By Christine Dolen
an excerpt:
" Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine: Into the Woods is a not-so-happily-ever-after musical that’s hot at the moment thanks to the still-in-theaters Disney film version. The brother-sister team of J.J. and Natalie Caruncho are launching their new company, DreamCatcher Theatre, at the Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theater this week with the full, original show — something that should satisfy the purists who groused about dropped characters, eliminated music and a death that didn’t happen.
Truth is, the Carunchos started working on their debut show long before they had an inkling that the movie would be coming out in 2014. And they had a twist in mind: Broadway actor Tituss Burgess, known for his high tenor pipes, will be starring as the Witch — Rapunzel’s complicated mother. He’s ready.
“I’m a walking contradiction on so many levels. I’m gay, black and a Christian,” Burgess says. “It’s not a drag role. We are absolutely honoring what Sondheim wanted. You’ll see my beautiful shaved bald head and a touch of lipstick after my transformation. ... What a lovely way to show [people who become] families by choice.”
DreamCatcher Theatre production in the Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, through Feb. 15; $50; 305-949-6722 or www.arshtcenter.org. "