Cheyenne Jackson Says Marriage Changed His Relationship for the Better

Busy entertainer Cheyenne Jackson says that even though he's been with partner Monte Lapka for over a decade, their recent marriage has changed their relationship for the better, according to a new interview with Broadway World.

While promoting Cheyenne Jackson's Cocktail Hour: Music of the Mad Men Era, his upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops, Jackson discussed his decision to get married last September, taking advantage of New York's marriage equality law. "We have been together almost 11 years and we didn't know how much being married and legally, officially being married would change things," Jackson says. "But, I have to say that -- I hate the word spiritual; just because it doesn't feel right -- but, it's the closest word I guess I can use to describe the palpable shift that happens when you do make it legal, in that we really do feel closer and more connected."

Jackson also discusses his participation in the benefit staged reading of Dustin Lance Black's play 8, based on the transcripts from California's landmark Proposition 8 trial, last month in New York. "Dustin Lance Black is great," Jackson says. "I didn't know if anybody could make boring court transcripts palatable, and, he definitely did. Dustin is an Oscar-winner and that's what he does. So, hopefully, they can use this as a learning tool -- I think they want to do this in schools and across the country in small communities that don't ever get to hear and see subject matter like that. So, it was a good experience, for sure."

Jackson tells Broadway World that he's working on a solo album. One of his collaborators is his friend, musician Sia Furler. The Australian pop singer was instrumental in encouraging Jackson to start writing his own music. Jackson says, "I just needed someone like her to say, 'Just do it and see what will happen.'"