UPDATED: The Al Hirschfeld Theater, where Gavin Creel performed in “Hair!” has joined the list of theaters to dim the lights for him. Creel had said in an interview: “When I die, the Heavens will open and we’ll all go to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre – all the same people – and we’ll do [Hair] again.” The Hirschfeld is currently home to “Moulin Rouge.”
Earlier, I wrote:
Who deserves to have Broadway’s bright lights dimmed when they pass away?
There’s now an all out war between the theater community and the Broadway League over decisions concerning two popular stars who died this week.
The biggest controversy is over Tony winner Gavin Creel, incredibly popular with a long list of credits including “Hair!” “Into the Woods,” and “Hello, Dolly!” Creel died September 30th at age 48 from an aggressive cancer that took his life in two months.
The Broadway League announced that only some of their theaters would dim their marquee lights in memory of Creel but not all. This has set off a war of words on social media.
The League issued this statement: “The Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of one theatre from every theater owner on Broadway in memoriam for the late Gavin Creel.”
There’s a petition on change.org with 20,000 signatures already, and more to come.
Actors Equity posted: “Equity has reached out to The Broadway League to express our concerns about the practice of dimming the lights of only a few theaters in memory of those we’ve lost. Everyone who receives the tribute deserves the full tribute.”
There are dozens more posts on Twitter echoing the same sentiment.
Dimming of the lights is a long held Broadway tradition. This week theaters will do it for James Earl Jones. It’s presumed Maggie Smith will be next (they just did it for her in London’s West End).
Plenty of people have been notoriously snubbed. Jan Maxwell and Marin Mazzie, two popular Broadway performers whose lives were cut short, finally did get some respect. Joan Rivers, who was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress and was a keen supporter of Broadway, did not. There are plenty of other examples.
Ken Page, who died this week, is also in the mix of complaints. Page was another vet who originated roles in “Ain’t Misbehavin'” and “Cats,” among other shows. So far there’s no word on whether anything will happen for him.
What does it take to dim the lights? A flick of a switch, that’s all. It takes three seconds according to theater employees. But it acknowledges the career devotion of people who worked passionately for very little. Broadway actors are not paid like Hollywood counterparts. It’s work, and it’s hard work.
The League is sending out a message that some are better than others. It’s a mistake.
In this video, Creel says when he dies he’d like to find himself performing “Hair!” again in Broadway heaven. “Hair!” was at the Al Hirschfeld Theater, which so far has no plans to dim their lights.
