Interview: Good Guy Cheyenne Jackson Gets to Kiss in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES

Next up at The Pasadena Playhouse, the Tony Award-winning musical La Cage Aux Folles opening November 17, 2024 (with previews beginning November 12th). Sam Pinkleton directs the cast headlined by Cheyenne Jackson and Kevin Cahoon as Georges and Albin with Ryan J. Haddad, Shannon Purser, George Salazar, Michael McDonald, Nicole Parker, El Beh, and Shea Diamond. And as the Les Cagelles: Kay Bebe Queue, Cody Brunelle-Potter, Salina EsTitties, Rhoyle Ivy King, Ellen Soraya Nikbakht, Suni Jade Reid, and Paul Vogt. Got to grab Cheyenne in between rehearsals for a few behind-the-scenes queries. 
 
Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Cheyenne!

What cosmic forces initially brought you together with this production of La Cage?

To be honest, after Once upon a Mattress, I had decided that I was going to take a sabbatical from musical theatre and really focus on my writing. Then out of the blue, I get a call from Sam Pinkleton. I hopped on a Zoom with him, and he sucked me back in about 6 minutes. 

Had you seen previous productions of La Cage?

Actually no. The last revival that was in New York City I was in a show at the time and the schedule overlapped and it never happened. So I’m coming to the material brand new.

For the uninitiated, what would your three-line pitch for La Cage be?

What defines a family? Would you do anything for your child even if it meant hurting your partner? Why haven’t there been more productions of Salome?

What would you say were the best qualities of Georges?

His loyalty. His humor. His ability to roll with the punches. 

What would be his flaws?

His emotions get the better of him. He can have tunnel-vision when it comes to his son. He sometimes speaks before he thinks.

Have you worked with any of La Cage’s cast or creatives before?

David Zinn and I worked on Xanadu together and Nicole Parker and I sang at David Geffen’s birthday party. That was a wild night. 

What’s your favorite song in La Cage?

It changes all the time. Right now it’s “Song on the Sand.”

Your theatrical resumé includes pretty much good guy leading men. Which do you prefer playing, good guys (Damn Yankees’ Joe Hardy, Xanadu’s Sonny Malone, Into the Woods’ Cinderella’s Prince) or a villain (Into the Woods’ The Wolf)? 

Villains are always more fun. But you do get to kiss people when you’re the good guy, so that’s fun.

You did a number of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows before getting your lead role of Chad in All Shook Up. What do you remember of the first time you stepped foot in the Palace Theater as the leading man Chad? 

I was weirdly aware that it was my big break. I made myself be in the moment.  It was absolutely incredible.

You know the adage, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” – “Hard work!” What was it like to sell out Carnegie not once, but twice?

Humbling. Thrilling. Terrifying.

Which do you prefer, singing as Cheyenne Jackson? Or singing in a scripted show?

Singing as myself in a concert.

If financial compensation were not a factor, in what field of entertainment would you focus your talents in – film, television, theatre, concerts?

I feel the most fully myself when I’m doing a concert with a long-form narrative that I wrote and songs I chose. I feel the most alive and the most me. 

What’s in the near future for Cheyenne Jackson after La Cage?

Hopefully selling one of the pilots I’ve recently written or selling the rom-com I’m shopping around. Writing has become my new focus and I intend to become truly great at it. I got signed to a lit agent based on my samples and it’s using a part of my brain that lights me up in every way.

Thank you again, Cheyenne! I look forward to meeting your Georges.

Thank YOU!

For La Cage tickets through December 15, 2024; click on the button below: