Cheyenne Jackson
(born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. [1] He started in regional theater when he moved to Seattle and after moving to New York City made his 2002 Broadway theatre debut understudying both male leads in the Tony Award-winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie
. In 2005, he originated his first Broadway leading role in All Shook Up
earning him a Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut".
In films, Jackson portrayed Mark Bingham in the 2006 Academy Award nominated United 93
which earned him the Boston Society of Film Critics 2006 award for "Best Ensemble Cast". He has also appeared in the films Curiosity
, and Hysteria
. In television he has guest starred on several series including; Lipstick Jungle
, Life on Mars
, Ugly Betty
, and Glee
. In 2008, Jackson was cast as the series lead Sebastian Kinglare, and filmed the Lifetime Television pilot Family Practice
opposite Anne Archer and Beau Bridges. [2] The series was not picked up for distribution. He also has an album in process but it has been delayed due to his television work.
Jackson has starred in several notable webisode series and in 2009 starred in a sold out one man show, "Back to the Start." [3] In 2008, he was named Out
magazine's Entertainer of the year and he lent his time to many LGBT and HIV/AIDS charities. [4]
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CHEYENNE JACKSON TICKETS
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Early life
Jackson was born in
Idaho and was named by his father after a 1950s Western.
The third of four children they were raised along a "teeny
mill town", of about 1,200 people, in the rural area on the Washington-Idaho border.
Most people worked at either the paper mill or the sawmill.
The family lived on forty acres next to the river between the two states their home initially had no indoor plumbing.
His father is a
Native American and a
Vietnam vet, Jackson characterizes him as the "manliest man in the West."
[5]
His mom taught Jackson, his sister and two brothers to sing and regularly played music from
Joan Baez,
Joni Mitchell,
Bob Dylan and
Elvis; singing was a big part of their lives.
So was religion; his parents were
evangelical born-again Christians and this caused tension when he
came out to them as
gay at nineteen after he had moved to
Spokane, Washington.
They didn't speak for a while and religion interfered with communicating.
His brother is a pastor who preached on the
700 Club.
Eventually the family accepted his being gay.
Later he moved to Seattle, Washington where he worked as an ad executive at a magazine and did some theater on the side earning his
Equity card.
"As soon as I found out what theater was, what
Broadway was, I thought,
Oh, that's what I'll do with my life.
Just a matter of getting all the pieces in place."
Inspired to rethink his career after both a death in his family and the
9-11 attacks he moved to New York despite being in a committed relationship.
He felt the risk was worth it and began auditioning for roles.
Career
Early in his career, Jackson worked as a back up singer for
Vanessa Williams,
Heather Headley, and
Liza Minnelli.
[6] [7]
Regionally, Jackson has appeared as Tony in
West Side Story
, as Joey in
The Most Happy Fella
, as Cain in
Children of Eden
, as Berger in
Hair
, as Billy Bigelow in
Carousel
, as Joe Hardy in
Damn Yankees
, as Rocky in
The Rocky Horror Show
, and as The Poet in
Kismet
, among many other productions.
Jackson made his
Broadway debut
understudying both male leads in the
Tony Award-winning
musical Thoroughly Modern Millie
. He later served as the standby for the character of Radames in
Aida
, then originated the role of Matthew in the
off-Broadway production of
Altar Boyz
. In 2005, he originated his first Broadway leading role in the musical tribute to
Elvis Presley,
All Shook Up
. His performance as Chad earned him much critical praise, the
Theatre World Award, as well as nominations from the
Drama League and
Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor.
[8]
In 2006, Jackson starred Off-Broadway in playwright
Nicky Silver's
The Agony and The Agony
with
Victoria Clark. In June 2007, less than a week before the scheduled opening night, Jackson assumed the lead role of Sonny on Broadway in
Xanadu
. He replaced actor James Carpinello who had been injured during rehearsal. Previous workshop productions of the musical starred Jackson and
Jane Krakowski. However, both Jackson and Krakowski opted out of the initial
Broadway run, citing schedule conflicts.
[9] His performance as Sonny would go on to earn him nominations from the
Drama League and
Drama Desk for Outstanding Lead Actor.
Xanadu
had several
Tony Award nominations including "Best New Musical" for which Jackson and the cast performed on the
62nd Tony Awards show.
[10]
In 2008, Jackson re-teamed with Jane Krakowski and
Sean Hayes (
Will & Grace
) to star in New York City Center's production of
Damn Yankees
. He returned to City Center in 2009, playing Woody Mahoney in the revival of
Finian's Rainbow
which was praised by critics.
[11] [12] [13] Jackson also starred in the development workshop of the musical with the working title of
Mormon Musical
by
Trey Parker,
Matt Stone, and
Robert Lopez (who co-wrote the music for
Avenue Q
); the musical will be about
Mormons and has a planned 2009 opening.
[14]
Cheyenne has guest starred on television series including;
Lipstick Jungle
,
Life on Mars
, and
Ugly Betty
. In 2008, Jackson was cast as the series lead Sebastian Kinglare, and filmed the
Lifetime Television pilot
Family Practice
opposite
Anne Archer and
Beau Bridges.
The series was not picked up for distribution.
Jackson has starred in several notable
webisode series including; "
Cubby Bernstein" opposite
Nathan Lane, "Legally Brown" with
Allison Janney , and "The [title of show] Show" from the
meta-fictional Broadway musical [
Title of show
].
[15] [16]
In March 2009, Cheyenne made his nightclub debut at
Feinstein's at Lowes Regency with a sold out one man show titled "Back to the Start". He later teamed up with
Michael Feinstein to create a nightclub act titled "The Power of Two". The show was praised by the
New York Times
,
Variety
, and the
New York Daily News
among others.
[17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
In October 2009, he is scheduled to reprise the role of Woody Hayes in the Broadway revival of the 1947 musical
Finian's Rainbow
at
St. James Theatre, costarring with
Jim Norton and
Kate Baldwin.
[22]
Personal life
He is
openly gay and an
LGBT rights supporter, as well as an advocate for several
AIDS charities including
American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
[23] [24] Jackson's partner, Monte, is a physicist; they have been together since 1999.
[5]
Professional credits
;
Filmography
Year
| Title
| Role
|
2008
| Shifting the Canvas
| Leo Prudence
|
Hysteria
| Scott
|
2006
| United 93
| Mark Bingham
|
2005
| Curiosity
| Luke
|
;
Television
Year
| Title
| Network
| Role
|
| Ugly Betty
| ABC
| Guest Star
|
| Life on Mars
| ABC
| Guest Star
|
| Lipstick Jungle
| NBC
| Guest Star
|
| Family Practice
| Lifetime
| Series Lead
|
;
New York theater
Year
| Title
| Role
| Notes
|
2009
| Finian's Rainbow
| Woody
| New York City Center Encores!
|
2008
| Damn Yankees
| Joe Hardy
| New York City Center Encores!
|
2007
| Xanadu
| Sonny Malone (Original)
| Helen Hayes Theatre
|
2006
| The Agony and The Agony
| Chet
| Vineyard Theatre
|
2005
| The 24 Hour Plays
| Kevin
| American Airlines Theatre
|
On the Twentieth Century
| "Life is Like a Train" Porter
| New Amsterdam Theater
|
All Shook Up
| Chad (Original)
| Palace Theatre
|
2004
| Altar Boyz
| Matthew
| Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre (NYMF production)
|
2003
| Aida
| Radames (Replacement)
| Palace Theater
|
2002
| Thoroughly Modern Millie
| Jimmy Smith/ U/S Trevor Graydon (Replacement)
| Marquis Theater
|
;
Regional theater
Year
| Title
| Role
| Company
|
| The Rocky Horror Show
| Rocky
| 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle
|
| Hair
| Berger
| 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle
|
| West Side Story
| Tony
| Village Theatre
|
| Beowulf
| Beowulf
| Seattle Repertory Theatre
|
| Damn Yankees
| Joe Hardy
| Civic Light Opera
|
| Carousel
| Billy
| Civic Light Opera
|
| South Pacific
| Lt. Cable
| Carousel Players
|
Awards and honors
;
Awards/honors:
- 2005 Theatre World Award, Outstanding Broadway Debut - All Shook Up
[26]
- 2006 Boston Society of Film Critics, Best Ensemble Cast - ''United 93'" [27]
;
Nominations:
- 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor -All Shook Up
[28]
- 2005 Drama League, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor - All Shook Up
[29]
- 2008 Drama Desk, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor - Xanadu
[30]
- 2008 Drama League, Distinguished Performance Award- Xanadu
[31]
References
- The Official Cheyenne Jackson Website
- Anne Archer Joins Cable Pilot
- Broadway's 'It' Boy: Out Broadway Baby Cheyenne Jackson Lends His Talents and Chops to Metro-D.C. PFLAG Doug Rule, March 19, 2009, ''Metro Weekly''.
- Out Magazine 2008 Entertainer of the Year
- ''The Advocate'', issue 1006 (April 22, 2008).
- Vanessa Williams: Silver and Gold
- I Blame Liza ………
- Shaking up B'way
- Title Unavailable
- 2007-2008 Tony Nominations Announced; In the Heights Earns 13 Noms.
- An Irish Immigrant in Missitucky With the Lowdown on High Finance
- Brief Dazzling Vision
- Finian's Rainbow
- Mormons to get 'South Park' treatment
- [title of show] is totally title of show
- '[title of show]' Kicks Broadway's Big-Spending Habit
- What Secret Hearts? Let the Sunshine In
- Cabarets Change
- The Power of Two
- Life Is Still a Cabaret , Vow Feinstein, Jackson
- Odd Couple Take Over City Cabaret
- Cheyenne Jackson Follows ‘Finian’s Rainbow’ to Broadway
- Title Unavailable
- amfAR Honoring with Pride
- ''The Advocate'', issue 1006 (April 22, 2008).
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