Last year, Creel was in Chicago starring as The Wolf in the national touring production of „Into the Woods“ at the Nederlander Theatre.
Gavin Creel, a Broadway musical theater veteran who won a Tony Award for “Hello, Dolly!” opposite Bette Midler and earned nominations for “Hair” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” died Monday of a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 48.
Publicist Matt Polk said Creel died at his home in Manhattan of metastatic melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma. He was diagnosed in July 2024.
“I looked forward to working with him every single night. He was fantastic. I can’t believe he’s gone. What a loss,” Midler wrote on X. Idina Menzel shared a photo of Creelm on Instagram, writing, “Sweet sweet Gavin Creel. An angel among the angels.”
Creel had a knack for Golden Age Broadway revivals, but he also performed in modern fare, like in the role of Dr. Pomatter in Sara Bareilles’ musical “Waitress” on Broadway in 2019 and on the West End in 2020. He won an Olivier Award for “The Book of Mormon.”
Last year, Creel was in Chicago starring as The Wolf in the national touring production of “Into the Woods” at the Nederlander Theatre.
He also appeared locally with Lyric Opera of Chicago as part of “The New Classics: Songs from the New Golden Age of Musical Theater” virtual cabaret presented in 2021 via YouTube during the pandemic shutdown.
Composer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda recalled on social media that Creel was his first King George III when the soon-to-be-smash “Hamilton” was being workshopped: “He wrapped the audience around his finger with nothing but a Burger King crown and his mind-blowing charisma and talent.
