Cleveland, the 2nd time around, and the end of Year 3

Not where I expected to see myself...

The Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square, Cleveland

John and Jerry Lee at the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame

Me and Johnny's tour bus, JC UNIT ONE

The only folks left from year 1-3 in Cleveland

James and Katie shooting a scene from Blush

Hello everyone, and welcome to my long overdue, and probably all but forgotten final installment of my blog from Year 3 of the Million Dollar Quartet 1st National Tour.  Things have been pretty busy since leaving Cleveland, though it's no excuse for not writing my final installment.  I myself am now "installed" in New York City; after a crazy few days at the beginning (you'll just have to wait and see why) and a few more low key days, I am now ready to finish the last blog of Year 3.  As we were in Cleveland for 3 weeks, and there was a lot of not so exciting down time, I will be giving you the highlights of our time there.  Not to worry.  As you can see from the pictures above and videos below, there was still a good bit of excitement.  

Unlike any other stop on our tour, we were put up in apartments not far from our hotel.  I never thought I would miss a hotel....but there were certainly some things about our new digs that left me wishing for one.  The apartment I was staying in (the 2nd one; we won't even START to get into that story....) wasn't bad, per se.  I was glad to have the room, but the building itself and the staff were not exactly top notch.  And that's saying nothing about the neighbors.....

The first week brought a run through on stage that served as our sound check, as well as to bring us back to the show after 2 weeks off.  All went well, and we were ready to break in our new theatre for an uncharacteristic 3 weeks.  Nearly three years prior, we spent 3 weeks at the Palace Theatre when we kicked off tour, and this time we spent three at the Ohio (pictured above).  

We did a few promotional events, starting with a great day for me and the boys at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Museum (pictured above).  An excellent day, and some great exposure for the four of us.  We also played a live gig at Playhouse Square just a stone's throw from the Ohio (above), complete with a huge screen flashing 2 story pictures of us!!  

Things were certainly changing around the office.  We had quite a few additions to our cast in Cleveland, having said goodbye to quite a few people in Dayton, OH.  We welcomed Katie Barton, newly married, back to tour as the Dyanne understudy.  David and Stephanie both stepped into the full time performing cast (Dyanne and Fluke, the drummer, respectively), and we welcomed Chris Johnson as the new Fluke understudy (he spent quite a while with the show off-Broadway) and in the second week, Michael Goodman joined us as the new Elvis understudy (see my Peoria blog; he joined us for all of 5 hours in the aftermath of the Polar Vortex, as an emergency possibility if James had not made it to town in time). We also gained a new company manager in Carol Oune.  Even with all of these changes, there were some things that had never changed.  There were only 7 of us left from the first go around in Cleveland; and that's including the cast and crew.  Pretty crazy to think that so many people have come and gone.  In three years with the show, I have been on tour with 2 Sams, 5 Jerry Lees, 3 Carls, 2 Cashes, 3 Flukes, 2 Brother Jays, and a slew of different understudies.  Definitely a new concept that it took me a while to get used to; I was so accustomed to opening and closing shows with the exact same casts.  We said goodbye to Maia shortly after our Playhouse Square performance, and Dog bid us adieu following our first week.  The numbers were dwindling.  

What wasn't dwindling were the vast amount of birthdays we celebrated in Cleveland.  I would list them all, but there were so many, I would rather not forget one and leave someone out.  Along with birthday celebrations, it was cause to celebrate the performances of almost every understudy in Cleveland.  And for some, more than one show.  A great way to end this leg of tour for them, and a nice change of pace for the rest of us.  

On a personal note, I took some nice walking tours of town and took quite a few pictures.  I added a new ballpark to my list of visits (Progressive, above), and took in as many sights as I could.  I bought a new MacBook Pro (from which I am typing this blog) and quite a bit of my time was spent orienting myself to the new OSX, as well as transferring a ton of information, pictures, etc.  That's what rainy days are for, after all; being productive in the apartment.  I also taped an audition that at this point did not pan out, and watched quite a few movies in my down time.  

After hearing about it for years, it was finally time to head to Cedar Point (above) and ride some of the world's finest coasters.  Thankfully, we had a beautiful Monday off before the end of our run, and two car loads of folks made the hour trek to the roller coaster mecca.  It was a long day, but I am proud to say the majority of us rode nearly every coaster in the park; and I know for a fact we all had a great time.  If you ever in the area, it is a must see.  

Also toward the end of our time, I was asked by Corey and Em to be a part of their brainchild; a short film project for HBO's Project Greenlight, later titled "Blush".  Katie, James and I all "starred" in this fun film, along with a bunch of our cast and crew pals in the background.  It was great to be able to do something completely different (above), and also to get some experience on camera; this becomes imperative later on.....

When the three weeks were all said and done, we had had a pretty good time in Cleveland.  Some of the audiences were quite small, and some a bit lackluster.  But we brought our A game to each and every show, and I certainly hope the people that did come see us left with a smile on their faces.  After 836 shows, 132 cities (not including the repeats of Cleveland, Memphis and Washington, D.C.), I did something I never thought I would; I walked into the hallway of the studio and signed the wall, bidding farewell to the walls that had been my home for the better part of 3 years.  More on that at another time.  

After our closing performance, we were treated to food and libations at the very same Wyndham hotel we had stayed at 3 years prior; pretty funny how things come full circle.  Though we were all going our separate ways, most of us will see each other soon enough, and it will never really be "goodbye'; just "until next time".  

Since Cleveland, I have been quite busy.  A couple of trips to Maine to visit my family, and settling officially (and long overdue, I might add; like this blog.....) in New York City.  I barely had time to breathe in the smog before I landed my first, and quite surprising gig....a guest star role on Boardwalk Empire.  It came at me like a whirlwind, and the shooting was a little....shall we say....stressful?  My experience on camera is very limited, so if nothing else it was a learning experience.  Please tune into HBO, or get HBO GO now to catch up on the series (and if you have been watching all along, good for you!!!), and tune in on September 7th at 9/8 C to see the beginning of the final season.  I would tell you what episode I'm in....but where's the fun in that?  

Thank you for tuning in to my blog, and please enjoy a few videos below.  It's been a lot of fun writing these blogs and keeping track of all that I have been up to these past 3 years.  I will not say I am not returning to tour in January, but a lot is up in the air at this point; so I won't really know what the future holds for a bit.  Please continue to follow me on Twitter (@scomoreau), Instagram (scomoreau) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/scottmoreaumusic) in the next few months.  And who knows....maybe I'll be changing the name of this blog to "Scott Moreau On Broadway".  Here's hoping.  Until then, I hope you all are having a great summer, and have an amazing fall!!

My last time putting on the Cash wig with Miss Susan

A little backstage tour

Final guitar check 

Hastily made Cleveland Tourism video.  Warning: includes adult language....

Hastily made Cleveland Tourism video #2.  Warning: includes adult language....

The end of the "road", as it were

The amazing Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center

When fully lit, the ceiling has LED stars that mimic the night sky on the evening the Wright Brothers took their first legendary flight

Me dear friend Gary Minyard, introducing the campers we taught in masterclasses, as part of the Victoria Theatre Assoc.'s Shake, Rattle and Roll camp

The bar, from 1861 at Century Bar

Tyler and I getting ice cream at Young's Dairy

Me and the boys doing some radio press

Kelly fawning over her vampire man-crush.  And the copier. 

Reunited with Gary after nearly 13 years

Holding Johnny's signature Martin D-45 

Hello everyone, and welcome to my Dayton blog!  This week was full of plenty of events, excitement, and the end of an era in MDQ tour land.  Here's what happened!

Monday was a very long travel day, as we had to take a long bus ride to the airport, two planes, and another drive to get us to our hotel in Dayton.  Another town, that in places, it seems time had forgotten.  But, there were also quite a few nice things to see.  It was a very hot day when we arrived, and after walking around for quite a while to find something nearby to eat, I round up Tyler and Robbie and headed to Smokin' BBQ, just a stone's throw from the hotel.  It may have looked a little dingy from the outside, but their brisket was some of the best I have ever had.  After heading back to my room and chilling there for most of the evening, Tyler joined me for a bourbon at Century Bar, one of the top 10 bourbon bars in the country.  

Frace and I headed to our home for the week, the Schuster Center (above) to teach a couple of masterclasses to some young artists.  My friend Gary Minyard (with me, above) had contacted the company and I months ago, asking if anyone would be willing to teach a few classes to his camp kids.  We were more than willing to help, and Frace and I taught two 1 1/2 hour classes back to back that day.  The students were all very engaged, and had some amazing question for us about our time on tour, and our careers in general.  I always love doing that sort of outreach, so I was overjoyed that we were able to help.  Following our classes, I headed back to Smokin' BBQ with Frace and his girl Haley for a bite before opening night.  I tried to get in a bit of a nap, to no avail.  We headed off to work that night, and had a relatively good opening night, except for one tiny little hitch; we had not one, but 2 hecklers, yelling at us each and every time one of us lit a fake cigarette.  It was not only horribly distracting and rude, but I think it really detracted from the audience's enjoyment of our show.  We made it through the best we could, but there were literally show-stopping moments where it was nearly impossible to go on until the screaming stopped.  It was perhaps the most embarrassing and strange experiences I have ever had on stage; not one I would ever like to repeat.  Brad started his week run as Carl that night as well, and I was sorry that he had to deal with that.  Despite the unpleasantness, he did a great job and the show went pretty well.  A few of us headed to Lucky's in the Oregon District for a bite after the show.  I wasn't feeling all that well, so I only stayed for a bit; even after they forgot to put in my food order, and it took me nearly and hour to get my food.  Sheesh.  

The boys and I had a pretty long day of press the following morning.  We did some at the theatre, and some at various TV and radio stations.  It was a very productive, but long morning.  And of course, we had to answer the obligatory questions about the heckler from the night before.  Brad did a great job with his first press junket, but I think we were all pretty drained from the morning.  Brad, John and I ate lunch with our press rep in the lobby of the theatre, before I headed home to nap before the evening show.  The audience was great that night, with not a heckler in sight.  I headed to the hotel restaurant for a bite before calling it a night.

Tyler and I had another press jaunt on Thursday morning, heading to an NPR station, and a country radio station with a stop at Young's Dairy (above) and another local restaurant, Peach, in between.  It went quite well again, and after a bit of downtime another great show ensued.  Our press rep arranged for a group of us to get free tickets to see the midnight showing of Jersey Boys that night, so a slew of us jumped in a cab and headed out of town to catch the flick.  Having never seen the show, I was anxious to see it.  I thought it was really well done, and it makes me want to see the show even more now.  It was a late night, but well worth it.  

I had had very little time to explore the area, so I made that my priority on Friday.  I walked around the historic Oregon District in the heat of the day, taking pictures and even stopping in at an independent record store.  I grabbed some sushi at Thai 9 before heading back to my room to regroup before heading to the Schuster to watch the camp's performance in the spacious lobby.  The kids did such a great job, and there were quite of few of the cast there to cheer them on.  We were more than happy to take pictures and autographs afterward, and Gary even allowed us to handle and play the array of Martin Guitars that were on display in the lobby (me, above).  The weather was quite iffy that afternoon, and we were all dodging thunderstorms to and from the theatre for most of the day.  The show went quite well that night with Frace on as Sam (as he would be for the rest of the weekend), and we celebrated what was to be our last weekend as a full group at the hotel bar that night. 

Saturday was quite busy as usual with two shows, and I squeezed in some last minute laundry at the theatre in between.  That night we took part in a post show event in the black box theatre that doubled as our jam room.  Quite a few donors, board members and audience members stayed to meet us, and listen to our amazing Thunderstudies play music for quite a while.  It was a lot of fun to watch them perform some tunes they had been working on for weeks, and following that, it was time to grab some food at the hotel, and also enjoy the company of our cast and crew, some of whom would be leaving us after the following day.  

Sunday brought two great shows and even a visit from Ted, one of our producers.  Frace did a great job again that day, and following the show that night, we said goodbye to quite a few people who would not be continuing on with us to Cleveland.  Kelly, Patrick, Robby, Brian, Nicole and Matt were all done following load out that evening.  Kelly, Matt and Brian have all been a part of the tour since September of 2011 when we started, so it was pretty crazy to think that they wouldn't be continuing on with us.  It truly was a changing of the guard.  What some people don't realize, is that when you are out on the road the way we are, especially in close quarters and with such a small group, we become much more of a family than just coworkers.  And when you see someone nearly every day for a matter of years, it's hard to think you won't be seeing them again any time soon.  However, it is always "til' next time" and never goodbye.  We enjoyed our last few moments as a full group at the hotel that night, and grabbed a night cap at Century Bar.  It was the end of an era. 

We all went our several ways the next morning, with a two week layoff ahead for some, and home for the forseeable future for others.  I made a 24 hour stop in NYC before heading home for much of the break.  I attended to quite a few things I had been putting off for quite a while, and mixed relaxation with helping my parents with quite a few things around the house.  The weeks were spent organizing, catching up on "real life", and mostly time with family and friends.  I jumped in my car and headed back to NYC in order to see a couple of shows I was anxiously awaiting, and to spend some time with new and old friends.  I even got to see MDQ's very own Levi Kreiss in Violet!  It was a treat to see him doing so well, and give such a great performance.  Then came the long road trip out here to Cleveland, and you are pretty much up to date.  

So, there you have my latest installment.  The boys, m'am and I are out here in Cleveland for 3 weeks, and what for some may be the very last stop on their MDQ journey.  I will be back for more blogging soon, so stay tuned for my final installment from the road for the year; it will be on it's way in just a couple short weeks.  Thanks for reading!