
DAVIS GAINES performed the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera over 2,000 times, during his run on Broadway, in Los Angeles, (where he remains LA’s longest-running Phantom), and in San Francisco, (where he received the Bay Area Critics’ Award for Best Actor). Subsequently, he was chosen by Hal Prince and Lloyd Webber to play the leading role in the World Premiere of Whistle Down the Wind. Other Broadway and National Tour credits include Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera, Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly! (with Carol Channing), Camelot (with Richard Burton) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (with Alexis Smith). Gaines’ Off-Broadway appearances include Des McAnuff’s The Death of Von Richthofen as Witnessed from Earth, the Maury Yeston/Larry Gelbart musical One Two Three Four Five, Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, She Loves Me and Forbidden Broadway. He made his New York City Opera debut in The New Moon and appeared in New York in concert versions of Sitting Pretty, The Cat and the Fiddle, Pippin and the Encores production of The Boys from Syracuse. In Southern California, he portrayed Hannibal Lecter (LA Weekly Award, Best Male Musical Performance) in SILENCE! The Musical, appeared at Musical Theater West in Spamalot, Man of La Mancha (Ovation Award and BroadwayWorld Award, Best Lead Actor in a Musical), 1776, Parade (with T.R. Knight/Mark Taper Forum) and Side by Side by Sondheim (Rubicon Theatre/Pasadena Playhouse). Regionally, he appeared as King Arthur in Camelot (Sacramento Music Circus), Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees (directed by the legendary George Abbott), Mortimer Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace (with Kate Reid), Night of the Hunter (Lyric Stage) The Rink (with Lainie Kazan) and Two Into One (with Tony Randall). Gaines played Anthony Hope, in the 20th anniversary concert productions of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd in Los Angeles (with Kelsey Grammer and Christine Baranski), in London (with Len Cariou and Judy Kaye) and in New York, San Francisco and Ravinia Festival (with George Hearn and Patti LuPone). He played Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd opposite Faith Prince, and Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, both with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra. He also toured the country with Olympic Champion Dorothy Hamill in Broadway on Ice. Film work includes a featured role in Warlock: The Armageddon (with Julian Sands) and television credits include Desperate Housewives, Charmed, Chicago Hope, Veronica’s Closet, Bodies of Evidence and Murder, She Wrote. He appeared in three PBS Great Performances broadcasts (Emmy Award-winning Sweeney Todd with the San Francisco Symphony, Broadway Originals with the Boston Pops and Jerry Herman’s Broadway at the Bowl), as well as the televised specials of the 1994 Kennedy Center Honors and the opening ceremony of the 1998 Goodwill Games. Additionally, Gaines has sung for five U.S. Presidents and with every major symphony orchestra in North America, including the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. He has also performed in cabaret in New York at ‘Feinstein’s at Loews Regency’ and ‘Rainbow and Stars’, Hollywood’s ‘Cinegrill’ and San Francisco’s ‘Plush Room’. His voice can be heard over 30 cast recordings and compilation albums, as well as two solo CDs, Against the Tide and All My Tomorrows: Songs of Sammy Cahn.
Gaines resides in Los Angeles and is a frequent singer of our National Anthem for the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Dodgers. Most recently, made his Los Angeles area directing debut at Musical Theatre West with Oklahoma! and appeared opposite Vicki Lewis in I Do!, I, Do! at the Laguna Playhouse.
SAG | AFTRA | AEA
HEIGHT: 6′ 0′′
WEIGHT: 175 LBS.
EYES/HAIR: Brown
TELEVISION/FILM:
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES — Guest Star (ABC)
CHARMED — Guest Star (WB)
WARLOCK: THE ARMAGEDDON (w/ Julian Sands) — Lead (Tapestry/Trimark Pictures) CAB TO CANADA (w/Maureen O’Hara) — Guest Star (CBS)
CHICAGO HOPE (w/Christine Lahti) — Guest Star (CBS)
VERONICA’S CLOSET (w/Kirstie Alley) — Guest Star (NBC)
MURDER, SHE WROTE (w/Angela Lansbury) — Guest Star (CBS)
BODIES OF EVIDENCE (w/George Clooney) — Guest Star (Lorimar/CBS)
THEATRE:
I DO! I DO! (w/Vicki Lewis) – Michael (The Laguna Playhouse)
MACK & MABEL IN CONCERT – Mack Sennett (Musical Theatre West)
OKLAHOMA! – Director (Musical Theatre West)
SILENCE! The Musical – Hannibal Lecter (Hayworth Theatre) LA Weekly Award, Best Actor
SPAMALOT — King Arthur (Musical Theatre West)
MAN OF LA MANCHA — Don Quixote (Musical Theatre West) Ovation Award and BroadwayWorld Award, Best Lead Actor
CAMELOT — King Arthur (Sacramento Music Circus)
1776 — Richard Henry Lee (Musical Theatre West)
PARADE (w/T.R. Knight) — Old Soldier/Judge Roan (Mark Taper Forum)
SWEENEY TODD (w/Faith Prince) — Sweeney Todd (Orlando Philharmonic)
STORMY WEATHER (w/Leslie Uggams; Michael Bush, Dir.) — Lennie Hayton (Prince Music Theater) SWEENEY TODD (w/Patti LuPone; Lonnie Price, Dir.) — Anthony Hope (NY, LA, London, SF)
SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM — Male Lead (Pasadena Playhouse)
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (over 2,000 performances)— The Phantom (Broadway, LA, SF)
THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE — Antipholus of Syracuse (Encores! NYC)
WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND — The Man (National Theatre, DC)
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA — Raoul (Majestic Theater, NYC)
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (w/Kate Reid; Henry Kaplan, Dir.) — Mortimer (Hart House, Toronto)
TWO INTO ONE (w/Tony Randall; Ray Cooney, Dir.) — Edward Barstow (Paper Mill Playhouse)
THE NEW MOON — Robert Mission (New York City Opera)
ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE — Avi (Manhattan Theatre Club)
THE DEATH OF VON RICHTHOFEN (Des McAnuff, Dir.) — Maj. Barker (The Public Theater, NYSF)
SITTING PRETTY (John McGlinn, cond.) — Bill (Carnegie Hall)
SHE LOVES ME (Jonathan Tunick, cond.) — Kodaly (Opera Ensemble of New York)
GUYS AND DOLLS (w/Faith Prince) — Sky Masterson (Seattle Repertory Theatre)
COMPANY (Larry Carpenter, Dir.) — Bobby (The Huntington, Boston)
DAMN YANKEES (George Abbot, Dir.) — Joe Hardy (Paper Mill Playhouse)
THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (Rob Marshall, Dir.) — John Jasper (Pittsburgh Playhouse)
CAROUSEL (Jack Allison, Dir.) — Billy Bigelow (North Shore Musical Theater)
SHOW BOAT (Dale Johnson/John DeMain, cond.) — Ravenal (Minnesota Opera)
THE RINK (w/Lainie Kazan) — Dino Antonelli (Coconut Grove Playhouse)
HELLO, DOLLY! (w/Carol Channing) — ornelius Hackl (National Company)
BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE(w/Alexis Smith) — Aggie (First National Tour)
CAMELOT (w/Richard Burton) — Squire of Sagramore (New York State Theatre)
TRAINING:
The Florida State University (BA/Theatre/Phi Beta Kappa)
Acting: Rod Menzies, Los Angeles | Larry Moss, Los Angeles | Carol Rosenfeld, New York Voice: Tony McDowell, New York
Coming Soon.