Broadway star Gavin Creel once spoke movingly about the peak of his career in a re-released interview clip following his death at the age of 48 on September 30.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, journalist Paul Wontorek shared a video clip from a 2012 interview he conducted with Creel, who died in the middle of treatment for a rare and aggressive form of cancer called sarcoma.
“When I die, and I think this might sound really cheesy, I hope to be that man again and play with those people,” Creel said in a clip posted to Instagram, as the two discussed his performance in Hair. “That’s my dream—my dream when I die, that heaven will be—they’ll bring me in and I’ll know my lines, and I’ll be able to do that play again.”
“They’re going to let me do it one more time and that’s going to be the first thing I do,” he added. “I’m going to say hi to my grandma, because I want to say hello to her first, and then I’m going to be escorted to the stage and I’m going to go in and everybody’s going to be there. You’re going to be an amazing crowd that’s ready to see us and we’re going to make it.”
“That probably sounds like a Hallmark card, or super cheesy,” he joked. “But if I don’t get another moment like that in my career, I had it. I’m grateful.”
Broadway community ‘shattered’ by Gavin Creel’s death at 48: ‘We lost someone too young’
Gavin Creel December 18, 2017
John Lamparski/Getty
Creel, a longtime Broadway performer who appeared in 13 different productions between 2002 and 2022, played Claude in the revival Hair from March 2009 to March 2010.
“Playing Claude in HAIR was a special experience for Gavin,” Wontorek described Creel’s clip. “It ignited the fire of activism in his hippie soul and helped him live his life openly as an LGBTQ hero for [so] many. ❤️”
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Dozens of Creel’s friends and former Broadway colleagues have taken to social media to mourn his death since the news broke Monday. Among them is Sutton Foster, who shared a picture of the pair touching noses on Instagram on October 1. “My sweet friend. I will love you forever,” she wrote.
Watch Joshua Henry and Gavin Creel Film ‘Agony’ From Broadway Revival ‘Into the Woods’
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Gavin Creel May 25, 2017
Nicholas Hunt/Getty
Actress and singer Patti Murin took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a series of photos showing an exchange of messages between her and Creel, writing that “his words are what I will remember most” after his death.
“Gavin Creel changed lives just by existing. Our hearts are broken, but the view from the window of his house is comforting,” Murin, 44, wrote, identifying Creel as a neighbor. “He will never truly go away. Too many people loved him.”
Laura Benanti also shared an undated photo of Creel on Instagram, writing, “Anyone who has ever met Gavin remembers a moment (or many) when he made them feel seen and special.”
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Source: HIS Education