RuPaul's Drag Race star Nina West (Andrew Levitt) will star as The Witch in an Ohio benefit production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, running March 7-9, 2025, at the Palace Theatre in Columbus. The performances, a program of Butterfly Guild of Nationwide Children's Hospital, will benefit the institution's hospice and palliative care programs. David Bahgat will direct.
The cast will also include Hunter Minor as The Baker, Chloe Simon as The Baker's Wife, Cassie Rea as Cinderella, Justin LaBelle as Cinderella's Prince, Jakob Robinson as Jack, Lucy Robinson as Little Red, Kim Kish as Jack's Mom, Zeke Moses as Milky White, Lizzy Miller as Rapunzel, Max Bartel as Rapunzel's Prince, Michael Ruehrmund as Narrator, Bill Goldsmith as The Mysterious Man, Caleb Jeffries as The Wolf, Kim Garrison Hopcraft as The Stepmother, Isidora Diaz as Lucinda, Patty McAvoy as Florinda, Cathy Bean as Cinderella's Mother, Jen Robinson as Granny, Patrick Schaefer as The Steward, and Erik Bobbitt as Cinderella's Father.
Along with appearances on RuPaul's Drag Race and RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, Levitt has previously starred as Edna Turnblad in a national tour of Hairspray.
"I am so excited to come home to Columbus and celebrate this incredible organization with this truly iconic production of Into the Woods," says Levitt in a statement. "This Sondheim classic is one of the best pieces ever written for the stage, and the opportunity to play The Witch is a dream come true."
The woman-run Butterfly Guild works to raise funds for Nationwide Children's Hospital, and has raised $5 million since its founding in 1908.
Tickets are available at CBUSArts.com.