Stephen Sondheim Approves Gay Man to Play Into the Woods Witch

This is a fairy tale come true for any little boy who grew up wishing, more than anything, that he could play the Witch in Into the Woods.

DreamCatcher Theatre and the Adrienne Arsht Center's upcoming production of the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical will star out actor Tituss Burgess as the Witch, a role traditionally played by a woman.

Originated on Broadway by Bernadette Peters, the Witch is played by Meryl Streep in the new Disney film adaptation.

Into the Woods is the inaugural production of DreamCatcher Theatre, a South Florida company led by brother-sister duo Natalie and J.J. Caruncho. "We wrote a letter, through MTI, addressed to Mr. Sondheim and Mr. Lapine regarding Tituss playing the Witch and we were approved," Natalie Caruncho tells Playbill.com. "It was a special moment for us."

Directed by Justin Fortunato, Into the Woods will begin January 22 and run through February 15 at Miami's Carnival Studio Theater.

Theatre Communications Group has announced that Sondheim is the most-produced composer in the U.S. for the 2014-15 season with 20 productions, including Into the Woods, which is enjoying a resurgence in popularity because of the Disney film.

Burgess, who appeared as flamboyant hairdresser D'Fwan in 30 Rock, will star as Titus, a gay singer and Times Square robot, in the upcoming Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. His theater credits include Broadway productions of Guys and Dolls and The Little Mermaid.

The cast of DreamCatcher's Into the Woods also includes J.J. Caruncho, Arielle Jacobs, Annemarie Rosano, Magan Dee Yantko, Bruno Vida, Laura Turnbull, Laura Hodos, Cristina Flores, Elaine Flores, Marina Pires, Justin John Moniz, Matthew Janisse, Elizabeth Dimon, Jeni Hacker, Oscar Cheda, Roland Rusinek, Wayne Legette, Kelsey Flynn, and Annette Navarro.

For tickets and more information visit DreamCatcherTheatre.com.