Tony Winner Gavin Creel Joins Seth Rudetsky For Broadway Concert Series At Scottsdale Center

He won a 2017 Tony Award for his portrayal of Cornelius Hackl in "Hello, Dolly!" opposite Bette Midler on Broadway. Now Broadway actor and singer Gavin Creel will be performing with Seth Rudetsky at 8 p.m. Friday, March 8, at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

The evening will feature Creel in concert and conversation with Rudetsky, who hosts the show as music director and pianist. These two irrepressible friends will shoot the breeze, dish the dirt and Raise the Roof with performances of a host of classic Broadway songs as part of the series "Mark Cortale's Broadway @ Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts" at the Center's Virginia G. Piper Theater.

This performance replaces an appearance by Jeremy Jordan, who canceled due to a scheduling conflict.

Creel won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Cornelius Hackl in the 2017 Broadway production of "Hello, Dolly!" The role also earned him a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Additionally, he earned Tony Award nominations for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (2002) and "Hair" (2009).

Variety called Creel "quite the catch" and The Washington Post hailed Creel as "a gorgeously sung Cornelius" for his role as Cornelius Hackl role in "Hello, Dolly!"

Creel also has a growing resume with additional credits, including Elder Price in "The Book of Mormon" (2014 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical) and Stephen Kodaly in "She Loves Me." He has appeared on TV in ABC's "Eloise at the Plaza" and "Eloise at Christmastime" opposite Julie Andrews. His albums are "Goodtimenation," "Quiet," and "Get Out." He is a native of Findlay, Ohio, and is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Seth Rudetsky was born in The Town of North Woodmere on Long Island, New York, and graduated with a degree in piano performance from Oberlin College in 1988. He then launched a career as pit pianist for such shows as "Ragtime," "Les Misérables" and "Phantom of the Opera." He found a knack for commentary and expanded his career to include arts broadcast journalism, with two shows on Sirius XM that feature interviews with major Broadway stars and deconstructions of major musicals: "Seth's Big Fat Broadway" and "Seth Speaks." He also writes the Onstage & Backstage column for Playbill magazine, and is a composer, with the score for the musical "Disaster!" to his credit.

In June of 2016, Rudetsky and his husband, James Wesley, co-produced a recording of "What The World Needs Now" with Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Carole King and Audra McDonald. The song went to No. 1 on iTunes and has raised more than $100,000 to benefit the Orlando nightclub shooting victims. On Inauguration Day 2017, the couple started "Concert For America," an evening of entertainment with stars of film, television, music, comedy and Broadway, raising funds for five national organizations working to protect civil rights.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts offers a variety of ticket discounts for Scottsdale Arts members at the Friends level and above, groups of 10 or more and those purchasing packages to four or more events in one order. The Center provides free tickets to selected events for eligible students, teachers and active-duty military and veterans. Visit www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org/visit/tickets-discounts/ or call 480-499-TKTS (8587) for more information.

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