Gavin Creel

Gavin James Creel (April 18, 1976 – September 30, 2024) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in musical theater. Over his career he received a Grammy Award, a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award.

Creel made his Broadway debut in 2002 in the leading role of Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie before starring as Claude in the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair, both Tony Award–nominated performances. From 2012 to 2015, he starred as Elder Price in The Book of Mormon; he received a Laurence Olivier Award for originating the role in the West End version of the musical and played the role in the U.S. National Tour and on Broadway. He received a Tony Award in 2017 for his performance as Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway.

Creel's other stage credits include La Cage aux Folles (2004), She Loves Me (2016), Waitress (2019), and Into the Woods (2022) on Broadway; Mary Poppins (2006), Hair (2010) and Waitress (2020) in the West End; and the national tours of Fame (1998) and Into the Woods (2023). In 2023, Creel's self-written musical, Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice, had its world premiere Off-Broadway. Primarily a theater actor, his most notable screen acting role is as Bill in Eloise at the Plaza and its Christmas-themed sequel.

Early life and education Creel was born in Findlay, Ohio, on April 18, 1976. He was raised in a devoutly religious environment which he found highly alienating, and was drawn to theater as a way to escape it.

Career 1997–2001: Early career Creel began his professional career in regional theater. Some of his earliest credits are as part of the resident cast of Pittsburgh CLO, a repertory theater, for their 1997 and 1998 seasons; mostly ensemble roles, some of his eight productions there included Kiss Me Kate, La Cage aux Folles, and On the Town. In 1998–1999, the tour performed in cities including Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Following the tour, he continued to perform in regional theater before moving to New York City in the early 2000s. In 2001, he was the swing in the original off-Broadway production of Bat Boy: The Musical.

2002–2012: Broadway debut and breakthrough In 2002, Creel made his Broadway debut in the original production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, originating the role of Jimmy Smith opposite Sutton Foster's Millie Dillmount. A breakthrough performance, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. In February 2003, Creel played Prince Eric in a workshop for Disney's stage adaptation of The Little Mermaid. After he departed Thoroughly Modern Millie in April 2003, he performed in the original Chicago production of Stephen Sondheim's Road Show, then titled Bounce, recorded the original cast album for Bright Lights, Big City, among other productions and workshops.

He returned to Broadway in 2004 in the revival of La Cage aux Folles, playing Jean-Michel throughout the production. In 2006, he made his West End debut in Mary Poppins, replacing the original Bert in the production. Also in 2006, he released his debut studio album Goodtimenation. In 2008, Creel was set to star as Jesus alongside Joshua Henry as Judas/John the Baptist and Diana DeGarmo in a Broadway revival of Godspell at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, but on August 19, it was announced that the show was postponed indefinitely due to the loss of an investor. He returned to Broadway in 2009 in the revival of Hair. For his starring role of Claude, he received his second Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. He and the rest of the cast performed in London through 2010 when the production transferred to the West End.

2012–2022: Olivier and Tony Awards, continued success and theatre roles From 2012 until 2015, Creel starred in a series of productions of The Book of Mormon. He first starred as Elder Price in the First National Tour of the show in 2012. He subsequently originated the role in the musical's original West End production; for this performance, he was awarded Best Actor in a Musical at the 2014 Laurence Olivier Awards, the most prestigious theatrical awards in the United Kingdom. Creel played the suave salesman Steven Kodaly, opposite Jane Krakowski, in the 2016 Broadway revival of She Loves Me. The show was a critical success and the production became the first Broadway show ever to be live-streamed. Since then, the recording has been part of the PBS series Great Performances.

In 2017, he began playing Cornelius Hackl in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce, and later Bernadette Peters and Victor Garber. Santino Fontana temporarily filled in for him while Creel recovered from back surgery from March to May 2018. For his role, Creel was awarded the 2017 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. In 2019, Creel assumed the role of Dr. Pomatter in the Broadway production of Waitress. He subsequently played the role in the West End production of the musical in 2020. He starred alongside the show's composer Sara Bareilles for both stints.

In 2021, Creel appeared in two episodes of American Horror Stories opposite Matt Bomer and Sierra McCormick on FX on Hulu. On August 29, 2021, Creel was featured in the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network's aired concert for the musical Wicked which was hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. Other featured artists were Rita Moreno, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana DeBose, Ali Stroker, Amber Riley, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Nettles, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Isaac Cole Powell, and Gabrielle Ruiz performing many of the musical's numbers.

In May 2022, Creel appeared as The Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in the New York City Center Encores! production and subsequent Broadway revival in June of Into the Woods. He left the production July 23 for two weeks and was filled in for by Cheyenne Jackson and understudy Jason Forbach. He came back for a month and then left again on September 4 for 10 days and was filled in for by Andy Karl, He returned to the production September 16 and stayed with the cast through its closing date January 8, 2023. During the Broadway run he would star opposite Bareilles, Karl, Joshua Henry, Phillipa Soo, Brian d'Arcy James, Patina Miller, Stephanie J. Block, Krysta Rodriguez, Denée Benton, Julia Lester, Sebastian Arcelus, Montego Glover, Diane Phelan, and Joaquina Kalukango. He reprised these roles in the 2023 national tour opposite Glover, Block, Arcelus, Forbach, Phelan, Rodriguez, and Karl.

2023–2024: Walk on Through The first time Creel performed a song from his self-written musical was at Elsie Fest in 2019, where he debuted the song "The Only One". In 2021, Creel performed two shows of a self-described 'concert-cal' called Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice, for which Creel was commissioned to write and perform the book, music, and lyrics by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In December 2022, two industry readings of Walk on Through were held at Pershing Square Signature Theatre Center. Creel spoke at length about working on this piece before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cast featured performers Ryan Vasquez, Madeline Benson, Chris Peters, and Sasha Allen. A live recorded cast album of the musical was released on September 30, 2025.

Personal life Creel divided his time between residences on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and in Carmel, New York.

Activism

Creel was gay and was heavily involved in gay rights activism. He was one of the founders, with Rory O'Malley and Jenny Kanelos, of Broadway Impact, an LGBT activist group that mobilized the New York theatre community in the pursuit of marriage equality. He was also a regular on the LGBT R FamilyVacations cruise with Rosie O'Donnell. From 2015 until his death, Creel was part of the board of trustees for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Relationships

In 2009, Creel dated fellow actor Jonathan Groff. He also dated Broadway actor Henry Gottfried for several years, whom he mentioned in his Tony acceptance speech. At the time of his death, he was in a relationship with Alex Temple Ward. Numerous actors who had worked with Creel publicly paid tribute to him.

Theaters in Toronto, the West End and on Broadway announced that they would dim their lights as a tribute to Creel. Initially, only one-third of Broadway's 41 theaters planned towards dimming their lights in honor of Creel, but after public outcry, the tribute was announced to be extended to all Broadway venues. In London, a candlelight vigil was held in Creel's memory at the Actors' Church in Covent Garden on October 6, 2024, with the lights dimming on the four West End theaters he performed in on December 3, 2024.

Acting credits Theatre Adapted from About The Artists and Broadway World. Year Show Role Venue Notes Ref. 1997 ChessEnsembleBenedum Center1998 CamelotA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Hero North Shore Music Theatre 1998–1999 Fame Nick Piazza North American Tour 2000 Honk! Ugly North Shore Music TheatreHelen Hayes Performing Arts CenterA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumHeroCalifornia Musical Theatre 2001 The Flood Male Lead Prospect Theatre Company Hair Principal / Father / Tribe New York City Center, Off-Broadway Encores! Concert Bat Boy: The Musical Rick / Dillon / Lorraine / Pan / Bud / Daisy Union Square Theatre, Off-Broadway Spring Awakening Melchior Gabor Roundabout Theatre CompanyWorkshop 2002 Wicked Boq Unknown New York Venue 2002–2003 Thoroughly Modern Millie Jimmy Smith Marquis Theatre, Broadway Original cast 2003 The Little Mermaid Prince Eric Unknown New York Venue Workshop Bounce Hollis Bessemer Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre, ChicagoKennedy Center Bright Lights, Big City Michael Peter Lewis Auditorium Concert 2004 A Tale of Two Cities Charles Darnay Unknown New York Venue Workshop The Mystery Plays Joe Manning Second Stage Theatre Yale Repertory Theater Illyria Sebastian Prospect Theatre Hair Performer New Amsterdam Theatre Actors' Fund Concert 2004–2005 La Cage aux Folles Jean-Michel Marquis Theatre, Broadway Original revival cast 2006 Mary Poppins Bert Prince Edward Theatre, West End Replacement cast 2009–2010 Hair Claude Hooper Bukowski Al Hirschfeld Theatre, BroadwayOriginal revival cast 2010 Gielgud Theatre, West End2011 Prometheus Bound Prometheus American Repertory Theater She Loves Me Steven Kodaly Stephen Sondheim Theatre Concert 2012–2013 The Book of Mormon Elder Kevin Price U.S. National Tour Original tour cast 2013–2014 Prince of Wales Theatre, West End Original cast 2014 U.S. National Tour / Toronto 2015–2016 Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway Replacement cast 2016 She Loves Me Steven Kodaly Studio 54, BroadwayOriginal revival cast 2017–2018 Hello, Dolly! Cornelius Hackl Shubert Theatre, Broadway 2018 Thoroughly Modern Millie Jimmy Smith Minskoff Theatre, BroadwayConcert My One and Only Captain Billy Buck Chandler Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Broadway 2019 Waitress Dr. Jim Pomatter Brooks Atkinson Theatre, BroadwayReplacement cast 2020 Adelphi Theatre, West End 2021Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum NovicePerformer/Himself The Met MuseumAlso creator, songwriter, and author2022 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Pershing Square Signature Center Into the Woods The Wolf / Cinderella's Prince New York City Center, Off-Broadway Encores! 2022–2023 St. James Theatre, Broadway Original revival cast 2023 U.S. National Tour Original tour cast 2023–2024 Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice Performer/Himself MCC Theater, Off-Broadway Also creator, songwriter, and author

Television

Other works 2016: The Ceiling Fan (producer) • short film TBA: The Delicate Medium (associate producer) • short film (released posthumously)

Discography

Solo discography Albums 2006: Goodtimenation (Creel/Roth) 2012: Get Out (self-released)

EPs 2010: Quiet (self-released); No. 44 at the Billboard's Top Heatseekers

Singles 2011: "Noise (Equality Now)" 2012: "Whitney Houston"

Guest appearances 2002: "Lullaby of Broadway" with Marc Kudisch & David Nehls from Broadway Romances Manhattan 2005: "'Til Then" from ZEITGEIST by Dan Lipton 2007: "Young at Heart" from Over the Rainbow (Universal) 2010: "Greenwich Time" from Love on a Summer Afternoon: Songs of Sam Davis (PS Classics) 2017: "Christmas Broadway Bus Stop" with Laura Bell Bundy & Eden Espinosa 2019: "Do You Hear the Bells?" with The Laurie Berkner Band from Waiting for the Elevator 2020: "Witchcraft/I Put a Spell on You" from I Put a Spell on You (Broadway Records) 2020: "If It Be Your Will" with Shoshana Bean & Shayna Steele from Sing Your Hallelujah (Shotime Records) 2021: "Something Wonderful" from R&H Goes Pop! 2021: "A Moment Forever Ago" from Central Park Season Two, The Soundtrack 2025: "Take Me Or Leave Me - Live" with Aaron Tveit from MCC Theater's Miscast: The Studio Sessions (Joy Machine Records)

Cast recordings 2002: Thoroughly Modern Millie (RCA Victor) 2005: Hair (Actors Fund of America Benefit Recording) (Sh-K-Boom) 2005: Bright Lights, Big City (Original Cast Recording) (Sh-K-Boom) 2006: It's Only Life (A New Musical Revue) (PS Classics) 2009: Hair (New Broadway Cast Recording) (Sh-K-Boom) 2011: Fine and Dandy (World Premiere Recording) (PS Classics) 2012: Flashdance – The Musical (Roth Music Inc.) 2012: Fugitive Songs – A Song Cycle (Warner/Chappell) 2016: She Loves Me (2016 Broadway Cast Recording) (Ghostlight Records) 2017: Hello, Dolly! (New Broadway Cast Recording) (Masterworks Broadway) 2019: Three Points of Contact (Very Intense Records) 2019: The Man in the Ceiling (World Premiere Recording) (Ghostlight Records) 2022: Into the Woods (2022 Broadway Cast Recording) (Craft Recordings) 2025: Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice (Off-Broadway Live Cast Recording) (Hackl House Records)

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Awards and nominations