From Rural Idaho to Broadway: Cheyenne Jackson to Share the Dream at KU April 1

From Rural Idaho to Broadway: Cheyenne Jackson to Share the Dream at KU April 1

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Cheyenne Jackson, who has proven his versatility in Broadway shows, films and television, will tell his unlikely back story in a cabaret performance 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, Schaeffer Auditorium, as part of the KU Presents! Performing Artists Series. Along with a four-piece ensemble, he will bring this original one-man show, "An Evening with Cheyenne Jackson," fresh from its premiere in December 2025 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Jackson's diverse and interesting career has included appearances on Broadway, off-Broadway and in regional theater, including leading and supporting roles in "All Shook Up" (2005), "The Agony and the Agony" (2006), "Xanadu" (2007), "Damn Yankees" (2008), "Finian's Rainbow" (2010), "Once Upon a Mattress" (2024), "Oh, Mary!" (2025-26) and more.

His film and TV career has included portraying Mark Bingham in the Oscar-nominated "United 93," and as a guest in "30 Rock," "American Horror Story," and "Glee." He stars as Hades on the Disney Channel's "Descendents 3." As a concert artist, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall in "The Power of Two" with Michael Feinstein in 2010, and in "Music of the Mad Men Era" in 2011 (both were sold-out). And as a solo recording artist he has released three albums of popular music.

While a full listing of his accomplishments takes up five pages, anyone can see that Jackson never sits still for long. Even more remarkable is how he emerged from the wilds of the Far West, with help from friends along the way, to live his dream in New York and L.A.

In a recent Zoom interview, Jackson said, "I grew up out in the woods in northern Idaho, very poor, no running water, an outhouse, the whole deal."

The tiny town of Oldtown, in Idaho's northwest, right on the Washington border, had a population of less than 200. There were no performing arts venues. Jackson's mother, a talented singer, taught him and his brother and sister to sing harmony; they sang in their local church.

"In eighth grade, my French teacher took us to the 'great city' of Spokane (Wash.) to see "Les Misérables," which was touring. I'd never heard of Broadway and had never seen a live performance. I just remember sitting there and being blown away by what I was seeing and hearing, and the fact that the people on the stage - that was their job!"

At 13, Jackson decided right then that he was going to be on Broadway. And aside from the fact that he was born with a beautiful baritenor voice and good looks, what carried him to his goal was the kind of determination that knocks down barriers and refuses to be distracted. He was quick to add that "it was also some cases of being at the right place at the right time."

After graduating from high school, Jackson headed off to Spokane, where he immediately became involved in local theater. Following the advice of another actor, he auditioned for the Coeur d'Alene Summer Theater, a professional summer-stock company, and got his first paycheck for acting in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."

"I had never seen people like this-all different ethnicities, queer people," he said. "My town was so white and so Republican. I felt like I had found my people."

He moved to Seattle, where he earned his Equity card, and landed a small role in the touring company of a new musical, "The Prince and the Pauper," being tried out in the hinterlands. While it never got on Broadway, he met some New York actors who encouraged him to go to New York.

Six months after the 9/11 attack, which rocked his world, and the devastating loss of his small niece, Jackson said, "Those two events lit a fire in me to do something. I was 27, and I felt at the time it was now or never."

So he took off for New York. A friend from the tour, Broadway star Marc Kudisch, set up an interview for him with an agent, who signed him right away and got him an audition for the 2002 Broadway production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie." After only three weeks in New York, he was covering both male lead roles in the show. To prepare, he had to learn to tap dance very quickly, having never had any dance training. "I did it till my feet were bloody," he said, "but by the time I was onstage, I could do it."

From then on, his career churned ahead like a freight train, through auditions, invitations that he never turned down, and sheer hard work. He now lives in Los Angeles, and his mother and siblings live nearby in Orange County. At his recent show in Carnegie Hall, he invited his mother and sister to the stage and they sang a trio together. He has done more than 40 TV shows and more than 20 movies and still appears in New York. And he shows no sign of stopping.

His one-man show began as a residency at the upscale New York cabaret and supper club, 54 Below, in

the fall of 2024. "My best friend, Gavin Creel (another Broadway star) was passing at the time (of cancer), and I was looking to do something very honest and real. Before, everything I did was too perfect and sparkly. I call this 'unzipping my guts'; it talks about real pain."

Carnegie Hall invited him to flesh out the show into a 90-minute, two-act play with songs, and once again, he said yes and worked on it for a year with director Warren Carlyle. "Now it's a fully realized, autobiographical show, including the highs and lows," he said. "I want the audience to feel they know me, and maybe they can see something of themselves in my struggles. It's very personal."

Jackson will be appearing with Elizabeth Moss and Kerry Washington in the new Apple TV show, "Imperfect Women," based on the book by Araminta Hall, which begins in March. He now juggles his busy acting schedule with being the parent, along with his spouse, of nine-year-old twins - who are big fans of "Descendents."

Tickets for Cheyenne Jackson are $39 for adults, $37 for seniors and $19 for students. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.KutztownPresents.org or by calling the KU Presents! Box Office 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, at 610-683-4092. Established to be the center of cultural life at Kutztown University, KU Presents! serves the campus and community by bringing world-class live arts that entertain, educate and enrich.