Review: CHEYENNE JACKSON Makes Welcome Return To NYC In Stunning 54 Below Debut

“I miss New York.”  That was Cheyenne Jackson on Tuesday night when he opened his club act at 54 Below.  It would appear that New York misses Cheyenne, too, since the club was so packed that one surmised that there was every possibility that extra seating was added to accommodate the crush for tickets.  And every single one of those people who made sure they were there for opening night were right to do so.  And the club was right to make every effort to accommodate as many people as they could.  And the people who are reading this review will do right to go to THIS link right now and ensure their presence at one of Mr. Jackson’s remaining shows (there are three, starting tonight and running through Saturday).  What is happening this week at 54 Below is one of the shows that people are going to want to see, going to want to say that they saw.

There’s a little voice inside your head, a little instinct, a premonition if you will, that sounds off when you get an E-blast from 54 Below, or you see an announcement on an entertainment website or social media page, or you just happen to be scrolling through the club calendar and you see that a celebrated artist is playing the venue, and the voice says, “Oooh, I want to see that, it’s going to be a good one.”  That’s what the voice said to this writer when, suddenly, Cheyenne Jackson’s name appeared on the 54 Below website several weeks ago.  I want to see that, the voice said, that’s rare, the voice said, that’s going to be special, the voice said.  And the voice was right.

Cheyenne Jackson has been living and working out on the West Coast for some time now.  He didn’t leave New York, he didn’t leave Broadway, he didn’t leave his stage career - he simply went in search of his life.  And he found it.  In California, Mr. Jackson found success in front of the movie camera, on sound stages, and in the community of filmmakers.  He also found a family, meeting and marrying Jason Landau and becoming father to twins.  It is that life and that family that feeds the storyline in Cheyenne’s show: and it is a wonderful storyline.

This may be Cheyenne Jackson’s 54 Below debut but it is obviously not his solo show debut - if it is, then there has been a miracle of some sort because he played Tuesday night like a Stradivarius.  His ongoing monologue with the audience resembled a comedy special, like the ones Trevor Noah does on Netflix, except with musical numbers.  Because of his natural ability at storytelling, it felt, consistently, like Cheyenne Jackson was just talking to the crowd, making up the sentences he was saying, as the thoughts came into his head, bridging the gap between musical numbers.  However, if examined at the shows’ close, the spoken portion of the evening would reveal structure, with highs and lows, balanced comedy and pathos, deliberate punchlines of both the humorous and human nature, and the time honored comedy tradition of circling back around to the same theme, in order to make a point, to land a laugh, or accomplish both inside of the fell swoop.  Discussing his life as an actor, Jackson shares splendid stories about the shows and the stars, sometimes getting a bit dishy, others paying full respect, and always with a glint in his eye and his million watt smile.  On the topic of family, Cheyenne is not shy.  He recounts a shared experience between he and his older brother, he preaches of precious precociousness exhibited by his children, he opens up about his husband and the happiness born of their introduction during a sobriety meeting, and he gives generously of his father, one of the lynchpins to the success of the evening.  There are heartfelt tales of the relationship between Cheyenne and his late father that will resonate with anyone who has been a father, anyone who has had a father, and anyone who has watched someone they love be involved in a meaningful father-son relationship.  When it comes to opening up himself to his audience, Cheyenne Jackson is not only willing to go there - he insists upon it.  And he does it with refreshing vulnerability, a wicked sense of humor, a soupçon of profanity, and his world class script.

And then there is the voice.

One of the things that is missing because of Cheyenne Jackson being a television star is that the world does not get to hear him sing as often as used to be the case.  When Jackson was a Broadway star, he could be counted upon to turn up on the musical theater stage, blowing the roof off of theaters in shows like Aida, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Finian’s Rainbow (none of which were represented on Tuesday night).  But while working out in Hollywood, Jackson’s most recent raising of his voice was on The Masked Singer (which WAS represented in one of the evening’s highlights), the stories of which are genuinely hilarious, especially in Cheyenne’s meticulously executed comic timing.  And even though he does still sing on occasion, Cheyenne Jackson needs to be singing all the time - the world demands it, for the world needs it.  There were moments on Tuesday night when audience members audibly gasped by Jackson’s mastery, mastery made mysterious by an onstage admission that he started his New York stage career with no formal training.  Astounding.  With a range of Elvis-like low notes and Prince-like high notes, Cheyenne Jackson ran the gamut from the Broadway music of his roots (a beautiful “Breeze Off The River” from The Full Monty) to pop music (a moving “The Edge of Glory” by pal Lady Gaga), even throwing in some steamily sexy bolero sounds, some jaunty movie music, and some classic rock and roll, by way of Ben E. King and Leon Russell.  With each musical moment rising out of one of those spectacular Cheyenne Jackson monologues, there was no way for this show to be any better, from start to finish.

Except that Cheyenne is having friends over to play… each night there is a special guest star appearing in the Jackson show.  On Tuesday night, Cheyenne’s playmate was his co-star from Xanadu, the incomparable Kerry Butler, and with all the love they have for one another and some support from Maestro Paul Staroba, Musical Director for the evening, Kerry and Cheyenne recreated the “Suddenly” number from their hit show, including the roller skating, even though there were no wheels in sight.  It was the cherry on the cake of a marvelous evening of entertainment, and one suspects that each audience this week will have the same experience, only different because of the likes of Kate Baldwin (last night’s guest), Shoshana Bean (9/21), Alexandra Silber (9/22) and Gavin Creel (9/23).  The entire outing is going to be recognized as one of 54 Below’s best programming efforts.

Aside from telling his audience that he misses New York, aside from sharing with his fans his flawless impression of Leslie Jordan, aside from outlining for the people packing 54 Below the joys of being a father and a son, one of the things that Cheyenne Jackson mentioned on Tuesday night is that his early days as an actor pounding the pavement of New York City were fueled by one thing, and one thing only:  his deep, intrinsic belief in himself.  Thank goodness for that belief because it has fueled a career, a talent, and a human being for which everyone can be grateful.

Cheyenne Jackson has three more shows at 54 Below this week, September 21 through 23.  Get tickets.  THIS is the link.

Cheyenne Jackson has an Instagram page HERE.

Kerry Butler's website can be assessed HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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