Artist:Gavin Creel w/Will Swenson and company
Song:Hair
Album:Hair: The New Broadway Cast Recording
Of course most folks should be familiar with the Broadway musical Hair which emerged in the 60s in the wake of hippie culture. After Hair was turned into a 1979 film, it was finally revived on Broadway in 2009 starring Gavin Creel as Claude. My guess is that producers looked at Hair as an anachronism in 2000s society and maybe theater goers wouldn't want to see it. But it did well and the show went on a national tour after the Broadway run. The stars of the 2009 revival were Gavin Creel as Claude, Will Swenson as George and Caissie Levy as Sheila. Creel was a Tony winning actor. He was mainly a Broadway performer. He did very little TV and no films. He was born Apr. 18, 1976 in Findlay, OH. He was raised in a devout religious home which alienated him. And he got into theater to escape. Creel earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater at the University of Michigan. He started working in regional theater in the late 90s. He went on a national tour of Fame in 1999. He moved to New York in 2001. Creel made his Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of the 1967 film Thoroughly Modern Millie. Sutton Foster was his co-star. He was nominated for a Best Actor Tony. He was in the 2004 revival of La Cage Aux Folles followed by a 2006 London production of Mary Poppins. Creel was supposed to star as Jesus in a 2008 revival of Godspell. But the show was cancelled when an investor pulled out. And that allowed him to replace Jonathan Groff in the Hair revival. The show did very well and Creel was nominated for a Tony. The original cast album is available on CD. Creel appeared in the 2012 production of The Book of Mormon. Then he won a Tony for the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly!. Creel was diagnosed with cancer and he died on Sept. 30, 2024 at age 48. The Broadway lights were dimmed in his memory. Here's Gavin Creel with Will Swenson and company performing Hair on the 2009 Tony Awards broadcast.
No comments:
Post a Comment