Photo Op: Broadway Babies At Sea! R Family Vacations Visits Alaska
For its ninth cruise, R Family Vacations packed up a boatful of love and set sail from Seattle on July 11 for Alaska. The company was founded in 2003 by travel pros Gregg Kaminsky and Kelli O'Donnell to give gay and lesbian families an accepting way to vacation, but the ever-popular boat adventures have also become of the most unique places to enjoy the talents of Broadway's best. Broadway.com is onboard once again to document the big belting at sea throughout the week, so keep checking back for our continuing coverage.
As the Norwegian Star (part of the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet) sets
sail, R Family team members welcome cruisers aboard...
...and Marya Grandy (Les Miserables, The Great American Trailer Park Musical) sings a song on the pool deck.
Happy faces and Broadway belting...
Another R Family cruise sets sail!
Welcome aboard, Broadway heartthrob Cheyenne Jackson, seen here
with his folks, who are joining him for a special family vacation.
The first big show of the cruise is the annual Broadway Belters
concert in the Stardust Theatre. Here, a gaggle of talents pose backstage
before the curtain goes up.
And here they are, selling the opening number: "Fame."
Some big names show off their pipes, including Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid, Guys and Dolls), who sang "Meadowlark."
Cheyenne Jackson throws on a nice shirt and tie and
offers "Change Is Gonna Come."
Omigod! It's the cast of Broadway's [title of show].
Jeff Bowen, Susan Blackwell, Hunter Bell and Heidi Blickenstaff debut
a song written especially for the cruise. Later in the week, they'll premiere an entire new show! (Can't wait.)
Marya Grandy serves up Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing"...
...while R Family regular Kate Pazakis sings a funky take on Alanis Morissette's "One Hand In My Pocket" (which she also sings on her awesome new CD, recorded live at the Zipper).
At the piano: the ever-present, ever-amusing Seth Rudetsky, a favorite on the cruises.
Check out Natascia Diaz, making a flawless Anita in "America" from West Side Story...
...which features a chorus line of boys filling in for the Shark girls.
Hilarious Judy Gold stops by to tell some dirty jokes.
Hairspray original cast member Mary Bond Davis raises the roof with a twisted take on her signature showstopper called "Big, Gay and Beautiful."
Class photo! The entire R Family team...
...including Kelli O'Donnell and her son Parker.
Backstage after the show, Natascia Diaz cuddles with Broadway's Jimmy Smagula, another R Family cruise regular.
TV icon Sharon Gless, who wouldn't miss an R Family cruise,
gets happy with Mary Bond Davis.
Cheyenne gets together with Tituss Burgess for a snap.
R Family founders Gregg Kaminsky and Kelli O'Donnell welcome return cruisers Ross Matthews (formerly Ross the Intern of The Tonight Show) and Gless.
On Sunday, a full day at sea, Cheyenne Jackson celebrates his birthday by filling the Spinnaker Lounge to capacity for his nightclub act.
With Seth Rudetsky on piano, he sings an hour of songs
from his theater career and beyond...
...and is just generally adorable.
Right, Seth?
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