'Hairspray' star Nikki Blonsky makes her nightclub debut next week onstage at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency in Manhattan, and she tells ET's Thea Andrews that she's experienced a huge outpouring of love and support from family, fans and friends since her unexpected arrest in the Turks and Caicos Islands last month.

"You never expect things like this in your life, but you take life one day at a time, and you deal with situations," Nikki tells Thea in her first interview since the incident. "The fact that [my friends and family] were there for me, and stood up for me, and the fact that they told the truth, that's what meant a lot. They said who I was; I didn't have to say anything."

It was just last month that Nikki and her father Carl were arrested due to an alleged family melee at the airport with "America's Next Top Model" contestant Bianca Golden. Nikki and Bianca were both charged with assault and are due back in an island court.

Nikki says her family is coping with the situation as best they can: "We are a tight-knit family. We're just happy to be back together. My family is my life. The best gift that I've ever been given is my parents."

The 19-year-old star adds that her 'Hairspray' co-star Zac Efron has been a special source of strength for her: "I love him with every inch of my body and soul. He's stayed in touch and he has been so supportive through everything that I've gone through in my life; he is one of the best, best influences and people that I can ask to have in my life."

Nikki's new nightclub review, "Coming Home," runs Sept. 23 to Oct. 4 and features songs from Broadway, the Great American Songbook and pop classics by the likes of Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge, as well as selections from 'Hairspray.'

"I've always just sung songs that mean something to me," says Nikki, who plans to deliver "70 minutes of pure joy" and change it up with a variety of musical genres including jazz, rock, pop and even a little bit of opera. "There definitely will be a song in there for each one of my family."

Watch ET for more with Nikki!