Rich@DallasVoice.com<\/a><\/p>\n
With Hairspray opening in previews, by the time you read this, Andrew Levitt has likely already gotten into his Fort Worth groove. He has set his plan of action, and he\u2019s ready to discover North Texas \u2014 again.<\/p>\n
Levitt is no stranger to DFW, having made appearances or tour stops here as his more famous alter ego, Nina West. But for this show, it\u2019s Levitt the actor audiences will get to see.
\u201cTo be in John [Waters]\u2019s world is magical, and to bring my own take on something so canon is a joy and privilege,\u201d Levitt said by phone. \u201cI\u2019m really excited to do this again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levitt will star as Edna Turnblad in Casa Ma\u00f1ana\u2019s Hairspray which previews Friday, Feb. 27 and opens Saturday, Feb. 28 through March 8.<\/p>\n
But first, Levitt wants to set the record straight \u2014 er, um \u2014 let\u2019s say, clarify the record.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s billed as Andrew Levitt (aka Nina West), but audiences shouldn\u2019t expect the drag queen in Edna drag.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t get jealous if it\u2019s about Nina. I want them to sell tickets. She is certainly the catalyst to all these opportunities,\u201d he said. Anything I get to do these days is because of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
And playing Edna Turnblad is a unique situation for the actor. The character is the mother of the show\u2019s protagonist, Tracy, and it is a role that, historically, has been played by a male actor.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Andrew-Levitt-Headshot.jpg\")
Andrew Levitt, aka Nina West<\/p>\n
But Levitt wants to make one thing clear: \u201cThis does call for a delineation with Edna. She\u2019s not a drag queen or a caricature, and of course, we need the audience to believe that,\u201d Levitt said.<\/p>\n
So basically, it\u2019s not Levitt as Nina backstage putting on Edna?<\/p>\n
\u201cRight! But all the skills that Nina has taught me, as well as my theater skills, are bringing this person to life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Levitt is more than familiar with Edna, having played her in a touring production of Hairspray for two years. For the next few weeks though, he gets to settle into the character and into North Texas. And Levitt is delighted to know that he\u2019ll have time to explore the area without the pressures of heading off to the next city right away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019ll get to curate my own experience a little more. I love the area, and I always enjoy my time with incredible food and people,\u201d he said. \u201cI love Hunky\u2019s; I love Tex-Mex.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s discovered he has a knack for finding the hidden gems in a new city.<\/p>\n
\u201cI go to a locally-owned bookstore and really just talk to the booksellers about where to go for coffee or drinks or restaurants. The recommendations have always been incredible because they just seem to have the best insight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Columbus, Ohio, native revealed that he is celebrating 26 years of doing drag. And, he says, his drag journey has taken him way further than he ever planned.<\/p>\n
Of course, he credits his time on RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race, where he was named Miss Congeniality, for helping him level up his game.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of this would be possible. I never thought I\u2019d have the opportunity to have this Hairspray legacy. And the other things I\u2019ve gotten to do have stemmed from [Drag Race], so I always want to honor that, because I\u2019m so proud of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And to bring a show that\u2019s a combination of camp and compassion aligns with Levitt\u2019s own journey of drag and theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything isn\u2019t great right now, and it can be defeating and deflating. The world is really messed up right now,\u201d he said. \u201cEven though my own outlook is challenged, I\u2019m so fortunate to be in this show that is wrapped in joy.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need an escape and theater can be transformative,\u201d Levitt added. \u201cAnd to do that regionally with a cast that\u2019s mostly local is a whole different experience, and I\u2019m really lucky.\u201d <\/p>\n
For tickets visit CasaManana.org<\/p>\n
\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew Levitt is Edna Turnblad and Kaitlyn Louise Smith is Tracy Turnblad in Casa Ma\u00f1ana\u2019s production of Hairspray.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[55710,20628,116,118,117,41122,55711,55712,2039,55713,2040],"class_list":{"0":"post-182981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-andrew-levitt","9":"tag-casa-manana","10":"tag-fort-worth","11":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","12":"tag-fort-worth-news","13":"tag-gay","14":"tag-hairspray","15":"tag-nina-west","16":"tag-rich-lopez","17":"tag-rupauls-drag-race","18":"tag-stage-notes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}