Gavin Creel
|
It's not uncommon for American actors to cross the Atlantic; nor, these days, does one have to be a huge star in order to do so: Tony winner Katie Finneran was amongst the U.K. company several years ago of Fuddy Meers, while Tony nominee Zeljko Ivanek, Matthew Lillard, and Mary McCormack made up the Almeida Theatre cast of Neil LaBute's play bash. But it's unusual, to say the least, for an American to cross the pond in order to play a British role, especially when said performer is new to that part. So imagine the excitement tinged with perfectly justifiable apprehension that Tony nominee Gavin Creel is feeling these days on the occasion of his West End debut in, of all shows, Mary Poppins; he's replacing the similarly named Englishman Gavin Lee, who has been with the production since it opened. Creel, of course, is hardly the first Yank to have a go at the Cockney vowels proffered by the dustman Bert, a part famously (some would say infamously) originated on screen by the Missouri-born Dick Van Dyke. And as the definably, very likably American Creel would argue, opportunity is opportunity, regardless of the accent involved: the performer is contracted through May 2007, so will have almost a year to perfect his vowels. Now embarked on an auxiliary career as a singer-songwriter, the 30-year-old Ohioan took time out during a particularly sweaty recent London summer's afternoon rehearsal to talk shop, cultural displacement, and hanging upside down from atop the Prince Edward Theatre—a feat not asked of Creel during his Tony-nominated stand in Thoroughly Modern Millie or as the long-haired son in the Tony-winning revival of La Cage Aux Folles..
Congratulations on this new gig!
Thanks. It's a nice time in my life to do something totally new.
Are you feeling homesick?
People ask that. They say, "Are you homesick? Are you lonely?" I'm like, no. It's not like I don't love my friends, who mean everything to me at home; I have amazing friends. But this is so exciting for me, and I've got my work cut out; I don't have time to be lonely.
What has your London routine been like so far?
When I first got here, I was living in a hotel and I had four or five days with no rehearsal because I needed to get over jet lag. I was going to start rehearsals on June 19, and those were the hardest days: I was leaving people for a year. But, you know, the minute rehearsals started, I thought, you know what? I've got other things to think about—like being the only new person coming into the Poppins company. [Other cast changes will take place in the autumn.] I had auditioned in New York obviously, and had extensive call backs, and then I heard that they were looking for an American counterpart to Gavin Lee who could either do the show in America or who could come here so Gavin could do it there [which he will, when the Broadway production hits New York in October]. Now that I'm here, I have of course met Gavin, and he's about the coolest person you could ever meet. It could have been awkward, but he's been so gracious; he made it so easy. But it could have been a million different things.
Still, the sequence of events must have been surprising.
I had never ever considered the fact that there would be a London opportunity; I thought it was over. So when they said, "Oh, it's not over; we're wanting to know if you would be willing to come to London," I was, like, Excuse me? I hung up the phone and thought about it and said to myself that I had turned 30 [on April 18, the day of his second audition] and it's all about life opportunities, and I thought, screw the career. This is a career opportunity whether I do it here or in Zimbabwe or Australia or wherever. It was just about seeing things differently now that I'm 30: slow down, enjoy the moment. I never thought I would have the opportunity to come to another country. It's been a total blessing.
Who knows? Maybe you'll end up staying here—as many Americans do.
It's funny. I haven't closed off the possibility that I may be here for two decades. I'm living in the second, living in the moment. I'm happy; I'm hungry.
Gavin Creel in Mary Poppins
|
Recount for us how you got this job.
I was living in L.A. at the time, where I had gone for pilot season last year and just stayed; my parents had loaned me their minivan, which was a total adventure—one of those things you dream about doing: driving across the country, which is how you learn that America is so unbelievably vast! I got the phone call that there was the possibility of further callbacks, and I went to Michigan to do a concert, and I was there with my voice teacher when the call came through: "Would you be willing to go to London?" It was sort of like reorganising your entire life, but it didn't jibe for me with L.A. this trip and I had thought, if I don't get Mary Poppins, I will move back to New York for sure. So when I got the phone call that Gavin Lee was going to come and do the show on Broadway, I thought, I'm just going to go back and plan accordingly. So it took a lot of fast thinking: I had a van full of stuff in L.A. that I had to put into storage and I left stuff with my parents, who now live in the North Carolina mountains, near Asheville. I got to spend time with them, and my sisters in Charlotte and Salt Lake City, so I touched base with everybody.
And you've been able to stay in touch?
Oh, yeah, through the miracle of Skype; if I could be a spokesperson for it, I would be; it’s amazing. That's how my songwriting partner, Robbie, and I write our songs, and I'm not leaving this country until our second and third albums are finished. We really want to get the music going over here. Robbie's going to come over in the fall and we want to get the band over and do a big rock show—call Elton John and tell him to come out.
Just be prepared for lots of requests from people to sleep on your floor.
[Laughs.] I've told my friends I'm not a hostel, though I'm sure I'll get phone calls [raises his voice], "Oh, Gavin. Remember me?" But I'm old enough to stick up for myself now—even though I do have this unbelievable flat in Covent Garden, a seven-minute walk from the theatre.
Are you surviving the heat?
I hate it. [Laughs.] Where's the air conditioning, people? The theatres are not air conditioned! I am without a doubt the sweatiest man in show biz, but I'm coming to terms with it. I'm falling in love with my sweaty self—it's like, you know what? I drip; let's drip together.
Whereas in New York, many Britons usually think the theatres are too cold.
It is cold in those theatres. But I'm the guy in short sleeves and shorts going, “It's hot in here!" Maybe it's that my blood is thinning or thickening, or whatever.
Have you seen your own show in London?
I've seen Poppins twice and won't go again unless somebody says, “We really need you to see it again.” I followed Gavin around backstage, and the thing is, he's so good, I don't want to mimic him. And I don't want them just to direct me to do it a certain way, which is counter-productive to my process. I get in my way enough trying to find my own things, so I don't want to get into mimicking the person or deliberately doing the opposite because that doesn't come from an organic place....