Publicist Matt Polk said Creel died at his Manhattan home from metastatic melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma. He was diagnosed in July 2024.
Creel had a talent for revivals of Broadway’s Golden Age, but he also starred in modern fare like the role of Dr. Pomatter in Sara Bareilles’ musical Waitress on Broadway in 2019 and in the West End in 2020.
He won an Olivier Award for The Book of Mormon.
Gavin Creel accepts the award for Hello, Dolly! (Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)
Composer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda recalled Creel as his first King George III during the Future Hamilton Workshop: “He wrapped the audience around his finger with nothing but a Burger King crown and its breathtaking style. charisma and talent. He is so loved and it is unimaginable that he is no longer with us.
Creel grew up in Findlay, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance.
He toured and did regional work before landing the lead role of Jimmy Smith, opposite then-newcomer Sutton Foster, in the Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie.
He also worked on Stephen Sondheim’s penultimate musical comedy, Bounce, directed by Hal Prince.
He played Jean-Michel in the 2004 revival of “La Cage Aux Folles” and returned to Broadway in 2009 as Claude Hooper Bukowski in the Public Theater revival of Hair.
Associated Press critic Michael Kuchwara was full of praise: “Gavin Creel, in addition to possessing a powerful voice, brings a poignant gentleness to Claude, the most anguished member of the tribe.
“Claude has the most history in the series: a conventional, middle-class upbringing in Queens; a total fascination with all things British, expressed in the song Manchester, England; and a restless sense of duty that ultimately led him to be drafted into the Vietnam War. Creel handles everything with confidence.
He played Steven Kodaly in the 2016 production of She Loves Me at Studio 54. The following season, Creel was cast as Cornelius Hackl, opposite legends Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce, in the hit 2017 revival of Hello Dolly! directed by Jerry Zaks.
Creel became a leading voice within the theater industry working to pass the federal Marriage Equality Act. He teamed up with his friends Rory O’Malley and Jenny Kanelos to co-found the nonprofit Broadway Impact.
Off stage, he played singing waiter Bill in the films Eloise At The Plaza and Eloise At Christmastime alongside Dame Julie Andrews.
In 2021, he participated in Ryan Murphy’s miniseries American Horror Stories alongside Matt Bomer. His 2022 solo concert was filmed for the first episode of PBS’s Stars Onstage At Westport Country Playhouse.
In 2022, Creel appeared in an off-Broadway concert of Sondheim and James Lapine’s fractured fairy tale musical Into The Woods” – Creel played the roles of Cinderella’s Prince as well as the Wolf.
The show later transferred to Broadway and was extended several times, earning it a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Musical.
He is survived by his mother, Nancy Clemens Creel, and his father, James William Creel; his sisters, Heather Elise Creel and Allyson Jo Creel; and his partner, Alex Temple Ward.
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