A first-rate song can accommodate a variety of interpretations. Christian Dante White, who since early this month has been playing Freddy in “My Fair Lady,” reminded me of this fact that other day in his dressing room, where we discussed his work both current and past. And of course “On the Street Where You Live,” which White sings so memorably every night right now.
“This song has been recorded by a lot of great artists,” White said, “and they do it in a lot of different ways.” He went on: “It’s not surprising there are so many recordings. ‘My Fair Lady’ came at a time in our history when musicals provided a lot of the top-selling pop songs.”
White, who grew up in South Bend, Indiana, said that he finds singing “Street” a wonderful challenge. “I’m still figuring it out,” he said, “but I’m up to it.” White added: “I felt the same about ‘I’m Just Wild About Harry,’ when I did ‘Shuffle Along’ on Broadway a few years ago.”
White observed that “Street” “is such a beautiful song that you can easily perform it in a surface manner. But Bart” – the production’s director, Bartlett Sher – “walked me through it in different ways, so that you’re telling a story and not just hearing a beautiful song. My goal is to sing it so people hear it as if for the first time.”
White grew up singing in church. It wasn’t always his dream to be in theater. But that began to change when, before his senior year in high school, he got into Interlochen Arts Camp, a summer program in Michigan, and then Interlochen’s boarding school. “For a minute I thought I was going to be an opera singer, but I realized I didn’t have the passion the other students had. I switched my major over to theater and then wanted a really strong acting program, so I attended Circle in the Square Theater School, in New York.”
White’s first professional job was as Seaweed in the national tour of “Hairspray.” His first Broadway show was “The Scottsboro Boys,” which he did off-and-on for about a year-and-a-half. Other Broadway work includes “The Book of Mormon” and “Hello, Dolly!” Of the latter, he said it had “the most talented ensemble you could ask for.”
White maintains an active social-media presence, especially on Instagram. Of that platform, he said, “Inspiration is a big part of my stories. I like to celebrate African-American beauty because it’s not something we see in the mainstream. I’m sharing my journey and representation for others.”
White said he likes many kinds of music: “Broadway, gospel, soul, disco, opera, jazz, classical, hip-hop. And Beyonce is my girl – I’m a huge fan.” For a sample of White’s pop talent, check out YouTube, where you can find him in Whitney Houston mode, singing “How Will I Know” and “The Greatest Love of All.”
White dreams of collaborating on a new project – it could involve theater or TV or film – that “shows a different type of African-American male. We still have a long way to go there. I want to keep pushing that door open and building a new one to walk through.”
Until then, he’s thrilled to be in “My Fair Lady” and feels he’s just getting started. “I love this musical because if you took the music out you’d still have a great play. You could work on it for years and still never get to the end of its possibilities.”
