Gavin Lee (born 15 October 1971) is an English actor who has appeared on the stage in musical theatre, notably as Bert in the musical ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'', in both the West End and on Broadway, and as Squidward Tentacles in the original Broadway cast of ''SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical''.

Early life

Lee is an alumnus of the

Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts Bird College – Conservatoire for Dance and Musical Theatre is an independent performing arts school and college, located in Sidcup, South East London, in the London Borough of Bexley. The college was founded as a dance school by Doreen Bird ...

after which he has been involved in various musicals as a performer and choreographer.

Career

Lee appeared in the dance play ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

'' in the West End at the Queen's Theatre, opening in October 2002. In 2004, Lee auditioned to be the

Bert Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

understudy in the London production of ''

,'' but won the role outright. He originated the role of Bert in the original West End production. He also starred as Bert in the Broadway production of ''Mary Poppins''. He was chosen for the Broadway role because of his critically acclaimed performance as Bert in the West End production. He departed the Broadway production after nearly two years to launch the US National Tour, but returned to the Broadway production in August 2010 until January 2013. Lee was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical at the 2005

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

and the 2005 Theatregoer's Choice Awards for originating the West End role of Bert. For his Broadway performance, Lee was nominated for the 2006 Outer Critics Circle Awards (Outstanding Actor in a Musical) and the 2007 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He also won the 2007

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Featured Actor in a Musical and an award for Outstanding Broadway Debut at the 63rd annual

Theatre World Awards The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

. In August 2007, Lee was added to Sardi's caricature gallery with other Broadway actors. In June 2008, Lee performed in a concert version of '' Show Boat'' at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

as Frank Schultz. He has performed as part of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's '' The Phantom of the Opera'' film adaptation, appearing as one of the singers/dancers in the "Masquerade" scene. Lee and former London co-star Laura Michelle Kelly performed as Bert and Mary Poppins in the ''America Celebrates 4 July at Fords Theatre'' in front of President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

on 6 June 2010. The special aired on 2 July 2010 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Lee again reunited with Kelly when he returned to the role of Bert in the Broadway production of ''Mary Poppins'' on 24 August 2010. He took over the role of Jerry Travers in the West End production of ''

Top Hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

'' beginning 5 February 2013. He joined the Broadway revival of '' Les Miserables'' as Thenardier beginning 3 March 2015. Lee played Squidward Tentacles in ''

SpongeBob SquarePants, the Broadway Musical ''SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical'' (originally titled ''The SpongeBob Musical'', later retitled as such for the national tour) is a stage musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau with songs by various artists and a book by K ...

''. The stage musical premiered at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and ran from June to July 2016. Lee reprised his role as Squidward for the Broadway run of the musical, starting with November 2017 previews at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

and remaining until it closed in September 2018. Lee was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been given since 1947, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956. Winner and ...

for his role as Squidward. In June 2019, he appeared at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, taking on the role of Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast. He reprised the role in the 2021 UK tour. The production then transferred to the West End's London Palladium for a limited engagement beginning June 2022. On February 17, 2020, he performed the Manhattan Concert Productions' 50th-anniversary celebration of ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

'' at '' David Geffen Hall'', ''

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

''. He played the Butler. Lee returned to the Paper Mill Playhouse to play Max Detweiler in its production of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

'' from December 2–January 1, 2023. He then went on to star in the tribute revue '' Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends'', which opened at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague an ...

on 3 October 2023 following preview performances that began on 21 September. The production is scheduled to run until 6 January 2024.

Personal life

Lee is married to Emily Harvey, an American actress who was playing the role of Mme Firmin in London's '' The Phantom of the Opera'' during his own run in London in ''Mary Poppins''. They have 3 children.

Theatre appearances

Cast recordings

* ''

'' * ''

A Saint She Ain't ''A Saint She Ain't'' is a musical with lyrics written by Dick Vosburgh and music by Denis King. The piece is inspired by '' Le Cocu Imaginaire'', by Molière, but the story has been updated to an American port in the 1940s. The characters are base ...

'' * ''

Zip Goes a Million ''Zip Goes a Million'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by George Posford, based on the 1902 novel '' Brewster's Millions''. It premiered in London in 1951, starring George Formby, and ran for 544 performances. Sy ...

'' * '' Saturday Night'' * ''

SpongeBob SquarePants (musical) ''SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical'' (originally titled ''The SpongeBob Musical'', later retitled as such for the national tour) is a stage musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau with songs by various artists and a book by K ...

Filmography

* '' Beyond the Sea'' * '' The Phantom of the Opera''

Television

* ''

White Collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales-coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor ...

'' – Alan Woodford (5 episodes) * '' The Good Wife'' – Jake Alister (Season 2, Episode 18 "Killer Song", 2011)"Killer Song"
tv.com, retrieved 14 April 2019 * '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' – Dennis Griscomb (2 episodes) * '' The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!'' – Squidward Tentacles (reprising his role from the Broadway musical) * '' Little America'' – Henry (Season 1, Episode 4)

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

Drama Desk Awards

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

Laurence Olivier Awards

Note: The year given is the year of the ceremony

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Gavin 1971 births Drama Desk Award winners English male musical theatre actors Living people Alumni of Bird College Theatre World Award winners