Gavin James Creel (born April 18, 1976) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

. Creel made his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in 2002 in the leading role of Jimmy in ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical- romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve you ...

'' before starring as Claude in the 2009 Broadway revival of '' Hair'', both

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-nominated performances. From 2012–2015, he starred as Elder Price in ''

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

''; he received a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for originating the role in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

version of the musical and has played the role in the US National Tour and on Broadway. In 2017, he received a Tony Award for his performance as Cornelius Hackl in Broadway's '' Hello, Dolly!.'' Other stage credits of his include '' La Cage aux Folles'' (2004), ''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 ...

'' (2016), ''

Waitress Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attendin ...

'' (2019), and ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' (2022) on Broadway, ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...

'' (2006) and ''Waitress'' (2020) in the West End, and the national tours of '' Fame'' (1998), ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend ...

'' (2012), and ''Into the Woods'' (2023). Primarily a theater actor, his most notable screen acting role is as Bill in ''

Eloise at the Plaza ''Eloise at the Plaza'' is a 2003 American made-for-television comedy film based on the Eloise series of children's books drawn and written by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight. It stars young Sofia Vassilieva as Eloise, an irrepressible six-ye ...

'' and its Christmas-themed sequel.

Early life

Creel was born in Findlay,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. He attended

Findlay High School Findlay High School is a public high school in Findlay, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Findlay City School District, and the second largest high school in northwest Ohio. Their nickname is the Trojans. They are members of the Three River ...

, graduating in 1994. He received his

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in musical theatre at the

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded by Calvin Brainerd ...

in 1998.

Career

1997–2002: Early career

Creel began his professional career in

regional theater A regional theater or resident theater in the United States is a professional or semi-professional theater company that produces its own seasons. The term ''regional theater'' most often refers to a professional theater outside New York City. A reg ...

. Some of his earliest credits are as part of the resident cast of Pittsburgh CLO, a

repertory theater A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

, for their 1997 and 1998 seasons; mostly ensemble roles, some of his eight productions there included ''

Kiss Me Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-stag ...

'', ''La Cage aux Folles'''','' and ''On the Town''. Other stock theater credits around this time include productions in Massachusetts and New York state. Following college graduation, Creel played Nick Piazza in the opening cast of 1998 national tour of '' Fame''. 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.'' He also took part in the 2001 workshop of '' Spring Awakening''.

2002–2012: ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Hair''

In 2002, Creel made his Broadway debut in the original production ''

,'' originating the role of Jimmy Smith opposite

Sutton Foster Sutton Lenore Foster (born March 18, 1975) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her work on the Broadway stage, for which she has won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice, in 2002 for her role as Millie Di ...

's Millie Dillmount. A breakthrough performance, he was nominated for the

for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Following his departure from the show 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. Of note, he made his screen acting debut in the 2003 film ''

'' and its follow-up ''

Eloise at Christmastime ''Eloise at Christmastime'' is a 2003 American-Canadian made-for-television live-action film based on the 1958 book of the same name written by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight. The film was released on November 22, 2003 and was pro ...

'' as Bill. He returned to Broadway in 2004 in the revival '' La Cage aux Folles''. He played Jean-Michel throughout the production. In 2006, he made his West End debut in ''

.'' He replaced Bert in the original production. Also in 2006, he released his debut studio album ''Goodtimenation.'' 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. Following ''Hair'', he starred in the world premiere of ''Prometheus Bound'' and the original US tour of the ''

'' musical; the national tour was expected to function as a pre-Broadway production but did not transfer.

2012–present: ''The Book of Mormon'', ''Hello Dolly!'', and ''Into the Woods''

From 2012 until 2015, Creel starred in a series of productions of ''

''. 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

, the most prestigious theatrical awards in the United Kingdom. Following his West End run, he returned to the touring production for a number of months before joining the Broadway cast in 2015. Creel played the suave salesman Steven Kodaly, opposite

Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received fou ...

, in the 2016 Broadway revival of ''

''. The show was a critical success and the production became the first Broadway show ever to be

live-streamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but ...

. Since then, the recording has been part of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of ed ...

series ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...

''. In 2017, he began playing Cornelius Hackl in the Broadway revival of ''Hello, Dolly!'' starring

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden Gl ...

. 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 starring alongside Sara Bareilles. In 2021, Creel appeared in two episodes of ''

American Horror Stories ''American Horror Stories'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for FX on Hulu. Premiered on July 15, 2021, the series serves as the third installment in the '' American Story'' media franc ...

'' opposite

Matt Bomer Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor. He is the recipient of accolades such as a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 2000, he made his television debut o ...

and

Sierra McCormick Sierra McCormick (born October 28, 1997) is an American actress. She first became known for participating on the game show '' Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?'' (2007–2008) before making her acting debut with a recurring role as Lilith on t ...

FX on Hulu FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the compa ...

. Also in 2021, Creel performed in 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 The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 100 ...

. Creel has spoken at length on various podcasts about working on this piece before and during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. In 2022, Creel appeared as The Wolf and Cinderella's Prince in the New York City Center Encores! production and subsequent Broadway revival of ''

''. He will reprise the role in the 2023 national tour.

Personal life

Creel is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. He is a regular on the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term i ...

RFamilyVacations cruise with

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

. He is also one of the founders, with

Rory O'Malley Rory James O'Malley (born December 23, 1980) is an American actor, best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Elder McKinley in ''The Book of Mormon''. He is a co-founder of the gay rights activist group Broadway Impact. Early life O' ...

and Jenny Kanelos, of Broadway Impact, an LGBT activist group that mobilized the New York theatre community in the pursuit of

marriage equality Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. He is an alumnus of Findlay First Edition Show Choir. Creel took a temporary leave from ''Hello, Dolly!'' in March 2018 to recover from back surgery.

Acting credits

Theater

Adapted from About The Artists and ''Broadway World''.

Television

Other works

* 2016: ''The Ceiling Fan'' (producer) •

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

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 Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

;Singles * 2011: "Noise (Equality Now)" * 2012: "Whitney Houston" ;Guest appearances * 2002: "Lullaby of Broadway" with

Marc Kudisch Marc Kudisch (born September 22, 1966) is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway. Early life and education Kudisch was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Florence and Raymond Kudisch. His fa ...

David Nehls David Nehls (born 28 April 1964) is an American actor, singer, composer and lyricist who, with Betsy Kelso, wrote ''The Great American Trailer Park Musical''. Among other appearances he originated the role of Riff Raff in the 1996-2000 European t ...

from ''Broadway Romances Manhattan'' * 2005: "'Til Then" from ''ZEITGEIST'' by Dan Lipton *2007: "Young at Heart" from ''Over the Rainbow'' (

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

) *2010: "Greenwich Time" from ''Love on a Summer Afternoon: Songs of Sam Davis'' (PS Classics) *2017: "Christmas Broadway Bus Stop" with

Laura Bell Bundy Laura Ashley Bell Bundy (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for originating the Broadway roles of Amber Von Tussle in the musical version of '' Hairspray and'' Elle Woods in the musical version of '' Lega ...

Eden Espinosa Eden Erica Espinosa (born February 2, 1978) is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical '' Wicked''. In 2022, she was nominated fo ...

* 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 Broadway Records has been the name of three otherwise unrelated American record labels: * Broadway Records (1920s), founded in the early 1920s in Bridgeport, Connecticut * Broadway Records (1947), founded in 1947 in Los Angeles * Broadway Records ( ...

) *2020: "If It Be Your Will" with

Shoshana Bean Shoshana E. Bean (born September 1, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, YouTuber, and stage actress. She has released three records and has appeared on many theater cast recordings and film soundtracks. In 2022, Bean received a nomination f ...

Shayna Steele Shayna Steele (born September 23, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter and a Broadway stage actress. Career Steele's Broadway credits include ''Rent'' at the Nederlander Theatre, the revival of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the Foxwoods The ...

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''

Cast recordings

* 2002: ''

'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

) * 2005: ''Hair (

Actors Fund of America The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. S ...

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 "Fine and Dandy" is a popular song from the 1930 Broadway musical of the same name. Composition The music was written by Kay Swift, the lyrics by Paul James (a pseudonym of James Paul Warburg). The song was published in 1930. The song was introd ...

(World Premiere Recording)'' (PS Classics) * 2012: ''Flashdance - The Musical'' (Roth Music Inc.) * 2012: ''Fugitive Songs - A Song Cycle'' (Warner/Chappell) * 2016: ''

(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: ''

(2022 Broadway Cast Recording)'' (Craft Recordings)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* (official website) * * *

Gavin Creel Gavin James Creel (born April 18, 1976) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in musical theater. Creel made his Broadway debut in 2002 in the leading role of Jimmy in ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' before starring a ...

at ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''
Gavin Creel
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Creel, Gavin 1976 births Living people People from Findlay, Ohio Male actors from Ohio American gay actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors Tony Award winners American film producers LGBT people from Ohio American LGBT musicians LGBT rights activists from the United States Activists from Ohio University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Laurence Olivier Award winners Findlay High School alumni