Davis Gaines (born January 21, 1954, Orlando, Florida) is an American stage actor. He has performed as the Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' over 2,000 times, on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, on tour, in Los Angeles, and in San Francisco. In the last location, he won the Bay Area Critics' Award for Best Actor. He performed in the role 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 ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...

'' (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 Broadway On Ice is a long-running ice show produced by Willy Bietak Productions. Dating back to the early 1980s, in recent years the show has been presented in theatrical venues in resort areas such as Las Vegas and Branson, Missouri with a rotat ...

'', a touring ice show with live music. Davis also played the role of Anthony Hope in Sondheim's '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' in concert, alongside

George Hearn George Hearn (born June 18, 1934) is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre. Early years Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on ...

and

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of F ...

. One of his first jobs was as a

costumed character A costumed performer or suit performer wears a costume that usually, (but not always) covers the performer's face, typically to represent a non-human character such as a mascot or cartoon character. These range from theme park "walk-around" or "m ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

theme park; as a high school student, he played ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

'' character J. Worthington Foulfellow. Gaines commonly performs the national anthem(s) prior to

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

games at Staples Center. In February 2012, Gaines assumed the role of Don Quixote in '' Man of La Mancha'' at Musical Theatre West in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. On February 21, 2013, Gaines performed "

The Music of the Night "The Music of the Night" (also labelled as just "Music of the Night") is a major song from the 1986 musical ''The Phantom of the Opera''. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. Initially made ...

" (from ''The Phantom of the Opera'') at the memorial service at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles for Los Angeles Lakers owner

Jerry Buss Gerald Hatten Buss (January 27, 1933 – February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, chemist, and philanthropist. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 l ...

. In 2014, Gaines performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' as

Javert Javert (), no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables.'' He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a polic ...

. In 2015, Gaines performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'' as King Arthur. In 2016, Gaines performed at the

La Mirada La Mirada ( Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre ...

Theatre in ''

Lend Me a Tenor ''Lend Me a Tenor'' is a comedy by Ken Ludwig. The play was produced on both the West End (1986) and Broadway (1989). It received nine Tony Award nominations and won for Best Actor (Philip Bosco) and Best Director (Jerry Zaks). A Broadway re ...

'' as Tito Merelli. In 2017, Gaines reassumed his role of ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in '' Man of La Mancha''. In 2022, Gaines performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'' as El Gallo.

Awards and nominations

Ovation Awards The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

: 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''

References

External links

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Older official profile text
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, Davis 1959 births Living people American male stage actors American male musical theatre actors American operatic tenors Male actors from Orlando, Florida Edgewater High School alumni Singers from Florida Classical musicians from Florida