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 as Claude in the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair, both Tony Award-nominated performances. From 2012–2015, 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 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!.
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.[1] 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.[2] In 1998–1999, the tour performed in cities including Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.[3] 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.[2] He also took part in the 2001 workshop of Spring Awakening.[4]
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.[4] Of note, he made his screen acting debut in the 2003 film Eloise at the Plaza and its follow-up Eloise at Christmastime 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 Mary Poppins. 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.[2] Following Hair, he starred in the world premiere of Prometheus Bound and the original US tour of the Flashdance 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 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 Award, the most prestigious theatrical awards in the United Kingdom.[2] 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, 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.[7]
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.
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.[10] Creel has spoken at length on various podcasts about working on this piece before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Creel is gay.[17] He is a regular on the LGBT RFamilyVacations cruise with Rosie O'Donnell.[18] He is also 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 is an alumnus of Findlay First Edition Show Choir.[19]
Creel took a temporary leave from Hello, Dolly! in March 2018 to recover from back surgery.[20]
Acting credits
Theatre
Adapted from About The Artists and Broadway World.[1][21]
