Why Broadway Needs to “Dim Them All”

When a member of the Broadway community dies, the entire community mourns. Fans and colleagues alike come together to honor those whose roles in theatre have shaped their lives. 

For decades, the Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, has organized light-dimming ceremonies for each major loss the community faces. In these ceremonies, theatres dim their marquee lights in honor of those who have passed on a coordinated date and time. Each member of the Broadway community, no matter their role, is a part of its success. It’s a brief, but touching, tribute where the theaters go dark for a moment to honor their place in the community. 

This is a long-standing tradition, but it has received a lot of criticism in the last year. This is because there are two different versions of the dimming ceremony: the full dimming and the partial. In the partial tribute, one theater from every member of the Committee of Theatre Owners dims their lights, which is only about 12 of the 41 theaters on Broadway. It is not clear how the committee decides who receives a full or partial ceremony.

As Deadline noted, “While the committee deliberations are not made public, the number of Broadway venues participating in light dimmings is generally viewed as reflecting the honoree’s influence, career span and even how recent a Broadway career has been.” 

Hence the outrage after the sudden passing of beloved actor Gavin Creel on Sept. 30. Creel was a treasured member of the theatre community, with a career spanning twenty years on Broadway, the West End, and in touring productions. Even casual theatre enjoyers might recognize him from his roles as Cinderella’s Prince and The Wolf in the 2023 revival of Into the Woods, Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie, his Tony-winning role as Cornelius Hackl in the 2017 revival of Hello Dolly!, along with many more performances. Creel was not only known for his tremendous talent but for his kindness and impact on the people who met and knew him. 

Shortly after his death, The Broadway League announced that only select Broadway Theaters would dim their lights in honor of Creel’s death at a date and time to be determined by Creel’s loved ones. Almost immediately after the announcement, fans expressed their disappointment with the decision, considering the monumental impact Creel had on the theatre world. 

The same day as the announcement, theater critic Adam Feldman created a petition. In the body of the petition, Feldman urged the Committee of Theatre Owners to reconsider their decision of a partial ceremony for Gavin Creel. 

“We understand that full dimming is meant to be a rare thing, but special circumstances should be taken into account,” Feldman wrote. “The community’s sustained and profound outpouring of grief at his death—a testament not just to his youth but also to his character, his talent and his centrality in the Broadway world for the past 20 years—puts him in a different category.”

Within a few days, the petition was shared all over social media and gained over 22,000 signatures. Shortly after the petition went live, the Eugene O’Neill Theatre and the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, both theaters where Creel had previously performed, announced their intended participation in the ceremony.

This is not the first time the Broadway League has received this criticism. In March of this year, the Broadway League also offered a partial ceremony in honor of Hinton Battle. Battle was a three-time Tony Award winner and the originator of the Scarecrow role in The Wiz. Shortly after the announcement and online outrage, the Broadway League decided on a full dimming ceremony for Battle. 

Finally, on Oct. 9, five days after the release of their original statement, the Broadway League followed up and rectified their original decision. They announced that Creel, along with actors Adrian Bailey and Maggie Smith who also passed away in September, would be receiving full dimming ceremonies. According to the recent press release from the League, “the Committee is reviewing their dimming policy and procedures.”

After the controversies, I hope the Broadway League changes the way they decide who gets what tribute and becomes more transparent on the process. The longevity of an actor’s career does not directly relate to their fame or their effect on the community. Actors like Gavin Creel impacted thousands of people in their short careers and deserve to be respected for all the joy they brought the theatre community. Who is anyone to decide who deserves a full tribute versus a partial one? Dim them all. 

• actor
• broadway
• gavin creel
• musical
• social media
• theatre
• tribute