John Marriott is Living His Dream on the Stage

Looking for a famous SUU face? You might just find one next time you board a Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship where John Marriott is living his dream of performing and leading a team of entertainers. 

Performing numerous shows each day as captain of the cruise line’s vocal team, John loves traveling the world, visiting the shores of new places, and even revisiting some of his favorites: Australia, New Zealand, Bora Bora, Asia, and Alaska.

“I knew I loved singing and being the center of attention,” John says of his decision to pursue a career in the field of entertainment. “Whenever there was a video camera, I weaseled my way into every shot.”

John credits his family for helping him pursue and discover his musical talents. He particularly appreciates his parents for introducing him to musicals, plays, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and tours that came through Cedar City. 

Raised in Cedar City, just south of the SUU campus, John graduated from Cedar High School before becoming a Thunderbird where he was a member of Acclamation for four years and Presidential Ambassadors. These two groups opened up doors of the entertainment and public relations worlds to him, and provided a chance to meet amazing people. Performing with Acclamation eventually led him to audition for the Tuacahn Center’s company in St. George, Utah, where he was a cast member.

Graduating from SUU in 2000 with a degree in public relations and advertising, John took a job as an executive team leader with Target.

“I was hired by Target because I was able to apply ideas and experiences learned from real life PR/Advertising campaigns and projects that we participated in through our classroom assignments,” he says. “The Communications Department (at SUU) was outstanding and all of the professors were hands on and willing to mentor us.”

John loved this work at Target, but never gave up on getting a break in the entertainment industry and now he is able to say he loves his job as a performer and the opportunities that come from it. 

Working for Norwegian Cruise Line is not his only brush with entertainment fame though. He recently performed in the Tony nominated musical, “Swing” where he played the trumpet, ukulele, harmonica, and sang. 

John loves getting back to Cedar City when his schedule permits to spend time with family, and he loves traveling, baking, being a twin, and anything Wizard of Oz. But one of his greatest accomplishments is being the “favorite uncle to 18 beautiful and amazing nieces and nephews,” he says.

Although he doesn’t have an exact address right now (living on the cruise ship and touring the oceans doesn’t lend itself to a permanent location), he does have a storage unit in Utah, and will always call Cedar City home. He is proud to be a T-Bird and loves his memories of SUU.

“The biggest smile comes across my face every time I think of my time at SUU,” he reflects. “From my first day to my last day at SUU I have nothing but the fondest of memories. I would recommend SUU to anyone because of the quality of education, brilliant professors that are educators as well as friends, and because there are so many ways to be involved other than just attending classes every day.”

“Some of my best friends are those made at SUU,” John says.  “We laughed hard and worked hard.”