NPerformer Daxton Bloomquist is opening the The Book of Mormon once again in Chicago in the role of Elder McKinley.
The Book of Mormon is influenced by Trey Parker's and Matt Stone's ( South Park ) religious upbringings from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The story follows a group of missionaries traveling to Uganda who then deal with serious conditions such as poverty, famine and AIDS. Antics ensue, Broadway box-office records were broken and nine Tony Awards were won in the process.
Windy City Times: Hi, Daxton. How is the run of The Book of Mormon going so far?
Daxton Bloomquist: It is going great. It is my third time that I have been back here with the show. Maybe it is because of the weather but the audiences are really loving it. It has been a year and a half since I have been here with it. I am really enjoying it.
WCT: Are you originally from New York?
DB: No; originally I'm from Kansas. I was born and raised in a small town called El Dorado. It is 20 minutes away from Wichita. I have been based in New York for about six years.
WCT: Have you been to Kansas with The Book of Mormon?
DB: Not yet; in December we are going to Kansas City. The tour went to Wichita before, but I wasn't on that one. We go to Dallas soon after and I have a lot of family that live there so looking forward to that.
WCT: Where does the name "Daxton" come from?
DB: My dad is a teacher and he had a student with the middle name of Dax. My dad likes a two-syllable name so they added "ton" to it.
WCT: Did you always want to be in theater?
DB: No; I grew up an athlete. My dad is a basketball coach and many of my relatives are involved in sports. I didn't know theater could be a career until I got to college. I did it for fun and had two majors. I dropped the other major and decided this was what I wanted to do.
WCT: How were you cast on this touring show?
DB: I auditioned for the original Broadway show before it opened. I didn't get it and took a Disney cruise ship job. I came back and after five weeks booked the Broadway show as a swing. I was a vacation swing for a year. I was asked to join the ensemble on Broadway permanently. After understudying Elder McKinley on Broadway, they asked me to play him on tour. I couldn't say no to that!
WCT: That sounds like a long journey…
DB: It was and a much-needed journey to learn and grow. It was perfect for me and took about a year and a half to meet the character that changed my life a lot.
WCT: You stuck with it to make it work.
DB: I think you have control over things in your life but I ama strong believer that the universe will take care of you and will lead you to where you are supposed to be. It is currently leading me so I am learning to trust it.
WCT: Is Elder McKinley technically gay and how do you approach him?
DB: As a 20-year-old man, he is going through that transition that we have all gone through when becoming to be an adult. He is learning to be his true self. With some religions that don't believe in homosexuality he is learning where the balance is with doing things right.
With McKinley, I try to show the growth he goes through and the struggle within. He is trying to accept himself.
Not to give anything away, [but] I definitely don't think he is straight but he doesn't like who he is. The most important thing is to find out who you are and love who you are. I think he ends up loving who he is by the end of the show.
WCT: He should get his own spinoff.
DB: I think so. Matt and Trey should write something for that. I am obsessed with McKinley. He is a wonderful character with a beautiful heart. I want everybody to love him!
WCT: Your song "Turn It Off" must mean so much to people [who] have lived it.
DB: Not even just in the Mormon religion or the gay community, everyone has had a moment where they turn it off and smile through it. There is a beauty in turning things off but at the same time you can't repress everything. McKinley and several other characters struggle with the repression. I think repressing something is not good for yourself or your health. I think we all do it and need to find out where we are doing it in our life. Everyone should live their true selves.
WCT: Is the cast like a boy's club, where they all run around together on days off?
DB: Everyone says they are like a family. I am a little separate from the rest of the cast. I have a dog. I tend to stick to myself.
In general, little groups find each other and run around together. Everybody loves everybody until someone gets pissed off. It is literally like siblings.
WCT: How does it work having a dog on tour?
DB: It is really simple. I drive the tour so I have my own car. Charlie just comes with me. She's a poodle.
There are three other cast members who have dogs on the tour.
WCT: Sounds like more of a dog's club! What is the best part of being in The Book of Mormon?
DB: It is brilliantly written and I come to work to see it is 95-percent sold out. It is really cool to be a part of such an epic show.
I love making people laugh. If you do the show and have an awesome audience laughing and you are still in a bad mood afterwards then you have no heart. The audience makes the show.
WCT: Do you have a peeve the audience does?
DB: Cell phones are so annoying. Even if it is an emergency, then step out in the hall. We are working so hard up there, whether it looks easy or not.
In small theaters we can see 10 rows back so the audience is not hiding from us. It is a dishonor because we are being distracted onstage and it is distracting from everyone around the person on the phone.
WCT: The most important question I saved until the end. Are you a ginger or blonde?
DB: I was born a ginger but I look like a blonde in the right lighting!
The Book of Mormon preaches at the PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., through Sunday, Aug. 14.
Visit BroadwayInChicago.com for tickets, including information about $25 passes on the day of a show .
