"Remember, dear readers, you heard it here first. Off the record, on the QT, and very Hush-Hush"

Ah, La La Land.  Well, folks, this blog marks the end of an era.  We said goodbye to two members of our original cast on closing night.  Cody Slaughter, our Elvis, and Alyssa Marie, our Dyanne understudy both have left us, but we keep trucking on.  Eddie Clendening, original Chicago/Broadway/Off-Broadway Elvis, joins us in Toronto through Tokyo and Katie Barton is on as our new Dyanne understudy for quite a while.  Though we welcome them with open arms, we will miss our original cast (see the picture of the full company on our last day together above). 

Los Angeles was full of adventures, drama, mystery, intrigue....everything you would expect from Hollywood.  So, it true Hollywood style, ala Quentin Tarantino, I will relate my experiences from the City of the Angels in no particular order.....since I can't seem to remember the exact order of things....which is why I never wait this long to write my blog.  Ce la vie. 

Our opening night was full of glitz and glitter.  Quite a few stars showed up to the historic Pantages Theatre to see our show.  Most notabley, Pricilla Presley was there....and boy howdy did she love Cody.  She came backstage to take pictures with the cast, and praised Cody and the rest of the boys and m'am.  Pretty amazing. 

The boys and m'am did quite a bit of promotion for the show in our two weeks in LA; the coolest one was that they peformed on Good Morning, LA, AND on Access Hollywood....the latter broadcasting nationwide.  Pretty damn cool, and great exposure for MDQ if you ask me. 

I was only in LA for 6 hours before, and when I was here, I got the BEST 6 hour tour I could've possibly gotten from a buddy of mine, Kyle.  I got to hang out with him for an evening this time, and throughout my time I was able to see a lot of great new things, and revisit some of the places he took me.  The observatory at Griffith Park was a must see for me.  When he took me there, it was under construction, so I could only view it from afar.  This time, I was able to go up there and view the entire property and take pictures of the Hollywood sign, as well as the LA skyline.  The reason I NEEDED to go up there, is that one of my favorite movies, Rebel Without A Cause was mostly shot there.  They even have a statue commemorating James Dean (see the photo above, and the one of me reinacting one of my favorite moments from the film).  So rad. 

I went to probably the biggest record store I have ever seen near our hotel.....Amoeba Music.  Hot damn is that an awesome store.  I of course found some Johnny Cash rarites, a Motorhead record, and most importantly, stickers for my guitar case, and buttons for my tour tribute jacket (when I leave tour, which may be never, I will show you the finished products of each). 

A few of us took the trek to Anaheim to visit Disneyland.  Though I have been to Disney World quite a few times, it was a fantastic experience to visit the place that started it all.  Though they are both obviously very similar, there are quite a few differences between the parks.  Even the rides that are at both parks are markedly different.  And, they have California Adventure....which closed and reopened just before we got there.  The newest, coolest, and most impressive part being Cars Land.  The Radiator Springs ride is supposed to be the best ride in the world.  Having ridden it....I can tell you it is TOTALLY worth the 3 hour wait.  I assure you.  So cool, that I had to buy and watch the movie Cars; the park is EXACTLY as it is in the movie.  Breathtaking, really. 

Above all, it was great to hang out with some old friends, and visit with some new ones.  It definitely lifts my spirits to not only have good people on tour to be around, but to find different and new people to spend time with. 

Well, I left LA and headed home to Maine.  Again, it was great to spend some time with my family and to reconnect with friends.  I went to a birthday party for one of my old coworkers, and it was great to hang out with them outside of work.  And, I got to see a show at Maine State Music Theatre; Legally Blonde, featuring my friend Lara.  Not only was it a great show, but it was awesome to hang out with her and the cast at my favorite brewery, The Seadog in Topsham.  It's a very special theatre to me; it's in the town where my dad taught high school for 40 years, I saw my first shows there, and it was also my first professional theatre job.  Things certainly come full circle. 

Now we are here in Toronto, the first of two international stops on our tour.  So, I'm sure I will have a lot more to talk about in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned for my blog from Canada, eh?

The home of CSI!!! Oh, and I heard there are some shows and gambling here or something....

Hello all!  I hope you are well!  This past week we were in Sin City; Las Vegas.  And, although the week started out strongly, let me tell you.....it is NOT my kind of town. 

First of all, we stepped off the plane into 106 degree weather.  And it was about that temperature the whole week.  That said, it was a pretty good week.  We stayed at the Golden Nugget Casino, on the "old strip" near Fremont St.  There were certainly a lot of things to see.....some of them I wish I hadn't.....but the area we stayed in afforded us the ability to see the most of what Vegas had to offer. 

Our hotel had a fish tank adjacent to the pool....and a 3 floor waterslide that actually went through the tank.....filled with a bunch of different, large fish, and quite a few sharks.  I got the chance to swim a bit and ride the slide on one of our last days in town.  It was pretty awesome....though, you really couldn't see the fish as well as I had hoped while riding the slide. 

I was joined by a very good friend for most of the week, and we were able to see a lot around us.  I tried to make it to the boys and m'am's promo at the Hard Rock on Tuesday, but given that there are 3 Hard Rocks in Vegas.....I not only got lost, but went to the wrong one.  Oh well.  At least I got to see the Hard Rock, and get my pins!

I watched the show opening night.....the theatre we played, the Smith Center, was magnificent.  A brand new space, costing more than $500,000,000 (see pictures above).  Other than a few kinks that I'm sure they will work out, the theatre is stunning. The sound and space are wonderful, and I hope that the people of Las Vegas know what a jewel they have in that theatre. 

Among other stops, I had to hit Hash House A Go Go.  Famous for their chicken and waffles, I got one of the biggest blueberry pancakes I have ever seen in my life.  It was so good I had to go back the next day to get something else. 

I got to walk around the Flamingo hotel a bit, and most importantly Caesar's Palace.  What a beautiful place.  John Michael had been there before, so he brought me to the Forum shops there, and all over the complex to take pictures (see above). 

Vastly different from Caesar's was Circus Circus.  Much different than I expected.....it's very much oriented to children and families, with rides and midway style games everywhere.  It was a fun day there, but I'm certainly glad we weren't staying at that hotel. 

On Friday, I drove the boys and Rosie to the Stratosphere.  Similar to Seattle's Space Needle, it offers amazing views of the entire area....with visibilty for miles and miles.  The highest observation deck sits just under 900 feet.  But that's not the only reason we were up there.....we went up so that the boys could ride the ridiculous rides up there.  I would try to explain, but I would much rather have you watch the video below.....

One of the highlights of the cast's week was heading to the Neon Museum.  Not far from the hotel, it is a collection and preservation of some of the classic signs from Vegas' history.  I took hundreds of pictures.  The downside was, at 106 degrees, it was more like 115 in the sun with no shade.  But, it was worth it. 

I also got to go on twice in Las Vegas.  The first time on Friday for the entire creative staff and producers as Sam Phillips, and Sunday's matinee as Johnny Cash.  It was great to go on as always, and I loved being able to perform in such a brand new space. 

However, by the end of the week I was very much ready to leave.  An expensive pair of headphones were stolen out of my bag in my dressing room, and the heat and prices really started to get to me.  As one person in our group said, "Vegas is the type of place you want to stay for 2 days.  Not a week". 

So, we're here in Los Angeles for the next two weeks before we get a week off for July 4th.  With tons of friends out here, some visiting, and lots of sights to see, I'm sure i'll have much more to report next week.  Enjoy!

Just too darn hot....

Hello, friends!  I hope this week's blog finds you well. 

Just to be honest, not TOO much excitement last week in Tempe, AZ.  This Maine boy doesn't do well with the heat, so I didn't venture out all that much to take pictures or sight see.  That said, here are the highlights......

As if it wasn't hot enough in Salt Lake City when we left, we arrived in Tempe to find 100 degree temperatures (it got as hot as 106 while we were there).  Needless to say, being outside wasn't really an option during the day. 

On Monday, the boys sang the National Anthem at a Diamondbacks game.  Although I wasn't able to go, word is that the boys did a great job! 

On Tuesday, they went to the Phoenix Hard Rock to show them a thing or two about rock n' roll.  Again, they put on a great show. 

On opening night we ventured to Monti's Steakhouse, a mainstay in Tempe since the late 1800's.  A very unassuming place, but amazingly cool.  The restaurant has 14 different rooms that are all completely different, and can accomodate 900 people at a time.  I actually went there the night before with a friend, and we were lucky enough to sit in what used to be the original courtyard, fountain still intact.  Amazing ribs and bacon wrapped filet.  Mmmm. Bacon wrapped filet......

Over the next few days, most of us layed pretty low, enjoying the air conditioning in our room, and walking around as little as possible.  I did, however, get to visit some of my favorite places from years past.  Tempe is very close to Mesa, where I worked for quite a while at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre.  Unfortunately, the theatre closed right before I got to town this time.  So, I got to visit my favorite resale store, Buffalo Exchange, and my second favorite record store, Zia Records. 

I had a really nice day shopping with Rosie that Friday, and even helped her pick out a dress or two!  Turns out she had been shopping at a vintage store online, Meat Market Vintage, and it's based in Tempe!  So, she got to see the store she had been shopping virtually at for years.  Pretty cool. 

Above all, I got to spend a lot of time in Tempe with new and old friends.  A college friend of mine works at a children's theatre there, and I hadn't seen her in 12 years.  A buddy that played bass in Ring Of Fire with me also lives there with his girlfriend, and they not only got to see the show, but we hung out together for a few nights.  And, one of my favorite directors was able to see the show, and come out for a drink afterward.  That was the best part of Tempe; spending quality time with people. 

So, we're in Sin City....Las Vegas this week.  I have TONS of pictures and plenty of stories to write for my next blog.  So, make sure to tune in next week!

"Hello. My name is Scott Moreau, and I would like to share this most amazing BLOG with you."

For those of you not familiar with the Tony Award winning musical, Book Of Mormon, the title of this blog is in reference to that.  I thought it was only appropriate for the title of my blog about Salt-uh-lake-uh-see-tee!!!!!!!!!!!1

After a bit of drama and a pretty quick flight, we arrived in Salt Lake to find a drastically different temperature.  Having left Portland, OR that morning at 8 AM with rain and 50 degree weather, landing in Salt Lake to find it to be 80 degrees....it was a welcome change. 

Because we got in so early, we weren't able to check into our hotel right away.  A bunch of us went across the street to get some food, and most of us crashed afterwards, having been able to move into our rooms shortly after 2. 

Later that evening, Austin and I went out to walk around and see the sights a bit.  What a gorgeous city.  Surrounded by Arizona-esque red rocks on one side, and snow capped mountains on the other.  I layed pretty low after that.  It was actually nice to just sit in my room and do nothing, which I usually hate. 

The next day I went back to the Gateway Mall to see the boys do a promo.  It was a great outdoor location, surrounded by some high end retail and TONS of media representatives everywhere.  And, as always, the boys put on a hell of a show. 

In my travels in the next few days, I discovered the Heavy Metal store, an institution in Salt Lake since the early 80's.  Got me some pins, a patch and some Motorhead records.  What could be better?

Then, I made the trek to the Mormon Mecca: The Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temple, The Mormon Tabernacle, Temple Square, etc. (see pictures above).  What a beautiful area.  And everyone was amazingly friendly.  I'm not sure I've ever had that many strangers say hello to me in the span of 10 minutes. 

On Thursday, the boys and m'am did an exclusive VIP performance at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse right next to our hotel.  Again, they nailed it.  Austin and I were able to watch from the back, and though it was in a small room, and an exclusive crowd, they rocked it out as usual.  Man, I love this show. 

On Friday, Austin, David Lober, David Sonneborn, Krug and I got an amazing tour.  David Lober, our stage manager, had a friend in town that is a production manager for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and other events on the "campus", so she was able to give us a "backstage" tour!  (See more pictures above).  First, we were able to walk onto the stage of the Tabernacle and see the organ, pipes and pulpit up close.  We also got to go into the basement where we were able to see their broadcast booths, rehearsal space, music library, and a whole lot more.  It really was cool.  I'm sure some people may think that that type of thing wouldn't be exciting for someone who is a performer....they'd be WRONG. 

After that, we went to the JCLDS Conference Center.  A massive complex, holding at least two theatres (both of which we saw).  The first, a small, pretty basic theatre.  The 2nd, a MASSIVE 22,000 seat house.  Yes, you read that right.  TWENTY TWO THOUSAND SEATS.  An organ with about 6,000 more pipes that the one in the Tabernacle (this one had about 18,000 pipes.  Still, only the 2nd most in the world.  The first, we learned, is at Wannamaker's department store in Philadelphia.  That one has close to 30,000 pipes.....).  Technologically advanced and just massive.  What an experience. 

The weekend calmed down as the heat started to climb.  Because of the high elevation and the heat, we were all moving pretty slowly by the weekend.  But, it was only a hint of the weather to come. 

Now we're in Tempe, AZ, where the average daily temp is 101.  Yowza.  But, more about that next week. 

Also, coming soon, I will have some very exciting news to report.  However, as they say, until the ink is on the paper, I won't be spilling the beans.  I hope everyone is well, and stay tuned for news from the desert!!!!!!!1

Donuts, Duck and dogs

I know what you are thinking...."that is a very strange title for this blog".....well, those three things sup up most of the meals I've had in this city.  So, it makes a bit more sense. 

Interesting that everyone always talks about Seattle being a place where the sun never shines, and it rains all the time.  It rained perhaps once when we were in Seattle, save the morning we left when it was pouring.  It has rained every day we've been in Portland.  I think the sun has been out for approximately 6 hours the entire week.....

That said, we didn't let the rain spoil our fun.  We hopped on the bus Monday morning, and headed from Seattle to Portland.  I was a bit reluctant to leave, but I was looking forward to Portland, and one thing in particular.....VOODOO DONUTS. 

For those that don't know about Voodoo, it's a donut shop here in Portland that has some very weird and wonderful donut concoctions.  AMAZING.  I first learned about them on Man Vs. Food, and decided that if I ever got the chance to go to Portland, that would have to be a must do. 

So, me and some of the boys and Rosie treked close to a mile after we got into to town to sample these amazing donuts.  Boy howdy were they good.  It was my dinner on Monday night, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

Like I said, it was pretty rainy here, so I honestly didn't get to see much, or take very many pictures.  However, we did get to sample a lot of what Portland had to offer as far as micro brews, and some great food.  A great bar with and even better name, Veritable Quandry, served us some fantastic beer, and duck confit spring rolls.....Now, I have to say, duck is not something I eat frequently.  Perhaps it's because I grew up with ducks swimming in our lake.....I don't know.  What I do know is, when I do have it, man, that's a tasty bird. 

Because we are on the water front, I also took the time to walk around a little park that was down there, and take some pictures.  In the 5 mintues it didn't rain. 

There is a city fair going on right now, so a bunch of us went down and did some sight seeing yesterday, as well as getting some pretty rad corn dogs.  Mmmm....corn dogs.....

I also got the opportunity to do a promo with the cast as Sam Phillips on Friday at a really nice open park.  That prepared me to go on as Sam that night, and on Saturday's matinee.  The cast took me out on Friday to thank me for such a great show, which was much appreciated and unexpected. 

Sorry there's not much news from here.....like I said, we didn't get out all that much.  Although, a few of us did go get breakfast at a place called Mother's, that was probably the best breakfast any of us had ever had. 

Tomorrow we head to (for all of you Book Of Mormon fans out there...) Salt-a-lake-a-see-tee.  I have no idea what to expect really, but I'm sure I'll have a lot to report.  I hope everyone is having a good week, and I'll write more soon!

Krusty: "If you really want to be a clown, you need to practice saying these funny town names. Wala Wala...Cuckamonga....Seattle...." Homer: "SEATTLE!!! Stop it!!! You're killin' me!!!!"

Hello, all! Sorry for the long title, but I always think of that episode of The Simpsons when I think of Seattle. 

It was a great week in another new city and state I've never been to!  And, I got the chance to fly my brother out to see me, which made the week even better.  After a very long flight from Maine, he got in late on Monday night, and then next day we started our sightseeing. 

First we went to the Hard Rock Cafe near Pike Public Market to watch the boys and m'am do a promo, and for my brother to meet everyone.  They had some great memorabilia on display (see the autographed jacket above).  After the promo, we found an amazing hot dog place near the market, and I got a coffee at the original Starbucks.  We walked around the market for a while, checking out all of the different shops, and I even found a can of Duff energy drink....and I got one for me and David (see the picture above.  We both love the Simpsons....thus my quote as the title of this blog). 

After walking around for a few hours, we headed back to the hotel to rest a bit before opening night.  It was great to actually sit and watch the show with Rick, and see his reactions to everything.  I think he was pretty surprised at what the show was really like after only hearing the cast recording, and that this is really what my job is.  It was just great to get to spend some time with him. 

That night we went out for a little bit, and he got to meet Rob Lyons, who plays Carl Perkins in New York, and has been a part of every encarnation of Million Dollar Quartet. 

The next day we ventured out to see the Space Needle, and we ended up spending a few hours at the Experience Music Project; a giant Gugenheim looking building, housing music memorabilia, artifacts, and tons of interactive exhibits.  I think we were both pretty surprised as to how much there was to do there, and how long we actually spent.  There was an exhibit all about classic horror movies, the movie Avatar, Nirvana, AC/DC, and music lab where you could play an array of different instruments, and even mix your own music.  We got a couple of great pictures of each other, especially the one in the AC/DC display (see mine above).  After the EMP, we walked around and took a ton of pictures of the Space Needle, then headed home. 

On Thursday, we walked around a few parts of the city we hadn't yet seen, and ventured down to where Safeco Field and Century Link Field (where the Mariners and Seahawks play, respectively), and took many more pictures.  On the advice of a friend of mine, we also stopped by a store that specializes in vintage baseball jerseys and hats.  The price tags were a little steep, but what an awesome store! 

After that, we were both pretty exhausted, so we headed home.  Rick flew out early on Friday, so I was left on my own for the rest of the weekend.  It was great to have my parents and my brother visit in back to back weeks, but it was definitely a bit of a let down when it was all said and done.  That said, I met some great people in Seattle, and that brightened my weekend.  It really is a great town, but I could certainly do without being accosted by every bum around.  The difference between the homeless in Seattle and the other cities we've been to (it really is unfortunate.  If there are really still people in this country that don't understand how many people are living on the street and are out of work....just travel this country and see for yourself.  It is a sad state of affairs) is that the ones I encountered were all so drunk or high, I was often a little afraid at what they might do if I didn't give them change. 

I took a tour of Seattle's underground on Friday.  If you don't know anything about it, I highly suggest you do some research.  It's pretty fascinating.  A combination of poor city planning, the great fire and the seedy underbelly of the town.  Pretty amazing. 

After a great week, we took off to Portland, where we heard the homeless population was even worse......more about that soon.......