All of Broadway’s theater lights will dim for actor Gavin Creel after an outcry

Gavin Creel, who played Claude in the musical “Hair,” poses for a picture in New York on April 23, 2009. Creel died Sept. 30, 2024, of a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 48. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK — All of Broadway’s marquees will dim to honor the life of Gavin Creel following an outcry by theater fans when only a partial dimming was proposed after the 48-year-old Tony Award-winner’s death last month.

The Committee of Theatre Owners on Wednesday, Oct. 9, said all 41 Broadway theaters would dim their lights on separate nights for Creel, Adrian Bailey and Maggie Smith. The committee also said it was “reviewing their current dimming policy and procedures.”

The death of Creel on Sept. 30 put the spotlight on the practice of dimming marquee lights after a notable theater figure has died. While giants in the field get all of Broadway theaters dark for a minute, lesser figures may only have partial dimming.

Creel’s death prompted the Committee of Theatre Owners to decide that one theater from every theater owner would dim their lights. An online petition demanding all theaters participate was signed by over 23,000 people.

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Actors’ Equity, which represents thousands of performers and stage managers, expressed their concern, saying “everyone who receives the tribute deserves the full tribute.” Playwright Paula Vogel said not dimming all the lights was a “travesty to this brilliant actor who put money in pockets and joy in audiences.”

Creel was a Broadway musical theater veteran who won a Tony for “Hello, Dolly!” opposite Bette Midler and earned nominations for “Hair” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

Partial dimming in the past has been enacted for theater producer Elizabeth Ireland McCann and Marin Mazzie. The decision on Mazzie was overturned to a full dimming after a similar outcry.

The date for the dimming tribute for Creel and Smith has yet to be announced. The tribute for Bailey, who appeared in 15 Broadway productions, is set for Oct. 17.