Broadway star Gavin Creel, whose credits include La Cage aux Folles, Hair and a Tony-nominated performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie, is one of the phenomenal talents in the group Broadway Inspirational Voices, which is coming to The Bushnell with its holiday concert Great Joy: A Gospel Christmas on December 15. He took time out to write a guest entry for our blog. Without further ado, here's Gavin!
happy holidays from noisy, stinky, crazy midtown manhattan! i am sitting at my computer, listening to the cd for the upcoming GREAT JOY Broadway Inspirational Voices concert. this is some of the most beautiful, exciting, powerful music i have ever had the great JOY (aren't i funny?) to sing.
i moved to new york after graduating from the university of michigan in 1998. i hadn't been in the city but two months when a friend of mine said "hey... we're going to go to this gospel concert on the upper west side. you wanna come?"
now, i'm from ohio, and i think the most gospel thing i had ever seen or heard up to that point was SISTER ACT 2, and i'm not proud of that of that fact (although i do love that record!) anyway, i went along, and what i witnessed that night was just incredible.
the voices, the songs, the message; it all blew me away. it was unlike any choir i had ever heard. it was lively and fun, deeply emotional, and completely uplifting. i remember angela robinson speaking in between two selections about "planned time, and god's time" and no matter how much we try and design our lives, there is only one great designer. one flawless, beautiful creator. and it is in HIS time that all things will unfold. that message, from a concert i saw almost 10 years ago, has stuck with me forever.
as i watched that night, i thought, "wow...i would give anything to be a part of this group, but they probably don't let little skinny, white, midwesterners sing gospel." well, about 2 years later, i met our director, the amazing michael mcelroy while doing a workshop of SPRING AWAKENING and shortly thereafter, he asked me to be a part of the choir. i honestly couldn't believe it. i was so excited and...a little scared. i didn't know if i would be able to sing it, i didn't know if i would feel like i belonged there, and i hadn't been active in my church for a while so i was worried that my faith wasn't strong enough to join such a seemingly 'religious' group.
well, what i found was a beautifully diverse collection of people of all faiths, at all different places on their own spiritual journeys who welcomed me with big, beautiful open arms. simply put, the choir is about acceptance and rejoicing. wherever you are on your path, there is a place for you with us. whatever pain or frustration, however much anger or loss, this choir will take you in and lift you up. i have felt it again and again, and being a part of the broadway inspirational voices is one of my proudest accomplishments.
i hope you are able to come celebrate this amazing season with us on dec 15th. please, bring your friends, your family, you enemies...WHOEVER! i promise, it will transport you all to a new level of wonderful, inspirational, GREAT JOY!
happy holidays.
gavin creel
www.gavincreel.com