Zhailon Levingston

Levingston was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana^[1] and attended Captain Shreve High School.^[4] As a child, his parents frequently took him to the Strand Theatre and was active in school and community theatre productions.^[5] He attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, graduating in 2015.^[6]

One of Levingston's first gigs were acting and directing in his hometown of Shreveport. He was seen at the Marjorie Lyons Playhouse as the titular character in a 2012 production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, along with serving as co-director and choreographer of 9 to 5 in 2013 there, and performing in A Chorus Line as Bobby at Stage Center in 2014. In 2017, he returned to Stage Center to direct Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.^[7]

He eventually moved to New York City and worked as a Broadway street ticket seller before launching the "Words on White" campaign. Following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, Levingston created the guerilla-style production in the streets, in churches and outside schools to raise awareness of racial violence.^[5]

In 2021, Levingston made his Broadway directorial debut as the associate director for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on October 12, 2019, and, after closing for the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually played through August 14, 2022.^[8]

In 2023, he became the youngest Black director on Broadway when his production of Chicken & Biscuits opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre, starring Michael Urie and Norm Lewis.^[9] The production opened on October 10, 2021, and closed on November 28, 2021.^[10]

He has a history of returning to direct or perform in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana. In 2023, he directed the musical, The Color Purple, at the city's Marjorie Lyons Theatre.^[11] Additionally, in 2024, he returned to Shreveport to star in Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks at the same theatre, opposite local actor Michael Thomas. The production ran from January 5 through 7, 2024.^[12][5]

Levingston furthered his advocacy as a co-creator and board member of the non-profit Broadway Advocacy Coalition, which hosts work-shops and coalition-building to "create more humane policies" in the Broadway community and industry.^[5][13]

His additional directing credits include the Off-Broadway productions of Patience at Second Stage Theatre in 2022, Table 17 at MCC Theatre in 2024 and Wonderful Town in New York City Center's Encores! series in 2025.^[14]