personalities

A Journey Comes Full Circle

The performer behind drag queen Nina West takes to the Ohio Theatre stage

By Megan Roth

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Daniel

WHEN ANDREW LEVITT began his drag career in Columbus, he had no idea he would make it back 21 years later – this time on the stage of the Ohio Theatre.

Levitt attended Denison University, where he served as the president of its LGBTQ organization, Outlook. Every year, Outlook brought in drag queens to perform for its members. His senior year, in March 2001, Levitt was able to participate in the show with the queens.

After graduating from Denison in May 2001, Levitt planned to move to New York City the following October to pursue a career in theater. But after the events of 9/11, Levitt decided to stay in Columbus and search for opportunities to perform on stage.

After an unsuccessful search, one of Levitt’s friends suggested he pursue drag, which he’d been involved in since June 2001, as a career. Levitt put the heels, wig and lipstick on, and watched his stardom blossom from there.

Levitt quickly became more and more involved in the Columbus drag scene, performing as Nina West at venues such as Axis and Union Cafe in the Short North. He began working with larger organizations – the Greater Columbus Arts Council and Columbus Foundation – to raise money for LGBTQ organizations in the community, including Kaleidoscope Youth Center and Stonewall Columbus. Concurrently, he was also trying out for RuPaul’s Drag Race, a nationally televised drag competition. After trying out nine times, he finally made it onto season 11, which aired in 2019.

Now showcasing his larger-than-life alter ego across the nation, Levitt saw his stardom begin to stretch far beyond central Ohio.

“(Drag Race) really catapulted my success from a local level to a global level,” he says. “Before I knew it, I was traveling the world.”

Today, after getting recognized by Hairspray’s producers through Drag Race, Levitt is stepping into a different set of heels and wig: those of the iconic maternal figure Edna Turnblad.

“(Performing in Hairspray) is the honor of a lifetime,” he says. “It’s a story that we can relate to.”

The resonance of Hairspray, which first hit box offices in 1988 with legendary drag queen Divine in the Edna role, is particularly special to Levitt.

“Every one of us can relate to not fitting in, to feeling like an outsider,” he says. “The characters, the story, affect us all, still, today.”

Levitt says he’s looking forward to showcasing the complexities and intricacies of Edna through his performance.

“Edna is one character in the show who really gets this full metamorphosis,” he says. “She’s a mother of a girl, the wife of a man – she’s real. It’s my job as an actor to convince the audience that that’s not a man on stage playing (Tracy’s) mom, that that’s her mom.”

A part of CAPA’s Broadway in Columbus series, the heartwarming and hilarious musical runs at the Ohio Theatre Nov. 8-13. Tickets are available at www.hair spraytour.com.

“It’s a full-circle moment,” Levitt says. “Here I am as someone who wanted to go to Broadway, I found drag, drag saved me when I couldn’t get to New York. And now, I’m in one of the greatest musicals ever written, in a role that’s one of the greatest roles ever written, and I’m doing it across the country and bringing it home to Columbus.” CS

Megan Roth is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at mroth@cityscenemediagroup.com.