Tout Broadway turned out this week to celebrate the life of one of their own.  St James Theatre was packed with family, actors and lucky members of the public who were at the front of the long line that stretched down the whole length of 44th Street. GAVIN CREEL, actor, singer, and songwriter and recipient of  a Grammy Award, a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Laurence Olivier Award had died of a rare form of cancer.  He was just 48 years. old

The openly gay actor had starred in a string of hit musicals that started  in 2002 with Thoroughly Modern Millie 2009 Broadway revival of Hair, plus The Book of Mormon; Hello, Dolly! Waitress and Into the Woods

One of the speakers at the memorial  was Creel’s Broadway Into the Woods and  Waitress co-star, Sara Bareilles, “I, like the other 1,700 people here in this room, was Gavin’s closest friend. … It is impossible to imagine any scenario that we could create in Gavin’s absence that could even come close to capturing the breadth and magnitude of his presence’. 

Amongst all the eulogies there were musical performances like Joshua Henry, Creel’s Into the Woods co-star who took the stage with Phillipa Soo, Ryan Vasquez, and Shoshana Bean to perform “Neverland” and “Children Will Listen,” two of Creel’s favorite songs. A visibly and audibly emotional Kelli O’Hara sang How Glory Goes,” Adam Guettel‘s soaring meditation on mortality and what comes after dying, which finished off most of the remaining dry eyes in theater.

The final speaker was Creel’s partner, fellow actor Alex Temple Ward and like many of the speakers, Ward focused most on Creel’s spirit. “He was able to not only see people for their greatest essence, but to make them feel valued in the time they shared with him, whether that was a moment, a weekend, a run of a show, or a lifetime,” Ward said. “Gav, I’m talking directly to you because I know that you’re here right now. You are the strongest, bravest person I have ever met. I will continue falling in love with you every day for the rest of my life, and I promise you, I’m not going to miss any of it. I love you forever.”