Comedian Tim Murray Brings a New and Improved Witches! to the Stage

Witches get a bad reputation. Throughout history, they were persecuted for being who they were. Witches had to live in secret for fear of being treated differently for their beliefs or living their true, authentic lives. This sentiment can be felt by many marginalized sects, particularly the LGBTQ community.

Comedian Tim Murray drew this parallel between witches and gays and wrote a whole one-person show about it. The 36-year-old, Los Angeles-based actor brings Witches! to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, October 4.

"The through-line of the show is not like a normal comedy show," Murray tells New Times over Zoom. He's enjoying a quick break at home during his 26-city tour, which kicked off in August at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. "It has a bit of a narrative structure about growing up a little gay kid in small-town America and wanting to figure out how to be myself and not knowing how, or being afraid to, because of the possibility of being burned at the stake for it."

Witches! is a gay-old time at the theater. There will be singing, there will be drag, and there will be comedy. Murray promises a few costume changes in the show — think Sasha Velour vibes in the reveals. "I'm not exactly like a fashionable person," he says with a laugh, adjusting his shoulders and revealing his casual teal tank top. "I just love the microphone, so I'm more of a storytelling comedian."

The self-proclaimed musical theater nerd explains, "I wanted to bring something that really was a big splash of me, and I just tried to put everything that I love and that I'm good at into one exciting, funny showcase."

The idea for Witches! was initially inspired by the musical Wicked and the Wicked Witch herself, Elphaba. A few years ago, the comedian began posting funny videos on TikTok in full Elphaba drag, green face and all, that were well-received. Okay, this is something people want to see from me, he thought.

"That was a big impetus to write the show," Murray shares. "And then it sort of morphed into something a little more broad and a little more a little outside of just the Wicked of it all." Once he sat down to write, he says, the story just poured out of him. "I love witches and all these different movies and TV shows and musicals I reference."

Murray pulls inspiration from pop culture, and for this show in particular, he focuses on famous pop culture witches. Expect references ranging from Wicked to Hocus Pocus to Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

His love for famous witches runs deep. As a young boy still coming to terms with his sexuality, Murray recalls seeing a grown man dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West. That moment transformed him and ignited something within. Before him stood a man who fully embraced all that he was, fully and authentically.

"I wanted to be that," says Murray.

When he's not writing or performing, the actor teaches improv at local rehabilitation centers. While teaching, Murray is fully and authentically himself. He's fully aware of the power he yields while standing in front of a room of young people. "For them," he says, "I might be their Wicked Witch of the West; I could be that moment for them."

Murray had been performing stand-up for about six years and knew that one of his goals was to put on an original show at the prestigious Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2023, the comedian got his wish and debuted the original production of Witches! He then took the show on the road, and one year later, he's back on stage with a new and improved set.

Over the last year, the comedian has performed more stand-up and incorporated some of these jokes into Witches! He also admits he cut two songs and other original material that he didn't feel was relevant anymore.

"This new version of Witches! is a lot tighter and more streamlined," he adds. "There's also a new song I wrote about the sea bitch Ursula that has been a real hit. People love it."

Tim Murray's Witches! 8 p.m. Friday, October 4, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-949-6722, arshtcenter.org. Tickets cost $46.