BWW Q&A: Scott Moreau on MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET CHRISTMAS at The Repertory Theatre St. Louis

Scott Moreau is from Litchfield, ME and holds a BFA in Music Theatre from Illinois Wesleyan University. After a lifelong dream of being a professional baseball player, Scott turned to the stage after seeing a life-changing performance of Les Misérables in London his freshman year of high school. Through his years in high school and college, he found a love for not only musical theatre but choral singing, directing, sound design and stage combat.

Since graduating from IWU he has been traveling the country, performing everywhere from his home state of Maine to Osaka, Japan. Favorite roles include: Scott in Ring Of Fire (Actors’ Playhouse (Carbonell Award nominee), Portland Stage, Florida Studio Theatre), El Gallo in The Fantasticks(BroadwayWorld Award for Best Actor In A Musical, ArtisTree Music Theatre Festival), Orin Scrivello in Little Shop Of Horrors (Springer Opera House), Willy Conklin in Ragtime (Seaside Music Theatre), Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins(Springer Opera House), Dan in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Maine State Music Theatre), Man 1 and 2 in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, ArtisTree), Johnny Guitar in Johnny Guitar The Musical (Cortland Repertory Theatre and The Theatre Barn), Bill Sykes in Oliver! (Arundel Barn Playhouse, Broadway Palm West) Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls (Dutch Apple and Broadway Palm Dinner Theatres), Johnny "Leadville" Brown in The Unsinkable Molly Brown(Broadway Palm and Dutch Apple Dinner Theatres) and Johnny Cash on the 1st National Tour of the Tony Award winning musical, Million Dollar Quartet.  He has since reprised his role in MDQ more than 1,200 times in the Regional Premiere at the Ogunquit Playhouse, Tony Award winning Papermill Playhouse, Riverside Theatre, Harrah’s Casino Las Vegas, Farmers Alley Theatre, Springer Opera House, New Theatre, Fulton Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, and STAGES St. Louis.  

His experience not limited to performing, Scott made his professional directorial debut with Ring of Fire at the Round Barn Theatre in 2011.  He has since directed MDQ at Farmers Alley Theatre in Kalamazoo, MI and assistant directed at the Springer Opera House, both while doing double duty as Johnny Cash. He made his television debut on the series finale of HBO’s Emmy Award winning Boardwalk Empire as Young Jim Neary. In 2013 he released a Johnny Cash tribute, Home Of The Blues:  A Tribute to Johnny Cash at Sun Studio now available for digital download and on CD.

Are there any roles or types of characters you dream of playing?

My bucket list roles are many, honestly. There are a lot of shows I want to do in any capacity, but specifically the dream roles I have yet to play are: Javert in Les Miserables (#1 dream role), Sweeney in Sweeney Todd and Billy Bigalow in Carousel. The subject matter of Carousel is problematic and the show is (rightfully so) not done much these days, but I really hope to get the chance to sing the score professionally someday.

Million Dollar Quartet and Million Dollar Quartet Christmas both have very closely knit ensembles. What qualities do you think are essential for a successful collaboration in a production?

Aside from all of us really needing to operate like a band that has known each other for decades, it really takes a group of people that interact like a family. Because both shows give performers little time offstage, we often have to troubleshoot things as the show is going on; if a string breaks, an amp blows a tube, etc, we have to be hyper-aware of what is going on with each person on stage and do our best to help out. Every great cast of this, or any show really, ends up being family more so than a group of actors.

Have you received any feedback from fans of Johnny Cash that has particularly resonated with you?

Through my work in Million Dollar Quartet, Quartet Christmas, Ring Of Fire and my tribute shows the last 13 years, I frequently get to talk to fans about their Cash fandom. The most interesting thing I find is the specificity of their memories. It is never "I saw him once"; it is ALWAYS "I saw him at his place on this date, he sang these songs", etc. His music, his legacy and his message has struck a chord with so many people around the world. Most people speak of him, regardless if they were ever lucky enough to meet him, as though he was a family member. He really means THAT much to so many people. So when an audience member says "he would be proud" or "you keep his memory alive", it means that I am doing my job to the best of my ability.

How do you balance staying true to Johnny Cash’s persona while bringing your unique interpretation to the role?

There is definitely a bit of me in every performance, but I certainly don't ever strive to put my own stamp on the role or on my portrayal. If I can get as close as humanly possible to his sound, then I am doing my job. With that said, no one can possibly know what he would have done in some of the situations presented in these shows, so I have to rely on my research and first-hand knowledge of his life from those closest to him. I use that, my life experience and my training to build a complete picture of how I think he would have responded in any given situation. I do have some freedom in that, but I am really always striving to do not just what I THINK, but what my research tells me.

What is your process for understanding and developing a character?

I think it really depends on the type of character. I have probably played more real people in my life than fictional characters. Teddy Roosevelt in Tintypes, John Dickinson in 1776, Johnny "Leadville" Brown in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and of course Johnny Cash. Aside from doing extensive research and listening to their voices when possible, I really try to understand where they are at THIS time in their life when the show takes place. I suppose I am an "inside-out" actor. I need to know how the person sounds inside my head and coming out of my voice. Once I find that, the movement and demeanor usually fall into place. I needed to be able to hear Johnny's voice in my head, then approximate it in his singing, his dialect and such and THEN I started work on his mannerisms. I'm always tweaking things and working on incorporating new things into my performances based on my observations and research.

Why must audiences come and see the show?

We all really fell in love with St. Louis when we were doing MDQ last fall. Some of us had worked in or travelled to the city before, but this experience was particularly special and I think the audiences really fell in love with our show and the people we portray. Million Dollar Quartet Christmas picks up literally where MDQ left off; the tension rears its ugly head again as we play hit after hit and give a bit more insight into how these guys were feeling leading up to the holidays. I think there are songs and scenes in this show that are even stronger and MORE meaningful than those in MDQ, which will probably surprise a lot of people. I think it is a beautiful and touching holiday show that will bring more than one tear to the eyes of the audience while still giving them the raucous good time they are used to. Besides...who doesn't want to hear Ring Of Fire, Blue Christmas....and the sleeper, and my FAVORITE song in the show: Cotton Top. It's going to blow the Lou away!

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