A year ago, Broadway veteran Terri White was homeless and sleeping in New York City’s Washington Square Park.
In 1980, White performed alongside Glenn Close in the Tony-nominated ‘Barnum,’ but her homeless friends had no idea about her former success.
More than 20 years later, her story of redemption is a true holiday miracle.
White, 61, is bringing down the house in the new Broadway revival of ‘Finian’s Rainbow.’ She’s found love and is hopeful about her future.
“I hadn’t had a Broadway show in 20 years, and I felt like New York didn’t want me,” she told BV Newswire. “I stayed here hoping I would get another show, and after 20 years, your hope runs dry. Not only that, but a roof over my head and everything else dried up, too.”
White’s in-between gig of singing in local piano bars didn’t work out after several legendary New York City clubs closed. When she was kicked out of a friend’s house after few months of sleeping on the couch, she began sleeping on park benches.
“I learned so much when I was on the street,” she revealed. “A lot of people had given up or lost jobs, and they have the strength to stay alive, and that’s kind of what I learned from being there.
“I didn’t go to a shelter because there was a certain pride in myself,” she added. “I didn’t want to take a pity home. I would rather live on my own and do whatever on my own with my time.”
Thanks to a friendly neighborhood police officer named David Taylor, who admired her energy and high spirit, White got back on her feet. He set her up with a temporary apartment in New Jersey, and she took a gig in Florida.
There, she met her partner, 62-year-old Donna Barnett, who encouraged her to return to New York to audition for ‘Finian’s Rainbow.’ Barnett even paid for the flight.
White not only landed the role, but her ensemble character, Dottie, has been upgraded to a primary character.
“Originally, I left Key West thinking I was in a chorus contract with a specialty number, ‘Necessity,’” she explained. “Then the writer and director said they needed more substance for ‘Necessity,’ so they made me the unofficial mayor of Rainbow Valley, and they made Dottie a bigger role, from chorus to a principle contract, from sharecropper one to a main actor.”
The musical, which ironically was the first production White performed at the age of 8 with her father, embodies her new found optimism.
“It’s a show I have always believed in and loved as a child. The [message of] hopes and dreams and the inspiration to move on, and for that to be the show that I got after all that has transpired over the last year, it put the icing on the cake,” said White, who recently married Barnett in a ceremony at St. James Theater. 
There have been talks of White penning her memoir — something she says would be a difficult process, because “it’s hard to just keep talking about it.” But she remains positive.
“I married my lucky charm, Donna, and to be back on Broadway after 20 years is a blessing. ‘Finian’s Rainbow’ is about community and family, and this year, I’ve acquired a family,” she beamed.
This week, she’s planning to do one of her favorite New York City holiday traditions.
“After I go see the Radio City Rockettes, I go to Rockefeller Center and get a cup of hot chocolate and watch the people fall ice skating,” she laughed.
“I didn’t dream I was going to be homeless, and a year ago, I didn’t think that I was going to be back on Broadway, so I can’t figure out what’s happening after ‘Finian’s.’”
At this rate, it doesn’t seem like she has to. Her talent doesn’t seem to be running out anytime soon.
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