During the podcast, he said that he was scarred by “growing up super Christian and being in the Methodist church my whole life” and that he “to this day tries to deprogram the pain that the church caused me, and that he is in so much pain.” a dislike of organized religion and the way it creeps into laws and schools.”

As an adult, he became active in gay rights and co-founded Broadway Impact, an organization that supported same-sex marriage when it was still illegal in much of the United States

Creel’s immediately likeable stage personality and his celebrated tenor gave him numerous and consistent works in the theater. For two decades he appeared on Broadway, mostly in leading roles, and was also a favorite on London’s West End, where he appeared in numerous productions and won an Olivier Award for his work as a hypocritical missionary in The Book of Mormon. His performance was undeniable influenced by his church youth.

“The Tony really felt like an embrace from the community I’ve lived in for 20 years,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle. “That feels good. I literally can’t do anything else in my life and still be a Tony winner. I would never have done that.”