NEW YORK — Gavin Creel, a Broadway musical theater veteran who won a Tony Award for “Hello, Dolly!” opposite Bette Midler and earning nominations for “Hair” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” died Monday of a rare and aggressive form of cancer. He was 48.

Publicist Matt Polk said Creel died at his home in Manhattan of metastatic melanotic peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma. He was diagnosed in July 2024.

“I looked forward to working with him every night. He was fantastic. I can’t believe he’s gone. What a loss,” Midler wrote on X. Idina Menzel shared a photo of Creelm on Instagram and wrote: “Dear sweet Gavin Creel. An angel among angels.”

Creel had a talent for Golden Age Broadway revivals, but he also performed in modern styles, such as in the role of Dr. Pomatter in Sara Bareilles’ musical ‘Waitress’ on Broadway in 2019 and on the West End in 2020. He won an Olivier Prize for ‘The Book of Mormon’.

Composer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda recalled on social media that Creel was his first King George III when workshopping the soon-to-be-defeated ‘Hamilton’: ‘He wrapped the audience around his finger with nothing but a Burger King crown and his stunning charisma and talent. He is so loved and it is unimaginable that he is no longer with us.

Creel grew up in Findlay, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater & Dance in 1998. He toured and did regional work before landing the breakout role of Jimmy Smith, opposite then-fellow newcomer Sutton Foster, in the Broadway production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” He also worked on Stephen Sondheim’s penultimate musical, ‘Bounce’, directed by Hal Prince.

He played a key role as the fastidious missionary Elder Price in ‘The Book of Mormon’. He starred in the show’s first national tour in 2012 and took on the role in London’s West End, where he won an Olivier Award in 2014.

He played Jean-Michel in the 2004 revival of “La Cage Aux Folles” and returned to Broadway in 2009 as Claude Hooper Bukowski in the Public Theater revival of Hair.

Associated Press critic Michael Kuchwara praised it: “Gavin Creel not only possesses a powerful voice, but also conveys a gentle poignancy to Claude, the tribe’s most tormented member. It’s Claude who has the most backstory in the show: a conventional middle-class upbringing in Queens; a total fascination with all things British, expressed in the song ‘Manchester, England;’ and an uneasy sense of duty that ultimately sees him drafted into the Vietnam War. Creel handles it all with certainty.”

Creel played Steven Kodaly in Studio 54’s 2016 production of “She Loves Me.” The following season, Creel was tapped to play Cornelius Hackl, opposite legends Midler and David Hyde Pierce, in the smash 2017 revival of “Hello, Dolly”. !” directed by Jerry Zaks and won the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical.

On stage to accept his trophy, Creel thanked his university and added, “If you’re there and you have money – and I know some people in this room have a lot of it – start a scholarship fund. Change someone’s life.”

Creel became a primary voice within the theater industry by working to pass the federal Marriage Equality Act. He teamed up with friends Rory O’Malley and Jenny Kanelos to co-found the nonprofit Broadway Impact.

Offstage, he played singing waiter Bill alongside Julie Andrews in the films ‘Eloise at the Plaza’ and ‘Eloise at Christmastime’. In 2021, he was cast in Ryan Murphy’s miniseries “American Horror Stories” opposite Matt Bomer. His 2022 solo concert was filmed for the premiere episode of PBS’s “Stars Onstage at Westport Country Playhouse.”

In 2022, Creel was cast in an Off-Broadway concert production of Sondheim and James Lapine’s fractured fairytale musical ‘Into the Woods’ – Creel played the roles of both Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf. The show later transferred to Broadway and was renewed several times, earning a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Musical.

He is survived by his mother, Nancy Clemens Creel, and father, James William Creel; his sisters, Heather Elise Creel and Allyson Jo Creel; and his partner, Alex Temple Ward.