Late Broadway Star Gavin Creel Once Spoke About Getting to 'Heaven' in Emotional Interview: 'I'll Know All My Lines'

Gavin Creel died at 48 on Monday, Sept. 30 amid treatment for a rare and aggressive form of cancer called sarcoma

<p> Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty</p> Gavin Creel on April 25, 2024

Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty

Gavin Creel on April 25, 2024

Broadway star Gavin Creel once spoke poignantly about a career highlight in a resurfaced interview clip following his death at 48 on Sept. 30.

On Tuesday, Oct. 1, journalist Paul Wontorek shared a video clip from a 2012 interview he conducted with Creel, who died amid treatment for a rare and aggressive form of cancer called sarcoma.

"When I die, and I mean this could sound really cheesy, I hope that I get to be that man again and do that play with those people," Creel said in the clip posted on on Instagram, as the two discussed his performance in Hair. "That's my dream — my dream for when I die, that heaven will be — they'll walk me in and I'll know my lines, and I'll get to do that play again."

"They'll let me do it one more time and that'll be the first thing I do," he added. "I'll say hi to my grandmother, 'cause I want to say hi to her first, and then they'll walk me into the stage door and I'll walk in and everyone will be there. It will be you and an amazing audience that's ready to see us and we'll get to do it."

"That probably sounds like a Hallmark card, or super cheesy," he joked. "But if I don't get another moment like that in my career, I've had it. I'm grateful." 

Related: Broadway Community 'Shattered' by Death of Gavin Creel at 48: 'We Have Lost Someone Far Too Young'

<p>John Lamparski/Getty</p> Gavin Creel on Dec. 18, 2017

John Lamparski/Getty

Gavin Creel on Dec. 18, 2017

Creel, a longtime Broadway performer who appeared in 13 different productions between 2002 and 2022, starred as Claude in a revival of Hair from March 2009 through March 2010.

"Playing Claude in HAIR was a special experience for Gavin," Wontorek captioned the clip of Creel. "It lit the fire of activism in his hippie soul, and helped him live his life openly as an LGBTQ hero for [so] many. ❤️"

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Dozens of Creel's friends and former colleagues on Broadway have taken to social media to mourn his death since news broke on Monday. Among them is Sutton Foster, who shared an image of the pair touching their noses together to Instagram on Oct. 1. "My sweet friend. I will love you forever," she wrote.

Related: Watch Joshua Henry and Gavin Creel Record 'Agony' from the Broadway Revival of 'Into the Woods'

<p>Nicholas Hunt/Getty</p> Gavin Creel on May 25, 2017

Nicholas Hunt/Getty

Gavin Creel on May 25, 2017

Actor and singer Patti Murin shared a number of photos showing text exchanges between her and Creel to Instagram on Tuesday, writing that "his words are what I will remember most about him" after his death.

"Gavin Creel changed lives just by existing. We are heartbroken, but looking out the window at his house is comforting," Murin, 44, wrote, identifying Creel as a neighbor. "He will never truly be gone. Too many people loved him."

Laura Benanti shared an undated photo of Creel to Instagram as well, writing, "Anyone who has ever met Gavin remembers a moment (or many) when he made them feel seen and special."

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