From Broadway To Homeless and Back

When a revival of Finian's Rainbow opens on Broadway Thursday it will feature a character named Dottie, played by Terri White, who at one point sings a song named "Necessity." Dottie sings that she yearns to rest and play and live a carefree life, but then reality hits and she turns to the audience and sings: "The rent ain't paid!"

Boy, can White relate to that line. Just one year ago the Tony award-winning actress was sleeping on a park bench in Washington Square Park, and assumed a home, let alone another Broadway gig, was beyond her reach. But what a difference a year makes. In 12 months, and with lots of assistance from some big-hearted folks, White, 61, is back on her feet and doing better than ever.

According to The New York Times, White's problems began last summer. She couldn't make rent and was evicted from her apartment of 14 years after a breakup with a longtime girlfriend.

For three months she crashed on a friend's couch, but after she couldn't get herself back on her feet she took to the streets, living among the fellow homeless in Washington Square Park in Manhattan's East Village. To avoid police she would sleep for an hour and then walk around for an hour, and it was during one of these walks that fate intervened.

Police Officer David Taylor, a fan from White's performing days, encountered her in the park and was shocked at her circumstances. "She is usually someone who lifts your energy if you're feeling down," he told the Times. "That night she looked soulless. I was concerned for her — scared."

He hooked her up in a friend's basement apartment in Jersey City rent-free, and once she began feeling more dignified again, she reached out for more help. A friend got her a singing gig in the Florida Keys, and another pal bought her way down there. While in Florida she met her now girlfriend, and then Broadway beckoned.

So a year after seeing nothing but darkness and despair, White will now revel in the lights of Broadway, and on Sunday she and her partner will have a commitment ceremony in Manhattan.

People talk about the magic of the Great White Way. Now White really knows what they're talking about.

Photo courtesy of eschu1952 via stock.xchang.