Happy Birthday to Tony- and Olivier-winning performer Gavin Creel, born April 18, 1976, in Findlay, Ohio. After graduating from Findlay H.S., Creel studied musical theater at University of Michigan. Within months of earning his bachelor’s degree in 1998, he landed his first professional job in a national tour of Fame. You can read more about Creel’s early days in my interview with him for Dramatics magazine.
When the Fame tour ended, Creel moved to New York, making his Off-Broadway debut in Bat Boy (2001). Later that year, he was cast as Melchior in a workshop of Spring Awakening and as one of the Tribe in the Encores! concert of Hair. Creel’s breakthrough came in 2002 with his Broadway debut in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which he earned his first Tony nomination. Below is Creel and Sutton Foster singing “I Turned the Corner” on the September 13, 2002, episode of CBS This Morning.
Creel spent the next few years in various developmental productions, including Bounce and Bright Lights, Big City in 2003 and A Tale of Two Cities in 2004. After another concert of Hair, Creel returned to Broadway in the 2004 revival of La Cage aux Folles. He made his London debut as Bert in Mary Poppins two years later. The 2009 revival of Hair brought Creel back to Broadway and earned him his second Tony nomination. Below is Creel and the Hair revival cast singing the title song at the 2009 Tony Awards.
Creel opened the 2010 West End revival of Hair and was back in London for the 2013 premiere of The Book of Mormon, after spending a year in that show’s American national tour. For his performance as Elder Price, Creel won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Below is Creel singing “I Believe” at the 2013 Oliviers.
In 2014, Creel brought his award-winning performance to Toronto and Montreal, before returning to Broadway in the role during 2015. The following year, he starred in the Roundabout Theatre’s Broadway revival of She Loves Me. Below is Creel and Jane Krakowski performing “Ilona” in that production, which was filmed for the PBS Great Performances series.
Creel’s most recent Broadway appearances include the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly!, for which he earned his first Tony Award, and Waitress in 2019. When the pandemic began last year, he had just opened in the West End production of Waitress. Below is Creel and Sara Bareilles singing “You Matter to Me” during a promotional concert for the London production of Waitress.