close
close

Maisonceres

Trusted News & Timely Insights

Gavin Creel’s last text to musician Benj Pasek before the Broadway star’s death
Suffolk

Gavin Creel’s last text to musician Benj Pasek before the Broadway star’s death

Broadway star Gavin Creel’s final words to a friend were about the importance of living life to the fullest.

Creel, a Tony Award-winning actor known for his performances in “Hello, Dolly!”, “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “The Book of Mormon,” died Sept. 30 at age 48 of metastatic cancer melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma, a rare aggressive form of cancer.

Creel’s tragic death came just two months after he was diagnosed with the disease in July.

While Broadway’s biggest stars, including Sutton Foster, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel, paid tribute to Creel on social media, composer and lyricist Benj Pasek shared a screenshot on Instagram showing Creel’s powerful final text message to him.

“Not living is the only thing I have learned so far during this time and that is NEVER AGAIN AN OPTION. Live. When you live LIVE,” Creel’s message read.

Pasek added in his caption: “I’m at a loss for words so I’ll let Gavin speak for himself. This was the last text message he sent me. If you’re alive, LIVE.”

Benj Pasek, Gavin Creel and Justin Paul.
Gavin Creel (center) poses with “Dear Even Hansen” composers Benj Pasek (left) and Justin Paul at the 2017 Tony Awards.Bruce Glikas / FilmMagic

Creel’s death comes two years after he helped a TODAY viewer who had been diagnosed with breast cancer fulfill her lifelong dream of dancing on a Broadway stage.

“Broadway is a place where my dreams have come true, and it is a place where your dreams can come true too,” Creel told the woman in a post that aired on TODAY on October 27, 2022.

“This is what you’re meant for,” he sweetly added after the two danced together on stage.

Creel made his Broadway debut in 2002 as salesman Jimmy Smith opposite Sutton Foster in the original production of Thoroughly Modern Millie and received his first of three Tony Award nominations for his performance.

He received his second Tony nomination for playing hippie leader Claude in the 2009 revival of “Hair.”

Creel played Elder Price in The Book of Mormon for several years and took part in the series’ first national tour in 2012. He later took on the role in London’s West End and won an Olivier Award in 2014.

Creel won a 2017 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Cornelius Hackl in the revival of “Hello, Dolly!” starring Bette Midler.

Midler called Creel a “shining actor” on Instagram and wrote, “I looked forward to working with him every night. He was fantastic. I can’t believe he’s gone. What a loss.”

Creel also starred in the Broadway productions of “La Cage Aux Folles” (2004), “She Loves Me” (2016) and “Waitress” (2019), as well as “Into the Woods” (2022), and appeared in his own off-screen Broadway show “Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice” about his love for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.


LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *