Touring actors in holiday productions rarely get the chance to spend time at home during the festive season, which is why Daniel Plimpton isn’t taking his role in “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” for granted.
As a Massachusetts native and Boston Conservatory alum, Plimpton is excited to be back in the Bay State as part of the musical’s stop in the Hub at the Wang Theatre through Dec. 29. Not only does he have the opportunity to perform in Boston for the first time since he graduated, but he’ll also be able to spend some quality time with family in the area.
“Just to be in the city where I was so educated in theater, inspired by all the local theaters there and to be performing there at such a big scale now is really special,” says Plimpton. “I think I’ll be crying on opening night.”
“The actor’s life is a traveling life,” he adds. “Anytime it coincides with being home for the holidays and performing for the holidays – that’s the dream.”
Having grown up just outside of Amherst in Leverett, Plimpton was raised by a family who valued the arts and encouraged his passions. Plimpton first got into community theater at the age of 5 and earned his first professional theater role at the age of 12. He took a few years off as a teen to focus on studying at a public performing arts school before attending Boston Conservatory for a “vigorous four years.” Coincidentally, his college roommate is also in “White Christmas” as its tour runs in Boston this month.
“Massachusetts was the perfect place to begin exploring [the arts],” says Plimpton.
As a dancer in the show, Plimpton believes that the choreography by Randy Skinner, one of the original choreographers on “42nd Street,” are some of the most “spectacular” parts of “White Christmas.” Plimpton says that the dancing is not just for spectacle sake, but rather something that’s pure and joyful while being “stylistically accurate to the ‘30s and ‘40s in a special way that’s unique for our show.”
The Massachusetts performer has a special place in his heart for the show’s setting as well. As an adaptation of the hit 1954 musical comedy film of the same name starring Bing Crosby, “White Christmas” retains the original’s New England setting, with a picturesque Vermont inn serving as a backdrop throughout most of the story.
“There’s no better place to do this musical than New England,” says Plimpton, who hopes the weather in Boston will mirror the New England winter wonderland that’s featured in the show. “It’s pretty perfect.”
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