Review: Cheyenne Jackson Makes His Rapturous Carnegie Hall Solo Debut
The 30 ROCK and XANADU star made his Carnegie Hall solo show debut on December 8th as part of the Originals series
By: Rebecca Kaplan Dec. 14, 2025
Cheyenne Jackson, star of stage and screen, made his Carnegie Hall solo show debut on Monday, December 1 at 8 pm in a vibrant, joy-filled concert. Jackson, whose career includes the original cast of Xanadu on Broadway and TV shows like American Horror Story and 30 Rock, is utterly mesmerizing. He has a writer’s knack for structure and a perfect sense of timing, comedy and pacing. Nothing in the two-hour show felt out of place. From the moment it began, with Jackson announcing over loudspeaker that it would begin as all shows should, with a proper overture, until he took his final bow, there wasn’t a moment in the show that took longer than needed or felt ill-considered. This show obviously meant a great deal to Jackson – he told us towards the start, and at several points throughout, how much of a dream come true it was to be on that renowned Carnegie Hall stage, and how grateful he was to everyone for being a part of the special night.
The band kicked off the show with the aforementioned overture, a medley of music that shaped Jackson’s life, notable theme songs from the 1970s and 80s, like Charlie’s Angels. The three backup singers who would accompany Jackson all night came in at the end to sing the theme from “Wonder Woman.” With everyone else in position, Jackson entered from off-stage singing Queen’s frenetic “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Jackson’s versatile voice is adept at an impressive range of styles. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe everything he did with his voice that night, but hearing him made me want to learn. What I can tell you is that everything he sang was perfection.
We moved from there into a jazzy cover of “Americano.” Then, Jackson told the story of his very first introduction to Broadway, on a school trip to see a production of “Les Misera-bless” (as mispronounced by Jackson’s Idahoan French teacher). Jackson is a magnetic storyteller, and singer. He didn’t just stand and deliver song after song, but grounded us in what his song choices meant to him first, elevating the show beyond the average cabaret. From there he went into a sweet, hopeful, “Something’s Coming,” and you could feel all of his anticipation of what his life could be like in the great big world of Broadway.
Left to Right: Cheyenne Jackson, D'Nasya Jordan, Jake McKenna and T'Arica Crawford
Another wonderful part of the night was how many of Jackson’s friends and family came out to support him, and how much love he gave them back in return. He dedicated “Good Luck Babe” to his first love, who he pointed out in the audience, telling a sweet story about what they meant to each other and how their summer romance ended (his love broke things off to go through with marrying a woman), and “Lay Me Down” to his husband, who was watching the show from the balcony along with Jackson’s mother, siblings, and two children. Act Two featured his mother and sister making their Carnegie Hall debut, joining him to sing Dolly Parton’s “Oh the Pain of Loving You.” Jackson shared that his mother was the one who taught him to sing, teaching him to harmonize at age 5 (“Ironically, on a song called ‘You can’t get to heaven on roller skates’”). It was a profoundly sweet moment.
Cheyenne Jackson with his mother and sister.
Jackson also had two very talented friend come up to join him for guest performances. Jessica Vosk came up to sing the lovely Indigo Girls song “Ghost.” Jackson introduced Vosk as one of the best singers of her generation, and she proved it with her crystal-clear voice.
Jessica Vosk and Cheyenne Jackson
Jane Krakowski, his co-star in 30 Rock, the Encores revival of Damn Yankees, and current Oh Mary co-star, sang the iconic Streisand and Garland duet “Happy Days / Get Happy.” The pair singing together were perfection.
Cheyenne Jackson and Jane Krakowski
Although the tone of the overall night was quite joyful, Jackson didn’t shy away from tackling harder topics. He sang a poignant duet with his late friend Gavin Creel, playing a demo recording that Creel made for the last song they ever sang together, Adele’s “When We Were Young.” It was an indescribably haunting moment, and such a perfect memorial song it’s hard to believe Creel didn’t plan this moment, with lines like “Let me photograph you in this light in case it is the last time.” Jackson stood in silence and listened to his friend singing, joining in for the final verse upon Creel’s recorded invitation.
From there, Jackson moved into a medley with snippets from Jackson’s entire Broadway career leading smoothly into one another, starting with Thoroughly Modern Millie, the show where he met Creel. The transitions between songs was done quite cleverly – “And now your Joe / Has to Go” from Damn Yankees bled into “Joey Joey Joey” from Most Happy Fella, for example. Singing a representative snippet from each show – “That Old Devil Moon” (Finian’s Rainbow) and “Agony” (Into the Woods) felt like the perfect way to honor his Broadway career.
Act One ended with an energy-filled “Don’t Walk Away” (Xanadu), with Jackson showing off his dance skills. Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir joined for that number, filling the stage. Jackson walked away to the mock chagrin of the backup singers, leaving them more than ably holding down the fort for a verse or two. Jackson re-appeared moments later in full roller skate gear, showing off his moves on skates before taking his bows.
Cheyenne Jackson with Vy Higginsen's Sing Harlem Choir
After a brief break for intermission, we returned to a spirited “The Man With the Bag” dueted between Jackson and Jake McKenna. All three of the main backup singers – McKenna, D’Nasya Jordan, and T’Arica Crawford – got a chance to shine on their own during the show, with leading quality vocals. Paul Staroba served as Music Director and pianist for the night, leading a full orchestra. Warren Carlyle directed the evening.
Jake McKenna and Cheyenne Jackson
One of the most memorable parts of the night, to me, was Jackson’s fun arrangement of the classic Sinatra standard “That’s Life” sung between reading printouts of some of his very worst reviews and flinging them to the ground. His ironic readings of people calling him talentless was both extremely funny, and cathartic. It felt like Jackson giving everyone in the audience permission to let go of any negative self-talk they’d been holding on to.
He also sang his original song, “OK,” which he wrote about a moment in high school when he told his father he’d rather do theater than football. To his surprise, instead of scolding him, his father told him it was OK. It was a beautiful way to honor his father, who passed away a few years ago – even though he couldn’t be at the concert, he was clearly there in spirit.
Jackson ended the show with Elvis Presley’s “If I Can Dream,” backed once again with Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir. The applause was rapturous. Jackson came back to the stage for an encore, Jerry Herman’s “I Am What I Am.” Jackson was completely self-assured during that song, a paean to being yourself and a lovely way to close out a show about his journey through coming out, discovering Broadway, and making it to Carnegie Hall. He came into the audience for part of the song, leaping back onstage for the final line, “Life's not worth a damn / 'Til you can shout out, I am what I am.” He left the stage before coming back for what he promised would be the last encore, “Rainbow” (Kacey Musgraves), a sweet song he used to sing to his two children. He settled into the “Judy Garland spot,” sitting down in the infamous spot where Judy Garland sat during her Carnegie Hall concert, to sing that song. Finally, he took his bows and thanked the audience again a final time, saying “You’ve been a part of my dream coming true.” The show ended with a reverse of the beginning, with the audience exiting to the three backup singers singing Wonder Woman.
Cheyenne Jackson with Vy Higginsen's Sing Harlem Choir
All photos by Rebecca J. Michelson
Find Cheyenne Jackson's social media and upcoming tour dates at linktr.ee/CheyenneJacksonLive
Find more upcoming shows at Carnegie Hall on their website here. The Originals series continues with Patti LuPone on February 2, 2026.
Reader Reviews
Videos