Man of the Moment: Gavin Creel with Melissa A. Bartell

Our August Man of the Month, Gavin Creel, is a Broadway song and dance man with a message, and a wicked sense of humor. He’s currently singing, dancing, and crawling over the audience, as Claude in the Tony award winning revival of the musical Hair

Gavin, please tell our readers a bit about yourself? How does a boy from Ohio end up playing leading roles on Broadway?

I grew up in Findlay, Ohio, which is about 45 minutes south of Toledo.

When I was young I used to dream of going to Toledo. I love that. Olive Garden was like a Mecca to me. All those breadsticks and salad….as much I wanted! Findlay was (and still is) flag city use, and in my opinion is the most ‘normal’ place to grow up. It felt very “America”, and I felt very normal. It wasn’t until I went to college in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan that I really realized….holy balls, there is a whole other amazing world out there full of different kinds of people and different kinds of thinking and all that wonderful amazing diverse stuff that I love about life. But Findlay was a good starting point.

I was that kid who all growing up, wanted to go somewhere else. It is sort of my curse now…trying to live in the NOW, that I am always thinking about what is next. I suppose that is what drove me to New York. I figured…let’s get to the biggest and the craziest as fast as possible!

Did you always want to be a performer, or were there other careers that interested you?

I loved singing all growing up, I loved showing off for my sisters, and I guess musical theatre seemed like the perfect place to do both of those things.

Originally I thought I wanted to be a movie director. I was obsessed with reading about George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg and watching movies for the camera shots and storytelling.

I did a couple plays and musicals in high school and people told me I was good, so I kept going. I auditioned for some colleges, got in, and kept going – decided on Michigan, spent four amazing years studying all about the theatre, meeting incredible professors, classmates, and performers and just….kept going.

I’ve been really lucky to end up where I am. But I did work as hard as I knew how.

You first came to national attention with a Tony-nominated performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie. Tell us a bit about that experience?

Millie was a huge first break.

I felt so lucky to get to be in that show and do that part. I suppose looking back, I didn’t really realize what a HUGE opportunity it was while it was happening to me. I was pretty stressed out during rehearsals, though, so I definitely felt the pressure and the importance of what we were up to.

The great thing was, the lead, Sutton [Foster], was sort of poised to be the next darling of Broadway and the attention was mostly on her and her huge break, so….I didn’t have to worry too much about the REAL pressure.

I loved playing the part, loved the cast, and loved the crew and stage management team and everyone. It was a wild ride that really shot me out of the showbiz cannon with a glitzy bang. Very grateful for it.

You were also in the 2004 Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles, and in the West End production of Mary Poppins. Tell us a little bit about those two shows. Was working in the West End different than working in New York? Do you have a preference?

La Cage was something I wasn’t all that interested in doing, to be honest. I had done it in college when I got my equity card at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and I got to be one of the Cagelles for a couple little things and I thought, “THEY are the parts you wanna play if you are in La Cage, not the boring killjoy son who tries to screw everything up with his selfish ways.” But then I met Jerry Zaks and Jerry Mitchell and realized…I gotta do this.

It was a lot of fun throughout the whole process. I was really proud of what that show said about family at a time when the country was embroiled in an election year that had gay marriage as the hot button/divisive topic. I thought what Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein wrote about love and acceptance and perseverance was the perfect antidote to the the frustration a lot of us were feeling as they turned the race into a ‘moral election.’ I was proud of La Cage‘s message.

Mary Poppins was something I had dreamed of doing since Anthony Drewe told me in 2000 that he and his collaborator George Stiles might possibly be writing the score for the stage version.

I knew it was a perfect part for me and I was determined to audition for it when it came around. I originally auditioned for the Broadway production, but they decided to bring Gavin Lee over to reprise his performance from London, and send me there to replace him. Up to that point I had never imagined myself working in the West End, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

It turned out to be the best year and a half of my life. I traveled, saw the world, brought my family over for the holidays, met incredible Brats, ate amazing foods, and got to play a fantastic part in a beautiful production. I dream of playing it on Broadway, still. Maybe someday.

And of course, now you’re wow-ing audiences as Claude in the revival of Hair, for which you received another Tony nomination. Tell us a bit about this production, and your role in it.

I am so proud to be in this show. I love what it says, I BELIEVE what it says: that it is our duty as human beings to connect with one another and see past the labels and confines society has placed on us. That we must stand up for what we believe and fight against any and every injustice we see out there. If we don’t, then who will?

This score is incredible and this part is a dream. A young man stuck between his sense of obligation, and his love of a group of people so unique and free, encouraging him to break away from the traditions of his past and his family and embrace the dawning age. Galt, Jim and Jerry created a piece free of the forms of musicals that preceded it, and blasted through creative barriers and sounds to develop something that, over 40 years later, is still blowing peoples’ minds and opening their eyes and hearts.

Is there a difference between a revival and an original show, from the performer’s standpoint?

Original shows involve a lot more mania and guess work. Since it has never been tried before, usually the writers are constantly adjusting and reworking, trying to figure out what does and doesn’t ultimate grab the audience and best tell the story.

With revivals, usually you know something worked before and you just have to honor the material, stay out of its way, and let it do the work. When people force all kinds of crazy concept on revivals, rarely, in my opinion, does that work. Once in a while you’ll get a Cabaret by Sam Mendez or John Doyle’s Sweeney Todd, but the success of Hair isn’t totally attributed to Diane’s bizarre wild concept. If anything, she is remaining true and trying to just let us BE present and stay out of the way of the piece. I like that.

Do you feel at all like you’re competing with the original production of Hair?

No. So many people come and say, “I was there!! I saw the original!” And most of them say, “You totally did it justice!” or “It was better than I remember it!”

I’m not really interested either way. With Hair, I’m really proud of this show and this version of it. And it is here NOW, so…

Are there any particular challenges with Hair that you’ve had to overcome?

Yeah. It is really exhausting to do. Building up stamina was huge.

And now, maintaining my health and physical ability is key. I just have to be mindful that amidst all this seemingly joyful chaos that is erupting all over the stage, there has to be a certain amount of awareness so you don’t fall off the scaffolding or come careening down the balcony when you’re out crawling all over the patrons. (But I love it!)

What’s the most rewarding part of your career? Regular paychecks? Contact with fans? Being part of Broadway history?

The applause. Best part. Bar none. Finishing what you do, for WORK, and having a crowd leap to its feet, slamming their hands together and calling out in joy. Who gets that? You think that lady at Duane Reade who just sold me Blistex gets 1,400 people to applaud for her at the end of her shift? If she did, maybe she’d give me a little more eye contact and better customer service.

I noticed that you keep a blog. Were you always a blogger, or is this a more recent endeavor?

Blogging is something that I just tried out a while back. I didn’t’ know if anyone would read it, I was really crap about updating (and still am…I’m going to get better) but….I just think it is neat that there are people out there who might listen to my rants.

And…If I do say so, I think I have some good ideas and nice things to say, and I am interested in making the world better, in my own small way. I try to do that with my music and writing. But…the blog is a hands on, immediate way to reach out and tell people what is on my mind, or pissing me off, or getting me excited. Pretty neat.

You found the time to produce a CD, GOODTIMENATION, which is available from CD Baby. (I’m listening to it as I write this, actually.) Tell us about the CD?

I hope you are enjoying it. My co writer Robbie and I have been working together for over 5 years and it is a match made in heaven. He’s a soul I will know and work with forever.

I wanted to make a CD that showcased me in an original pop way. I loved making mix tapes as a kid and I wanted to make a record that took the listener on a journey through different styles and colors and emotions. I don’t like bland sameness and I am really proud of what GOODTIMENATION does.

I also wanted to make a happy record. Too much angry, moody music exists out there. I wanted my first stab at original pop tunes to be joyful and wild and sexy and silly and moving.

The next record we are working on will get a little more melancholy but will hopefully maintain that same sense of wonder and light that I think I captured on the debut

Your bio at CD Baby mentions a background in classical music. Will you ever return to those classical roots? Do you think having a classical foundation makes you a better singer/musician?

By classical, I just meant that I took piano and trumpet lessons, and played Schuman, and Debussy, and Rachmanninov. I played in band and orchestra growing up in Ohio, and that was about the extent of it. I was a child of the ’80s and listened to the radio. That was my first love. so, no, I don’t imagine you’ll be buying a CD of my classical favorites anytime soon. Or ever.

Hair is definitely a musical with a message. Are you outspoken about issues that matter to you, or do prefer to let your work speak for you?

I have recently become pretty outspoken and politically aware. My biggest issue is marriage equality. I co founded an organization called Broadway Impact (www.BroadwayImpact.com) that is focused on mobilizing the theatre community and its fans in a grass roots way into action for the equality movement.

I am so excited to be alive right now, and I see this as THE civil rights issue of our time. While I like to have my writing and music reflect bits and pieces of my political passion, as a citizen, I am trying to stay fully involved and use my voice to bring about positive change.

We will win this, and those people who don’t think we will…..will join us someday, because….we will win this.

What advice would you give to people coming to see Hair who aren’t familiar with the show? What should they look for?

Boobs. (I’m just kidding. It just seemed like you were setting me up for that one.)

Come see the show and set aside any preconceptions you have about the piece. Just get ready for an experience, and not a show. It is a night that is shared directly with the audience and the performers. And it is unlike anything I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of.

What advice would you offer to young people who are considering careers in the arts?

Stay in school. Study with great teachers. Surround yourself with good people who are interested in being good people first, and great actors second.

And….do other things besides the theatre or acting. Bake, bike, write, play soccer, start a journal, start a club, raise a dog, build bookshelves, learn how to fix a car, anything. It will all inform you as a person and make you a more interesting and well rounded individual and artist.

What’s next for you? How long is your contract for Hair, and where else can we expect to see you?

I’ll be in Hair until September at this point. Maybe longer, but for now, through September.

If I have learned anything in my time in this business, I know better than to make plans. I know what I HOPE will happen, but what WILL happen, isn’t up to me. I’m just going to keep creating and keep singing out.

You can follow Gavin Creel’s blog, or order his CD, via his website at GavinCreel.com. Hair is playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in New York, and tickets are available through the show’s website: HairBroadway.com. You can also follow the tribe from Hair on Twitter: @HairTribe.

Melissa A. Bartell likes strong coffee, red wine, and dark chocolate. She earns her living writing web-copy for an Internet marketing firm & dabbles in fiction on the side. She lives near Dallas, TX with her husband, two dogs, and more computers than anyone really needs. She is the Managing Editor here at All Things Girl. Find out more about her on our About Page, check out her blog at MissMeliss.com, or follow her on Twitter: @Melysse