Davis Gaines

American actor and singer

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Davis Gaines

Born|  (1954-01-21) January 21, 1954 (age 71)

Orlando, Florida, U.S.

Occupation(s)| Singer, actor
Years active| 1979-present
Known for| The Phantom of the Opera

Davis Gaines (born January 21, 1954, Orlando, Florida) is an American stage actor and baritone. He has performed as The Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera over 2,000 times, on Broadway, on tour, in Los Angeles, and in San Francisco. (He had previously played Raoul in the Broadway production.) He won the Bay Area Critics' Award for Best Actor. He performed the role for a Phantom segment for the Kennedy Center Honors in 1994.

He originated the lead role of The Man in Whistle Down the Wind (1996). Gaines was also the singing voice of Chamberlain in The Swan Princess (1994). He guested in "Murder in White", a 1993 episode of Murder, She Wrote. He was also a musical guest star for Broadway on Ice, a touring ice show with live music. Gaines played the role of Anthony Hope in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in concert, alongside George Hearn as Todd, Patti LuPone as Lovett, Timothy Nolen as Turpin, and Neil Patrick Harris as Tobias. He has since reprised the role of Anthony in numerous productions. He also played the Old Confederate Soldier and Judge Roan in Parade at the Lincoln Center in 2015.

He's also known for his performances in regional productions of Les Misérables, Parade, Damn Yankees, and Hello, Dolly!. He received an Ovation Award for his performance in the role of Don Quixote / Miguel de Cervantes in Man of La Mancha. He was also in the original Off-Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins as an understudy for the roles of the Balladeer and Charles Guiteau. In 2000, he was in a concert version of The Frogs opposite Nathan Lane and Brian Stokes Mitchell at the Library of Congress.[1]

One of his first jobs was as a costumed character at Walt Disney World theme park;[2] as a high school student, he played Pinocchio character J. Worthington Foulfellow.[3]

## Stage credits

[edit]

Sources:[1][4]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Location  | Notes

|
|
|
|

1979  | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | Cowboy / Dogette / Aggie / Photographer / Governor's Aide  | \-  | US National Tour
1980  | Camelot | Sir Lionel's Squire / Ensemble  | New York State Theatre | Broadway
1981  | Sir Lionel's Squire  | \-  | US National Tour
Sir Sagramore's Squire  | \-
1982  | The Death of von Richthofen as Witnessed from Earth | Member of The Flying Circus
u/s R. Raymond-Barker  | The Public Theater | Off-Broadway
1983  | Hello, Dolly! | Cornelius Hackl  | \-  | US National Tour
1984  | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | Joseph | Paper Mill Playhouse |
Westport Country Playhouse
1985  | Guys and Dolls | Sky Masterson  | Seattle Repertory Theatre
Cabaret | Clifford Bradshaw  | Darien Dinner Theatre
1986  | Hello, Dolly! | Cornelius Hackl  | Heinz Hall
Camelot | Sir Lancelot du Lac | Garde Arts Center
The New Moon | Robert Mission  | New York City Opera | Alternate
Damn Yankees | Joe Hardy  | Paper Mill Playhouse |
1988  | Damn Yankees | Joe Hardy  | Royal Alexandra Theatre
Arsenic and Old Lace | Mortimer Brewster  | Hart House Theatre
1989  | Company | Robert  | Birmingham Theatre
She Loves Me | Steven Kodaly  | Lillie Blake School
Show Boat | Gaylord Ravenal  | Minnesota Opera
West Side Story | Tony  | North Shore Music Theatre
1990  | Carousel | Billy Bigelow
The Phantom of the Opera | Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny | Majestic Theatre | Broadway
1990-1991  | Assassins | u/s The Balladeer
u/s Charles Guiteau | Playwrights Horizons | Off-Broadway
1991-1994  | The Phantom of the Opera | The Phantom of the Opera | \-  | US National Tour
1994-1996  | Majestic Theatre | Broadway
1995  | Pippin | Pippin
1996-1997  | Whistle Down the Wind | The Man  | National Theatre |
1997  | The Boys from Syracuse | Antipholus of Syracuse  | New York City Center | Off-Broadway
Encores!
1998  | The Phantom of the Opera | The Phantom of the Opera | \-  | US National Tour
1999  | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Anthony Hope  | Ahmanson Theatre | Concert
2000  | Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center | The New York Philharmonic
The Frogs | William Shakespeare  | The Library of Congress | Concert
2001  | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Anthony Hope  | San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center
Ravinia Festival
2009  | Sweeney Todd | Bob Carr Theater
Parade | Old Confederate Soldier /
Judge Leonard Roan  | Mark Taper Forum |
2010  | 1776 | Richard Henry Lee | Carpenter Performing Arts Center
2011  | Camelot | King Arthur | Wells Fargo Pavilion
2012  | Man of La Mancha | Don Quixote / Miguel de Cervantes | Carpenter Performing Arts Center | Won an Ovation Award
Monty Python's Spamalot | King Arthur |
Silence! The Musical | Dr. Hannibal Lecter  | Hayworth Theatre
2013  | Mack and Mabel | Mack  | Carpenter Performing Arts Center
I Do! I Do! | Michael  | Laguna Playhouse
2014  | The Music Man | Professor Harold Hill  | Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Les Misérables | Inspector Javert | Orlando Shakespeare Theater
2015  | Parade | Old Confederate Soldier /
Judge Leonard Roan  | Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center | Concert
Les Misérables | Inspector Javert | Carpenter Performing Arts Center |
2016  | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Lawrence Jameson
Lend Me a Tenor | Tito Merelli  | La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
2017  | Evita | Juan Perón | Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Newsies | Joseph Pulitzer | The Muny
2018  | Parade | Hugh Dorsey  | Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
2019  | Oliver! | Fagin | Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Something Rotten! | Nostradamus
2022  | The Fantasticks | El Gallo  | Orlando Shakespeare Theater

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1993  | Warlock: The Armageddon | Nathan Sinclair
1994  | The Swan Princess | Sir Chamberlain (singing voice)  | Voice
1998  | Cab to Canada | Maitre D'  | TV movie
The Swan Princess: Sing Along | Sir Chamberlain  | Short
Voice
2001  | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert | Anthony Hope  | TV movie

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1992  | The Bold and the Beautiful | Stuart Maxwell  | 2 episodes
1993  | Bodies of Evidence | Peter Marx  | 2 episodes
Murder, She Wrote | Peter Drew  | 1 episode
1995  | Guiding Light | Doctor  | 1 episode
1998  | Chicago Hope | Rolf Cabot
2005  | Charmed | Walter Nance  | 1 episode
2009  | Desperate Housewives | Accountant

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Ovation Awards

* 2012: Won the award for Lead Actor in a Musical for his role as Cervantes/Quixote in the Musical Theatre West production of Man of La Mancha[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Davis Gaines AboutTheArtists
2. ^ Palm, Matthew J. (28 April 2011). "Edgewater High School honors Davis Gaines". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011. "Even though I was behind a big old head, I felt like I was acting."
3. ^ Slate, Libby (17 March 1993). "Music of a New Night : With Ahmanson's 'Phantom' behind him, Davis Gaines is looking forward to his next project, his very own concert". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles CA. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
4. ^ IBDB
5. ^ "Center Theatre Group Tops 2012 Ovation Awards". 13 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Davis Gaines at the Internet Broadway Database
* Older official profile text
* Davis Gaines at IMDb

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