#96 - Jai Rodriguez: A Thousand Sweet Kisses

“Trail blazers very rarely get to reap the benefits of the very trail they helped blaze.” 

This conversation with Jai Rodriguez is a perfect conversation when it comes to being a multi-hyphenate. What happens if we get pigeon holed into one thing? Jai had a tough time breaking out of what people thought they knew about him or what he could do after Queer Eye. So how did he lean into the full rounded multi-hyphenate he is now? In this episode we discuss…

How he landed the original cast of Queer Eye on Bravo.

The multi-hyphenate life he was leading while being a TV star.

How he broke out of what people thought they knew about him.

Gatekeeping. 

Understanding the type of life and career you want to exist simulatenously.

Avoiding bad professional relationships.

Jai's upcoming 54 Below show, A Thousand Sweet Kisses

Emmy Award winner and Broadway veteran Jai Rodriguez returns home to the NYC stage after 17 years, with his new cabaret show A Thousand Sweet Kisses, chronicling his hilarious journey through love, sex and relationships. Purchase tickets here. 

Best known as the “Culture Guy” in the groundbreaking original “Queer Eye,” theater audiences first met Jai at the age of 18 when he played Angel in RENT, making him the youngest person ever cast in a leading role in that show. While in NYC, Jai appeared at Lincoln Center in Spinning Into Butter, as Carmen Ghia in The Producers and as Zanna in the cult classic Zanna, Don’t! While performing eight shows a week, Jai became a fixture in nightlife with his popular post modern pop cabaret night at XL called Twisted Cabaret. Since then Jai has become a regular fixture in TV and film guest starring on shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Rookie,” “The Magicians,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Fantasy Island,” and as the scene stealing Geoffrey in “Malibu Country” opposite Reba and Lily Tomlin to name a few. Most recently Jai was in the Judd Apatow film BROS and is in “Uncoupled,” which is about to shoot its second season.

A Thousand Sweet Kisses is a hilarious and touching musical cabaret featuring Broadway and pop classics as well as never before told behind the scenes stories. Each night will feature a different surprise guest dueting “I’ll Cover You” from RENT with him. Join us for Jai’s unforgettable return to the NYC stage!

Featuring special guests Claybourne Elder (Company, “The Gilded Age”) on October 26, Orfeh (Tony Award® and Grammy nominee, Legally Blonde) on October 27, and Dan Amboyer (“Younger,” “Uncoupled”) on October 28.

The performance on October 27 will also be livestreamed. For tickets and more information, click here.

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