December 8 will be a big day for Cheyenne Jackson. That’s when he’ll take to the fabled stage at Carnegie Hall — with his mother.
“This is a little scoop,” he confides during a recent Zoom call. “My mom and my sister are going to join me on stage, and we’re going to sing a trio. We haven’t sung together in years. My mom, who’s a retired widow living in Southern California, is going to get a gown on, get her hair done. It’s going to be a family affair, and I’m so honored they’re doing it. It’s going to be so emotional.”
The show, which Jackson says will feature “an incredible set list — it’s daunting, it’s challenging,” is deeply personal, reflecting “a lot of themes that come from my life.”
He ponders the thought for a moment.
“I come from this little teeny town in northern Idaho. I grew up with no running water, an outhouse, very poor, very Christian. And really, the show is about how music was the thing that saved me and guided me out of this little town, where I felt like I didn’t belong, and got me all the way to Carnegie Hall.”
Before Carnegie Hall, however, the dulcet-voiced singer — whose Broadway credits include Xanadu and Finian’s Rainbow, and who is well known to TV fans for his chilling turns on American Horror Story — will first visit Washington, D.C., to perform with the American Pops Orchestra.
The powerhouse concert will also feature the vocal talents of Justin Guarini, who has starred on Broadway in Wicked and American Idiot, and James Monroe Iglehart, who originated the role of The Genie in Disney’s Aladdin and earned a Tony for it. “The Three Broadway Tenors” will take the stage at the Atlas Performing Arts Center next Thursday, November 6, under the baton of APO maestro Luke Frazier.
“What I love about performing with an orchestra is that you’re supported by this wall of sound, and everyone’s at the top of their game,” says the strikingly handsome 50-year-old, who looks at least a decade younger. “It reminds me of being on a movie set. Every single person is working toward the same goal at the same time. Every piece has to work for the finished product to succeed.”
When asked what songs he’ll perform, he grins sheepishly. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say, to be quite honest.” He quickly reconsiders. “But I don’t know if they’d mind, either. I’m going to do ‘Something’s Coming’ from West Side Story, and ‘Old Devil Moon’ and…” He stops short, leaving the tease at those two.
Our conversation is wide-ranging but easygoing, touching on everything from his current Broadway turn in the hit comedy Oh, Mary! — where he plays Mary’s teacher opposite star Jane Krakowski — to his role in Tina Romero’s delightfully campy queer zombie film Queens of the Dead.
“I can’t describe how much I’m obsessed with it,” he says of Oh, Mary! “It’s so joyful. I think I needed it spiritually right now, because of the times we’re living in. I’m absolutely having the time of my life.”
As for Queens of the Dead, he says, “I just saw the movie for the first time on Saturday, and I’m so pleased with it. It’s way better than it has any business being — Tina made that film for like $5 — and it has so much heart. You care about the characters. I’m sure it’s just the first of many, many films for her.”
Among the past projects we discuss is Netflix’s Julie and the Phantoms, a charming, imaginative 2020 musical series from producer Kenny Ortega that was frustratingly canceled after just one season.
“Somebody talks to me about that show almost every day!” Jackson exclaims. “I don’t know why it was canceled — I think it was just the cost of it — but it was short-sighted of Netflix. Obviously, I’m not privy to the numbers or how much things cost, but it seems to me the audience was overwhelmingly there, judging by how many random people still talk to me about it.”
His first mentor in New York City, he reveals, was stage legend Jerry Orbach.
“He was my next-door neighbor on 53rd and Eighth,” Jackson recalls. “He was always saying to me, ‘Try to say yes to everything, even if it seems like a small, insignificant part.’ I’ve always thought of my career as this long, winding road and try to look at it from a macro level. I don’t get too attached to projects because I know they’re going to end, even if it’s a sitcom where I’m making great money and it’s right by my house. I just enjoy it while it’s there, and when it’s over, I move on.”
APO’s “The Three Broadway Tenors,” with Cheyenne Jackson, Justin Guarini, and James Monroe Iglehart, is Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. Tickets range from $61.25 to $137.75, including fees. Call 202-399-7993 or visit theamericanpops.org.
Cheyenne Jackson performs Monday, December 8, at 8 p.m. in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, 881 Seventh Ave., in New York City. Tickets range from $29 to $146. Call 212-247-7800 or visit carnegiehall.org.
An irate customer at a Florida Starbucks was arrested after throwing a tantrum over a Pride flag hanging on the wall.
Police say Tucker Alden Kemp, 31, of Clearwater, entered a Starbucks in St. Petersburg around 9:16 a.m. on October 22. Once inside, he took offense at a Pride flag and asked to speak with the manager, insisting it was offensive and should be replaced with an American flag.
When the manager refused, citing store policy, Kemp allegedly "decided to take matters into his own hands," according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun.
San Francisco has named Per Sia, one of the first performers to read at a Drag Queen Story Hour event, as the city's new Drag Laureate.
Appointed by Mayor Daniel Lurie on October 29, the 44-year-old Per Sia is only the second person -- and the first transgender individual -- to hold the title.
D'Arcy Drollinger, owner of the Oasis nightclub, was San Francisco's first Drag Laureate. The position -- one of only two in the country, alongside West Hollywood's -- comes with a $35,000 annual stipend for a three-year term funded by the San Francisco Public Library, which also supports the city's Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate programs.
My first protest, as my mother tells it, was as a toddler. In our Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego, circa 1970, she was moved to join a small group in opposition to some new construction. As she was moved, so was I, on four stroller wheels. My birth may have coincided with the weekend of the Stonewall Riots, but I didn't learn about that till much later.
And, of course, I have no memory of this inaugural outing with Mom to fight the power. Today, my mother looks at current events, disgusted by the White House, and wonders aloud whether protests such as the Oct. 18 No Kings Day actions across the country and beyond do much. At her age, she's certainly entitled to be winding down. Not that she was ever big on protests to begin with -- my first was her last, possibly her only.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.