Davis Gaines
Davis Gaines (born January 21, 1959, Orlando, Florida) is a stage actor.
He has performed as the Phantom in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical The Phantom of the Opera more than 2000 times, on Broadway, in Los Angeles, and in San Francisco. In the latter 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 Whistle Down the Wind (1996).
Gaines was 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. Davis also played the role of Antony in Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in concert, alongside George Hearn and Patti Lupone.
One of his first jobs was as a costumed character at Walt Disney World theme park,[1] as a high schooler, he played Pinocchio character J. Worthington Foulfellow.[2] Gaines commonly performs the national anthem(s) prior to Los Angeles Kings 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.
On February 21, 2013, Gaines performed "Music of the Night" (from "The Phantom of the Opera") at the memorial service at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles for Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss.
In 2014, Gaines performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in Les Misérables as Javert.
In 2015, Gaines performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre again in Spamalot as King Arthur.
In 2016, Gaines performed at the La Mirada Theatre in Lend Me a Tenor as Tito Merelli
Awards and nominations
- 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"[3]
References
- ↑ Palm, Matthew J. (28 April 2011). "Edgewater High School honors Davis Gaines". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando FL. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
Even though I was behind a big old head, I felt like I was acting.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Center Theatre Group Tops 2012 Ovation Awards.". 13 November 2012.