'Feels like a rock concert': Duxbury grad returns to Boston in hit musical 'Hairspray'

When it comes to the Tony Award-winning musical “Hairspray,” its signature production number says it all: “You Can’t Stop the Beat.”

And you probably won’t want to either, because the show – which opens a two-week tour stop at Boston’s Citizens Bank Opera House on Oct. 18, featuring Duxbury resident Mickey White in the role of Sketch – pulls you in with great music and, two acts later, sends you out not only humming its score but also contemplating its message.

Adapted for the stage from the 1988 John Waters cult classic film of the same name, the musical – with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and book by Thomas Meehan and Mark O’Donnell – premiered in Seattle in 2002 before transferring to Broadway that same year and going on to win eight 2003 Tony Awards, including one for best musical.

Set in segregated Baltimore in 1962, the story follows teenager Tracy Turnblad, complete with youthful innocence and a mile-high bouffant, as she pursues her dream to dance on “The Corny Collins Show.”

When she becomes an overnight sensation dancing on live television, Tracy embarks on a social-change campaign to integrate the program, earning her both the ire of conniving TV producer Velma Von Tussle and the amorous attention of high-school heartthrob Link Larkin.

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The seven-year Broadway run of “Hairspray” has spawned national and international tours – the first of which played Boston’s Colonial Theatre 19 years ago this month – as well as a 2007 feature film starring John Travolta and 2016’s “Hairspray Live!” on NBC-TV.

The current touring production, helmed by original director Jack O’Brien and original choreographer Jerry Mitchell, is top-lined by Andrew Levitt, aka Nina West from season 11 of “Rupaul’s Drag Race,” as Tracy’s mother, Edna Turnblad, a role originated by Divine in the original Waters’ film in 1988 and played later on Broadway by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, who reprised the part for “Hairspray Live!”

White plays Sketch and also understudies the roles of Link Larkin and Corny Collins. He was in seventh grade when he moved from Wrentham to Duxbury with his parents, Chris and Paula White, and his younger sisters, Rylee and Raegan.

A 2015 graduate of Duxbury High School, White received a bachelor's degree in fine arts in musical theater from Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2019. He previously appeared in Disney Cruise Lines productions of “Believe,” “Aladdin” and “Frozen” and is making his tour debut in “Hairspray.”

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Local audiences may remember White, 25, from his appearances in “Spring Awakening” during the 2014 season at The Company Theatre in Norwell, and in the 2018 production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” at Boston’s Wheelock Family Theatre.

By telephone recently, White talked about “Hairspray,” spending Halloween at home, his unabashed love for all things Disney and more.

Q: How’s the tour going?

A: We’ve only been out since September, but the show is so much fun that each and every night so far we end with the entire audience on its feet. They fall in love with the show and never let us down. I can’t see every face, of course, because we’re playing big houses, but it feels like a rock concert. The energy is just that amazing.

Q: Are you looking forward to being back in Boston and performing in your hometown?

A: Who doesn’t love Boston in the fall? I certainly do and I know the Opera House will probably be the prettiest venue we play on the whole tour. It’s where I saw my very first big show – the first national tour of “Wicked,” with Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba.

Later, I saw the first national tour of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” starring Abby Mueller, and also “The Addams Family” there. I don’t usually feel nervous onstage, but with those memories, in Boston I might.

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Q: Were you familiar with “Hairspray” before you landed this tour?

A: Definitely. I hadn’t see a live production, but it was the movie version with John Travolta that really did it for me. I fell in love with the music, the story and everything about “Hairspray.”

Q: Do you have a favorite musical number from the show?

A: Absolutely, it’s “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” When you perform it, it’s like electricity is going through your body. You can’t resist it. It’s the biggest, best moment in the show, and as far as I’m concerned, probably the best finale in musical-theater history.

Q: What do you think of Andrew Levitt as Edna?

A: Andrew is wonderful and he really brings himself to the role. He’s 6 feet, 4 inches, but his Edna is very much a woman. He looks absolutely beautiful as the character. As Nina West, Andrew is a big name in drag. It’s a pleasure to see him work and to work with him.

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Q: What do you want people to know about your character?

A: Sketch is a council member on “The Corny Collins Show” and one of “the nicest kids in town.” In the beginning, he’s on the Velma train, not accepting of Tracy. Fortunately, he’s on the Link train later.

In order to drive the plot, you have to have the conflict of whether you’re going to allow for change. You have to learn to accept and be open to it. Some people love Tracy right out of the gate, while others feel like Sketch does initially, though that’s definitely not the best thing.

Q: What steps did the production take to help you and your fellow cast members understand the era and the differences that separate these various characters?

A: The other week, we had a dramaturg come in and explain the 1960s to us. I had learned about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks in school, but we also talked about them, the Freedom Riders and more with the dramaturg.

It’s hard to believe that this was the way the world functioned then. We knew all of this had happened, but to learn more about that time while working on a show like this was very interesting. There’s a high level of fun in “Hairspray,” of course, but the plot is not fluffy. It’s real.

Q: Besides the show, do you have any other plans while you are home?

A: We end our run in Boston on Oct. 30, then the company travels for a series of one-nighters. I’m going to stay in Duxbury for a couple of days to get some extra time with Edna, my Spinone Italiano puppy.

I’ll also be presenting the 2022 edition of “Mickey’s Frightfully Funny Spooktacular,” a projection show featuring characters inspired by Disney Halloween movies, outside my family home on Halloween.

Q: What gave you the idea for such an ambitious undertaking when you could have just helped your parents pass out candy to trick-or-treaters?

A: It all started when I was in high school. I’m a huge Disney fan. A lot of what I know about making experiences extra-magical I learned on trips to Disney World and while doing their shows on their cruise ships.

My love for Disney gave me the idea to take an Imagineering-style approach with my Halloween show. This year, I’ll be joined by performers I’ve previously worked with on Norwegian Cruise Line ships.

Q: What would you like to do in the future?

A: I want to continue acting, but I also plan to pursue a career in design with Walt Disney Imagineering. I have to make it to Broadway first, though, or my mom will kill me.

'Hairspray'

When: Oct. 18-30

Where: Citizens Bank Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston

Tickets: $49.50 and up

Info: 1-866-870-2717 or BroadwayInBoston.com

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Musical Hairspray is back in Boston with Duxbury High grad Mickey White