Interview: Tony Award Winner Gavin Creel Chats About His Lyric Opera Debut

Ahead of Lyric Opera's June 10 concert "The New Classics: Songs from the New Golden Age," Tony Award winner Gavin Creel chatted about making his Lyric debut, his hopes for the future of equity and access on Broadway, and how he handled self-care during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Creel shared his open, honest, and deep responses about the issues currently facing the Broadway community and also the joy of returning to the stage and to performing musical theater at Lyric Opera.

Talk to me about Lyric Opera's The New Classics. What can audiences expect from the concert?

Well, the strange thing about this thing is I can't really comment on the whole concert because normally we would all rehearse together. Because of COVID, we had to rehearse and do our own parts separately, which was bizarre. There's no audience, and I don't really know what the end concert will be. I can only speak to my parts. What was wonderful was I got a call from David Chase of whom I'm a huge fan, and I love his musicality and the way he plays the piano and his choices with music. I worked with him on THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, my first [Broadway] show, and I feel like we did a couple other shows together. We definitely did HELLO, DOLLY! together. I attribute him partially to why "Sunday Clothes" went as well as it did because he picked the key for me to sing it. I remember we were around the piano and we're all together and Jerry Zaks is there and the orchestra and Larry Hochman is there. But David's at the piano saying, "Let's go up a half step. Let's go up another half step. Let's go down. Let's go up."

I was excited about the idea of the show being a celebration of the modern Golden Age. Because I have done a lot of Golden Age musicals and a lot of revivals. Most of my career on Broadway has been in revivals. I crave doing a new piece and doing new contemporary composers.

We hashed around ideas about which songs I could sing and he had a few ideas, one of which was "Popular" from WICKED. Initially, I was like "No," and I'm so glad I did it. It was so fun to do. And neat to be a man singing that song. I'm doing songs by [Stephen] Sondheim, [Stephen] Schwartz, [Adam] Guettel, and Jason Robert Brown.

I think they've shot [the concert] really beautifully. We filmed it backstage. It was just a really special crew and a very fast, but warm environment. Cory [Lippiello, Lyric Opera's Artistic Administrator] hosted us so beautifully. It was nice to get out of New York. It was the first time I'd gotten on a plane. And it was like I felt giddy almost because it was like, "Oh, wow life. I haven't seen this in awhile."

The concert itself is going to be a huge celebration of composers and material that a lot of people might think of as contemporary even though now as I age it's becoming [classic]...It's just funny to think of some of this stuff as becoming classic musical theater choices. Sondheim still feels modern to me, even though he's not. And Stephen Schwartz, even though he's still writing, as Sondheim is too. It's neat to celebrate these composers alongside Jeanine Tesori, who I think is a contemporary and still kicking butt, and Jason and Adam and all these different people. I hope people enjoy it.

What excites you most about making your Lyric debut? And can you tell me more about what it was like to be in that space?

I'd never been in the house before, and Cory brought me out to show me. I cannot believe that space. It's like Radio City Music Hall. It's epically, romantically, bombastically theatrical and grand. The backstage space is one of the biggest I've ever seen. You're on the river. It seems like such a deep respect for the arts in your city, in that building. And I can almost feel the ache of the building not having been able to do what it does and host artists.

What I think was exciting about the concert is it was finding a way to adapt, and the Lyric is finding a way to adapt and to be invited to be a part of that, especially because I know my friend Jenn Gambatese is part of the concert and she's worked there before. And as my friend Jo Lampert who took part in the concert and she's worked there before. I've had other friends who went and did shows at Lyric, and I'm honored to be in their company in a lot of ways having not ever performed on the stage myself. I said to Cory, I'd love to be able to find something to come back and do live on stage.

It was just majestic. It's so wonderfully majestic. There's no denying being in that space and around those people. And being backstage and the dressing rooms. It felt like a sleeping giant was just starting to wake itself from a long hibernation.

You're no stranger to performing in streaming theater. BroadwayHD live-streamed a performance of Roundabout's SHE LOVES ME revival in 2016. Looking at that and then this upcoming concert at Lyric, do you anticipate that we will see more of these hybrid experiences even after theaters and Broadway reopen? What's the future of that?

I had a very different opinion before the pandemic. I still hold onto the idea that the only way to experience the theater is to experience it live. It's what makes us as lucky as we are to love it, to be in it. I'm not interested in a hybrid model. That said, if you have good directors and good cinematographers and good camera operators who are ace at their game and understand theater, I think there's a real benefit to finding really creative, beautiful ways to capture what audiences might not be able to get to see. Broadway's really expensive, and we have to look at that. We're looking at it now in a lot of ways and the restructuring of money and audiences and diversity of projects and producing and the social justice movement that needs to happen in theater. Finally reckoning with what is our culpability as white people, what have we turned a blind eye to. I foolishly, and probably racistly, thought that theater is a rich, elitist art form. And what I didn't put in there originally was white. It's important for us to look at that. And I think one of the ways in which we can start building an audience is through virtual experiences that I would like to be filmed brilliantly.

You can't just turn the rock over and now people who not only would normally not be able to afford the theater experience but who have felt ostracized and thought, "The theater's just not a place for me." They're not just going to come running in because they've been waiting. They don't know anything about it. What's beautiful about filming and these online experiences we've been forced to adapt to quickly is, what if we take our time and build a theater piece that was meant to be filmed, rather than filming a theater piece. What are the creative ways that we can work with people in Hollywood or people in New York that are in the film industry to capture theater in a new, exciting way?

I'm excited by how we can find ways to reach more people through this. If you can just turn your computer on and get to experience something. It's a lot like when I was a kid, and I had the PBS Great Performances. The three that I remember the most are INTO THE WOODS, that might have just been a film actually, the SWEENEY TODD tour that they toured with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury, which I watched ad nauseum. And the thing I watched the most was the Great Performances filming of the 1991 concert of the Sondheim celebration at Carnegie Hall. It was all these famous people coming together and singing Sondheim tunes. And I think about my snobbery when I said, "Oh, I don't think I want a hybrid life or whatever." But had I not gotten a glimpse of that on my worn-out VHS tapes, would I have had as much of a chance to think about, care about, want to know more about theater? I think I would have found out about it in some way. Long answer to say as long as it's well done, I think it's an interesting idea.

What are your hopes for the future of Broadway when it reopens, and what would you like to see change about the Broadway landscape? What would you like to see change in terms of equity and access to Broadway theater, both for performers and for audiences?

It is complicated because Broadway is tourism. It's a business. And it is beholden to capitalism because money is at the center of all of it. If we were just doing art, we would be doing it for free in the woods next to my house right now, which I love doing. But people have to pay and the problem is the people that have had to pay for their bills and have been paid to do it, the majority of us are white. What we need to do is expand opportunities so the BIPOC community mainly is not only included in the process, not only onstage actors, but backstage, IATSE, 802, the ushers, the ticket takers. That there is representation, opportunity, and pay for members of the BIPOC community to join the theater community in ways that they frankly haven't felt welcome in the same way. That's not a solution that's going to happen overnight.

I think for the theater it has to start with, I don't know how you do this because it's not my interest or my power, but you have to start with the theater owners. And say to them: We have to rethink the model of Broadway and getting a thirty-year contract from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA doesn't need to be what we strive for for every one of your theaters. What if we go back to a model where we don't expect a show to run longer than a year or six months? To do that you have to restructure how things are paid for and what things are cost. And then we're into a conversation that I don't know anything about.

From my standpoint as an actor and a writer, I'm writing a piece right now that I'm going to do in October at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I was supposed to do it in June 2020, and obviously it got cancelled. My hope is to bring it to the theater. My first step is going to be a truncated concert of the original material at the Met. I know that as I create the entire time I'm thinking of, as much as I can as a white, 45-year-old man who has benefited from the theater and who has been lucky and who has enjoyed and loved the majority of the time within this business, I am now realizing I need to be mindful of racial and social justice with every decision of power I have. When I'm in a position of power, which is rare in the theater, with this I'm like how can I, within my white, middle-aged, gay male story collaborate with people backstage, onstage, who are people I may not have met yet, but I need to know in the BIPOC community. That's something I think about. Is there a place within the story I'm telling where it would feel authentic for me to speak on this issue? I'm still trying to figure that out. That's how I can do it.

And also producing-wise, as far as the commercial side of it goes, every time I'm thinking about developing this piece, I'm trying to do it in the least expensive way possible so it's extremely produce-able. And when people participate with me, I want to talk to producers who are interested in new models for producing. Profit sharing for the people involved that will reward them more for the work they do. Better rehearsal environments so that people feel safe, supported, and welcome within the space. Human resource departments within Broadway shows where we are not just relying on unions, but our unions are provided with HR heads for each production that we do. So people in the room when they feel scared or worried or something has happened where they feel they were treated badly, they have someone to go to right then and there. And we are publicly dealing with these things in the rehearsal space.

Trickling down then, who's coming to see the show? How affordable are the tickets? We're talking about socioeconomic equity as well, which unfortunately disproportionately affects the BIPOC community, and therefore alienates them from our white, stuffy shows. I don't blame the community for saying that. But it's not my job as a white person to put on their shows. It's my job to get the eff out of the way, free up the theater spaces, restructure rehearsal spaces and ticket buying practices, and even look at how audiences behave in theaters. What is going to be allowed? What is going to be tolerated? What is going to be celebrated? It's going to be bumpy.

Speaking of a different kind of access in the Broadway community, what do you think the future holds for the tradition of the stage door? Is that something you hope to see return?

For me, I think I'm going to be masked. But I'd hate for it to go away. I think I'm going to ask people to take pictures of me, but selfies. Not only for safety in COVID, but I have not gotten a cold since I had COVID in March 2020. And that has everything to do with better hygiene practices. And the stage door, as joyful as it is, is a hotbed for germs. And as somebody who has struggled publicly with staying well during shows. If there's a virus or cold to catch, my body latches onto it and always has. I have turned that story around this year. I think I'm going to wear a mask to and from the theater.

For me, stage dooring is such an integral part of getting to connect with fans. I'm not on social media so it's one of the only ways for me to engage with people. But I think I'm going to take precautions to keep myself healthy and keep other people healthy. Hopefully we're going to be readdressing that as well. Not just for COVID but for everything. I would hate for the stage door to go away. It's a beautiful tradition.

I'm compelled to ask that dreaded question: How did you keep busy in quarantine and make sure that your skills as a performer remained sharp?

They did not remain sharp. I'm not going to lie, the stress I felt before the Lyric Opera was some of the greatest stress I've felt in my performing career, not just because I felt out of shape. When you're not doing the thing as often, when I'm not doing it, [I didn't remember how technically challenging] it is to make the sounds...But I was really proud on the day how I showed up with David, the musicians, and the crew. I felt at home there. And I was like, "Oh right, this is what I do. This is what I'm lucky enough to get to do. This is what I've been blessed with gifts to do from God." And I was grateful to have this to point towards, the challenge was immense.

The way I got through this time, and the way I continue to get through this time, is through radical self-care. Reanalyzing what I need and radical honesty with what I'm feeling in ways that I have never addressed. Pain in ways that I have never addressed. Loneliness and isolation and what that means to me and how paralyzing that is to me in my life. Just heartbreaking.

And interacting through Zoom with students. I taught for free a lot when I could. I had little interest in performing online, but I did Lyric Opera and Miscast and I'm about to do one other thing.

Teaching was great. Getting to do this, talk to people. That's what I did instead. I ran a class in the fall for the graduates of 2020 at [the University of] Michigan because I knew they were supposed to be coming to the city to start their lives. And I said, let's hang out and meet once a week. And we had a great time. I made up a creativity class for them called The Touchstone Project. That got me through the fall.

I did the Artist Way January through April, which I had never done before. Shoshanna Bean and Benj Pasek and I met every Sunday for 12 weeks and worked on our creativity.

Truly the life raft through the entire thing was this Met concert I have been working on for almost two years. I'm still working on it. I'm hopefully going to be working on it until one day it debuts on Broadway. I tried to be creative when I felt stimulated, and I tried to let myself be restless when I was restless. And just let myself feel what I was feeling. And it was not, and it continues to not, be easy.

If you could only keep one Golden Age musical and one new classic musical, which are you picking and why?

THE MOST HAPPY FELLA and Michael John LaChiusa's THE WILD PARTY. Those are two big moments for me in my life. I saw THE MOST HAPPY FELLA when I was a senior in high school. It was the fall musical at University of Michigan. Erin Dilly, a great Broadway actress, was Rosabella. Josh Funk was the Most Happy Fella. It was magical onstage. I love the story, I love the score. I want to direct that someday. I just love that show and that score. I think it's ahead of its time and what it deals with the pain of middle-aged love and trying to find your way.

And THE WILD PARTY was at a moment in my life when I was going through a lot of stuff, and I just saw it. I fell in love with Toni Collette onstage. I just thought it was so unapologetically fantastic. The music was all over the place. I just loved what LaChiusa did with the score and what George Wolfe did with the direction and all of it. I just thought it was delicious.

Watch Gavin Creel in Lyric Opera's THE NEW CLASSICS: SONGS FROM THE NEW GOLDEN AGE OF MUSICAL THEATER streaming FREE on June 10. Nikki Renée Daniels and Norm Lewis join Creel from backstage at the Lyric, and performers Amanda Castro, Jenn Gambatese, Jo Lampert, and Heath Saunders perform from their homes.

Learn more and find out how to stream this complimentary concert at lyricopera.org/newclassics.

Interview responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Photo Credit: Kyle Flubacker

Interview by Rachel Weinberg

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