Kinky Boots’ Stark Sands on His 'Caucasian Afro,' Weezer Cover Band and Getting Arrested

As kids all over America head back to school, Broadway.com decided to ask our favorite Broadway stars to look back at their own years in the classroom—and share a school picture! Two-time Tony nominee Stark Sands is winning audiences’ hearts as Charlie Price in the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots, but the Broadway dreamboat didn’t always have luck with the ladies. Below, Sands recalls his awkward period, the drama teachers that set him on his path and the time he got arrested.

Who was your favorite teacher and why?
I had two. Both of my high school drama teachers: Mrs. Linda Raya and Mr. J.E. Masters. I can honestly say that my relationships with them have been friendships from the start, and they provided me with the base of my acting and theatrical education, and experience. I'm doing what I'm doing because of their guidance.

What advice would you give to your school-age self?
"Stark—when you hit puberty (which will be a little late), your golden blond locks will become a Caucasian Afro. Relax. It's not the end of the world. Don't let that and the acne bother you—you'll get through it. And don't worry about not getting chicks. Many years from now you'll meet an amazing girl on the sidewalk in London and it will all be worth it."

In school you would have been named “most likely to…”
Well, we actually had a section in the school paper with a huge list of "Most likely to's" for the graduating seniors. The whole class votes, and I ended up with "Most Likely to Have His Name in Lights" and "Most Musical." So I guess I'm doing what I supposed to be doing.

What song sums up your school experience and why?
Hmmm. Something by Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam or Weezer. Probably Weezer—The Blue Album specifically, mainly because it got the most airtime, and now hearing anything on that album brings me back to high school. For battle of the bands my senior year, I even got together with friends to make a Weezer cover band (we were obviously called "Geezer").

What’s your favorite back to school item?
Trapper Keeper all the way. Man, I loved going to pick those out at the beginning of the year. They were always shredded and all marked up by summertime, which meant I could get a new one every year.

What is your most embarrassing school moment?
In high school, my friends and I would go to my old elementary school gym to make dunk videos on the lowered baskets. One night the cops burst through the gym doors in the middle of the video and arrested us—cuffs, backseat of the police car, jail cell, the whole nine. They even took our shoelaces. I ended up getting sentenced to 100 hours of community service—I just wish it had been for doing something a little more dangerous than dunking on baskets made for first graders.

In which extracurricular activities did you participate?
I played on the basketball team until junior year, when I decided that I just didn't love it enough to keep trying out for the team. The truth is, I was never as good as I hoped I'd be and I surely wouldn't have made the varsity team anyway. I sang in the choir and ended up president as a senior. I also was the vice president of the student council that year.

Describe your school-age self in three words.
Awkward, earnest, leader.