Dark Monday - Xanadu

Xanadu opened on Broadway in the summer of 2007, the musical adaptation of one of the classic movie flops of all time. The original cast included James Carpinello in the leading male role, only to have him go down with a leg injury due to a fall in a roller skating rehearsal and be replaced by Cheyenne Jackson. Jackson received rave reviews for his performance, yet come time for the Tony nominations, he was left off the roster in what some saw as a snub. Prior to the announcements, many made him a shoe in for the win.



The female lead was played by Kerry Butler, who received a Tony nomination for her work. At one point, Whoopie Goldberg played the part of one of the muses, a chorus on stage, as it were. I would try to explain the story, but Lily Tomlin did a much better job on the Tony Award broadcast.



Jackson is gorgeous, looks great in the cut offs, and has a fantastic voice. He is rumored to be joining the cast of 30 Rock on NBC. I certainly that doesn't prevent him from doing more dates with Michael Feinstein, or from opening soon in a revival of Finian's Rainbow. He had played the lead earlier in an Encores! performance run at City Center. Hearing Jackson sing That Old Devil Moon is something I would definitely want to experience!





You can find out more about Finian's Rainbow at the website here.

Great Music - Cheyenne Jackson

OK, so Cheyenne Jackson doesn't have a CD of his own out, but he is gorgeous, talented, and very out, and that is enough for me. He is 6'3" and built, with striking good looks, a beautiful voice and he can act - what's not to love? I saw him in Damn Yankees last year at New York's City Center, and he was great. He played in a cast that included Sean Hayes and Jane Krakowski.

Jackson has also roller skated in Xanadu, starred in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Altar Boyz, and played openly gay hero Mark Bingham in Flight 93. This year, he has teamed up with Michael Feinstein in a nightclub act called The Power of Two and I would kill to see it. He has also appeared in Ugly Betty and will be in the premier episode of Glee in the fall.

The above clip was Cheyenne Jackson performing the song I've Got Your Number at Broadway Under the Stars in Bryant Park, June 14, 2005. The song is from the Neil Simon musical Little Me, with music and lyrics by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh.



The following is Cheyenne Jackson performing Surrender on January 7, 2008. The song was written by songwriter Scott Alan. This performance was at a CD Release Party for Scott Alan's Dreaming Wide Awake CD.

On a personal note, Cheyenne and his partner have been together for 10 years. To find out more about Cheyenne, visit his website here. He also has music available for purchase on iTunes.