He’s known best for competing on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” but Andrew Levitt — also known as Nina West — is now headlining the new Broadway in Atlanta touring version of “Hairspray,” hitting the ATL June 30.
The performer vividly remembers seeing the John Waters film with Divine and of course the original stage version with Harvey Fierstein at the age of 23 only three days before it officially opened on Broadway.
When asked, he jumped at the chance to play Edna Turnblad. “‘Hairspray’ is this incredible, wonderfully brilliant Broadway musical filled with joy,” Levitt told Georgia Voice. “The character of Edna is one of the greatest characters written for the stage.
She is complex, funny, sad. She has a lot of layers and that has been the greatest appeal in me wanting to do this project. It was also really thrilling to bring her to life in this era, 20 years after it opened, in the tour and have her be so celebrated.” Levitt feels the musical is an opportunity to show skills he’s not been able to before.
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