Cheyenne Jackson

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Cheyenne Jackson bigraphy, stories - Actor, singer

Cheyenne Jackson : biography

July 12, 1975 –

Cheyenne Jackson (born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. He has played in many prominent roles in theater on Broadway. His first Broadway leading role in All Shook Up earning him a Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut". Additionally, on the New York stage he has starred in The Performers, 8, Finian’s Rainbow (Drama Desk nomination), Damn Yankees, Xanadu (Drama League, Drama Desk nominations), The Agony & the Agony, the premiere cast of Altar Boyz, Aida, and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

He has also appeared in a number of films, including portrayal of 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", in television series like NBC’s 30 Rock, Fox’s Glee and guest starring on several other TV series.

In concert, he has sold out Carnegie Hall twice: "The Power of Two" in 2010 and "Music of the Mad Men Era" in 2011. In addition to his theatrical musical career, has also developed a general musical career, with a joint album The Power of Two with Michael Feinstein in 2008. In 2012, Jackson released two singles "Drive" and the follow up "Before You" which became a Top 40 hit. Both songs are from an upcoming 2013 album titled I’m Blue, Skies’.

Personal life

Jackson is openly gay. Jackson’s husband, Monte Lapka, is a physicist; they have been together since 2000 and married on September 3, 2011 in New York.The Advocate, issue 1006 (April 22, 2008).

Charity and activism

Jackson is an LGBT rights supporter. In 2008, he was named Out magazine’s Entertainer of the Year.

He is an international ambassador for amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research)

He is also a national ambassador and spokesperson for The Hetrick-Martin Institute.

Career

Theatrical acting career

In regional theaters, 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 All Shook Up, a tribute to Elvis Presley. His performance as Chad earned him much critical praise, the Theatre World Award, and nominations from the Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2006, he 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, replacing 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. His performance as Sonny earned 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.

In 2008, Jackson joined Jane Krakowski and Sean Hayes in the New York City Center’s Encores! production of Damn Yankees. He returned to Encores! in 2009, playing Woody Mahoney in the staged concert of Finian’s Rainbow which critics praised. Jackson also starred in the development workshop of The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, who co-wrote the music for Avenue Q.