”