Drag legend Nina West and comedian Jules Wagner share the Midwestern love

Drag performer Nina West gained fame on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2009, when her fellow Season 11 contestants voted her Miss Congeniality. She was so popular, she was invited back to compete in the show’s “Drag Race All-Stars.”

But West found her voice in drag much earlier, performing in clubs around her hometown of Greentown, Ohio, near Akron, beginning in 2001, and later in Columbus.

“It gave me a community, community and family, and it was pretty powerful,” West said.

West will host the first-ever Big Queer Comedy Show on August 27 at the Columbus Comedy Festival.

Jules Wagner, a queer comedian from Columbus who opens the show, also credits Ohio with offering a supportive, safe space for her to develop and refine her act.

“I think it’s something about the Midwest that I really enjoyed doing comedy here and, I don’t know, it kinda took over my whole life,” Wagner said.

Along with West and Wagner, the Big Queer Comedy Show will feature comedians Kristin Key, Gwen Rose, Chad the Bird and D’Jaay Brown Johnson, along with plenty of music – and even a puppet.

Midwest nice meets Provincetown vibrancy

In the years following “Drag Race,” West performed all over the country.

She’s played the lead role of Edna Turnblad in the national tour of the Broadway musical “Hairspray,” won the Entertainer of the Year Pageant in Louisville, Kentucky, that honors creativity and showmanship and recently finished a four-month residency in the LGBTQ+ hub of Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Returning to Columbus, West intends to bring the vibrancy of Provincetown to her performances back home.

“It’s been really eye-opening to have this much time in a predominantly queer space. And so, that’s definitely gonna inform, I think, how and what I do on the stage,” she said. “It’s also been, you know, a reminder of how special this is here in Provincetown, and how special and important it is to do something as simple as a comedy show in Ohio.”

West finds that the Midwest continues to influence her comedy in a way no other region can.

“ There’s this idea of ‘Midwest nice,’ and I think it really allows for us as comedians and as artists and creators to kind of lean into that, to create punchlines, jokes, archetypes that are familiar–and then, specifically for me, it allows me to twist it on its head and give it a little bit of a subversive new meaning, which is really fun.”

Productions like The Big Queer Comedy Show are needed now more than ever, West said:

“When you have these big events, it allows people to come together and share in community and storytelling and laughter, which is really, really powerful, especially during really dark times that feel really almost insurmountable.”

Jules Wagner Finds the Funny

Comedy came to Wagner at a very transitional time in her life: coming out, moving to Ohio, and facing a serious medical diagnosis. Amidst it all, she found she really needed some humor.

Per her therapist’s recommendation, Wagner began taking an improv class at the Hashtag Comedy Club in Columbus, and from there she shifted to stand-up.

“There isn’t a whole lot of representation, especially in comedy and stand-up […] especially in a place like Ohio,” said Wagner. However, that didn’t stop her from falling in love with the comedy scene and pursuing her passions further. There was an indescribable energy that made her want to jump right in.

Wagner finds that her comedy has resonated with both queer audiences and audiences who’ve dealt with illnesses. Crucially, Wagner says, “I think comedy has been kind of a means to me finding myself.” 🔥

Ignite Action

To learn more and buy tickets to the Big Queer Comedy Show, click here.
Check out Nina West’s Website, Instagram, and Facebook.
Follow Jules Wagner on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.