Screening Common Denominator: Documentary Around Mental Health

Before he passed away, Tony Award–winning actor Gavin Creel filmed a pilot episode of Common Denominator, a regular documentary series dedicated to exploring the mental health challenges many of us face. The Library for the Performing Arts, in partnership with Two Bridge, an advocacy group that works for mental health through community and storytelling, presents a free public screening of this pilot episode.

Creel shares his journey of navigating life’s challenges, from coming out and experiencing love and loss, to the deep connections he found in friendship and family. His story illustrates the impact of music and art, not just as forms of expression, but as tools for connection and healing.

Following the screening, we invite you to stay for a discussion with a panel of performing arts professionals including Harris Schwartzberg, Seth Rudetsky, Maurice Dubois Celia Keenan Bolger, and Patti Murin. They will share their personal experiences and insights on mental health within the performing arts community, sparking a conversation about well-being in a demanding industry.

Creel passed away in September of 2024, at the age of 48. This event is a celebration of his work and legacy, and a testament to the power of shared humanity

Photo Credit: Two Bridge

SEATING POLICY | Programs are free and open to all, but registration is requested. Check-in line forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. Five minutes before the advertised start time, all seats are released, regardless of registration, to our patrons in the stand-by line. If you arrive after the program starts, you will be seated at the discretion of our front-of-house staff.

STANDBY LINE | If registration is sold out or has ended, do not fret! We welcome you to come to the Library regardless of registration status and wait in our standby line, which forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Five minutes before the program starts, all remaining seats are released. While this is not guaranteed, we will do our best to get you into any of our programs.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.

BRUNO WALTER POLICY | Please note that any unoccupied seat will be released five minutes before the show begins and holding seats for anyone beyond that is prohibited. There is no food or drink allowed inside the venue.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs may be photographed and recorded by and at the discretion of the Library for the Performing Arts and will post signs indicating as such. If you would prefer your image not be captured, please let us know and we can seat you accordingly. Attending any program indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any and all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS | Please send all press inquiries to Alex Teplitzky at alexteplitzky@nypl.org. Please note that all recording, including professional video recordings, are prohibited without expressed consent from the Library.