Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Sondheimite
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/14
#1Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:17pm
Broadway World's Fireman.
sephyr
Leading Actor Joined: 11/21/10
#2Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:26pmOh, Tituss is going to nail this role! I can only imagine him singing Last Midnight!
#3Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:36pmIsn't Arielle too young for the Baker's Wife?
#4Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:36pmIsn't Arielle too young for the Baker's Wife?
Starship
Broadway Star Joined: 7/29/12
#5Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:38pmTitus has a really amazing vocal range so I'm not worried about that. I'm just hoping that the role doesn't become camp just because it's being played by a man. Updated On: 1/5/15 at 10:38 PM
#6Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:42pm
The Witch? Camp? Naaaaaah
#7Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:52pmNo doubt he has a ridiculous range, but I don't really find the sound pleasant when he goes up that high. It's impressive, but kind of sounds like shrieking.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#8Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 10:55pmI was just thinking the other day about how Billy Porter was going to be doing it one time. This should be fine. He's the witch. You're the world.
beautywickedlover
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
#9Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/5/15 at 11:10pmTotally bizzare casting I must say.
#10Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 12:00am
A male actor played the Witch in the Walnut Street Production in 1992. To my knowledge, that's the only time a man has played the role in a professional production. The gimmick in that production, by the way, was that it was directed like an English "panto" so the show followed that tradition with a male actor in drag as the Witch and a girl "in trousers" as Jack.
Sometimes licensing houses have stipulation in their contracts about changing genders; so hopefully they don't have a problem in this case. After so many INTO THE WOODS, it would be nice to see something different…
Here is an article on the gender reversals in the Walnut Street Production.
EDIT: Apparently, Sondheim and Lapine have given their approval to the casting, so it will be interesting to hear what Burgess is like in the role.
Gender Reverse INTO THE WOODS
Updated On: 1/6/15 at 12:00 AM
Rumpelstiltskin
Broadway Star Joined: 4/22/07
#11Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 9:02amCinderella's stepmother was plays by a man in a local production a couple of years ago. While I enjoyed it and had a good laugh, there wasn't a moment the character was onstage that I wasn't aware of the novelty. I didn't mind the distraction because I know the show well and enjoyed mixing things up s bit, but I think the first-timers' experience was compromised.
#12Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 10:50am
Aren't the Stepsisters played in drag in the Off-Broadway revival right now? Or at least at some point during that production?
That '92 production sounds pretty cool. I think we're too afraid to experiment with gender in performance. Theatre is terribly gendered. Titus will kick ass.
rjm516
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/24/09
#13Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 10:59amSo interesting! I didn't know it had been done before so thanks for that Walnut St. info.
#14Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 2:16pmI instantly thought of when Sondheim asked Billy Porter to audition to replace Vanessa Williams in the Broadway revival. I think Tituss will be awesome!
#15Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 5:26pmWill he be playing it as a Witch or Warlock?
Visceral_Fella
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/12
#16Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 7:37pm
Word on the street is, he's going to play it as a woman.
Also, as far as licensing goes, I think you're allowed to have characters in drag. What isn't allowed without permission is changing the sex of a character. You can't make a female character a male character, but you can have a male actor play a female role as long as they play it like a female; drag. Changing pronouns etc., isn't allowed.
#17Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 7:56pmVisceral, I don't think that's quite accurate. It likely varies from licensing house to licensing house, and perhaps even on a production to production basis, but the basic language will indicate that you can't change the intention of the authors with casting choices. Certainly casting a male actor in drag as Maria in the Sound of Music, or Maria in West Side Story would qualify as such a change. I'm not quite sure what the point is of casting a male actor in drag as the Witch in Into the Woods. The Walnut Street theater production at least quantified it's a reason by doing the entire performance in English pantomime style. It will be interesting to see what the concept is behind this production.
#18Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 7:59pm
I don't know what the 'point' would be either, but as I think you mentioned it would be great to see or hear something a bit different in this show (which I wonder is becoming dangerously close to being over-performed. At least, I feel I am becoming a bit overexposed to it).
This gimmick would be enough for me to buy a ticket (if I were close enough).
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Visceral_Fella
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/12
#19Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 8:04pm
That's tricky then. What about transgender performers? Also, the difference between gender and sex along with the advancement of choice and sexual identity. I'm genuinely interested in everyone's feedback.
This seems like it could lead to some serious backlash if licensing tried to dispute the wrong performer/role.
Updated On: 1/6/15 at 08:04 PM
Emmaloucbway
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/16/11
#20Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 8:36pmmissthemountains, yes the Stepsisters are played in drag in the current Roundabout production.
#21Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 8:50pm
Visceral -- you suggest an interesting argument, that likely hasn't been raised yet. There are trans-gender artists like Alexandra Billings who has played professionally roles like Rose in GYPSY and Puffer in DROOD (brilliantly to boot) but she has had a full sex reassignment and though born male is physically a woman now.
If you were to take my figurative example of something like a male actor (or even a pre-op, male trans-gendered actor) playing a role like Maria in THE SOUND OF MUSIC - I guess you would have to start with some first base concepts like - could they sing the role as written, and is the piece significantly altered as a result of the casting.
But licensing houses are first and foremost hired to protect the integrity of the authors' works. And their job is to ask if the casting is at odds with the authors' original intentions. At this juncture, if even a college wanted to cast a pre-op male trans-gendered actor as Laurie in OKLAHOMA! it's probably a question that would go directly to the estate to get approval, because there isn't really a precedence yet for that kind of casting. Theatrical tradition has also yet to really make a distinction between trans-gender casting and 'drag,' which is itself an almost subversive subcategory of theatre.
Updated On: 1/6/15 at 08:50 PM
#22Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 9:00pm
Regarding Fiasco's INTO THE WOODS -- I wouldn't really say what they are doing is true "drag" since the concept of the show is that it's a small troupe of performers doing quick "representational" costume flourishes to suggest different characters. The guys simply step behind a curtain rod to briefly 'become' the step-sisters.
Sondheim and Lapine seem to have a basic sense of humor about INTO THE WOODS and allow more latitude for this kind of casting gimmick in productions of it. I'm not sure how they'd feel about the same actors taking on Little Red and Cinderella...
And as open minded as Sondheim is -- it's worth remembering he has put his foot down on some other productions that attempted gender bending casting. The recent reading of COMPANY at the Roundabout being one example.
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#23Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/6/15 at 9:55pmYou're forgetting the most prominent recent example: a student produced all-male version of COMPANY at New York University several years ago. Maybe even a decade ago (I cannot recall). After both Sondheim and MTI caught wind of this gender-bending version, Sondheim sent a strongly worded letter to the student director voicing his disapproval and MTI sent a cease & desist letter. At that point, however, the production was already in its final weekend of performances.
Visceral_Fella
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/18/12
#24Tituss Burgess is The Witch in Into the Woods.
Posted: 1/7/15 at 3:37am^ Right. I went to NYU. Those were guys playing guys. All the characters were played as gay men, that is a change of the text. We're talking about if males truthfully play females and vice versa.
