| Kiss of the Spider Woman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Broadway Playbill | |
| Music | John Kander |
| Lyrics | Fred Ebb |
| Book | Terrence McNally |
| Basis | Kiss of the Spider Woman byManuel Puig |
| Productions | 1992Toronto 1992West End 1993Broadway |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Original Score |
Kiss of the Spider Woman is amusical with music byJohn Kander, lyrics byFred Ebb, and a book byTerrence McNally. It is based on the1976 novel byManuel Puig. Directed byHarold Prince, the musical had runs in Toronto (1992), theWest End (1992-93), andBroadway (1993). It won the 1993Tony Award forBest Musical,Best Book of a Musical, andBest Original Score, as well as acting awards for all three principals in the cast.
Afilm adaptation starring and co-executive produced byJennifer Lopez and written and directed byBill Condon premiered at the2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025.
Luis Alberto Molina, a gay window dresser, is in a prison inArgentina, serving his third year of an eight year sentence for corrupting a minor. He lives in a fantasy world to flee the prison life, the torture, fear and humiliation. His fantasies turn mostly around movies, particularly around a vampy diva, Aurora. He loves her in all roles, but one role scares him: the spider woman, who kills with her kiss.
One day, a new man is brought into his cell: Valentin Arregui Paz, aMarxist revolutionary, already in a bad state of health after torture. Molina cares for him and tells him of Aurora. But Valentin can't stand Molina and his theatrical fantasies and draws a line on the floor to stop Molina from coming nearer to him. Molina, however, continues talking, mostly to block out the cries of the tortured prisoners, about Aurora and his mother. Valentin at last tells Molina that he (Valentin) is in love with a girl named Marta.
Again, Valentin is tortured. Again, Molina has to care for him afterwards. In his fantasies, Aurora is next to him, helping him do so.
The prison director announces to Molina that his mother is very ill and that Molina will be allowed to see her on one condition: he must tell them the name of Valentin's girlfriend.
Molina tells Valentin about a man he loves, a waiter named Gabriel, who does not return his feelings, and the two men cautiously begin to bond. Only a short while afterwards, Molina gets hallucinations and cramps after knowingly eating poisoned food intended for Valentin. He is brought to the hospital ward, talking to his mother and to the Spider Woman. As Molina is brought back, Valentin starts suffering from the same symptoms, also from poisoned food. Molina is afraid that Valentin will be given substances that might make him talk and so protects Valentin from being taken to the hospital. As Molina nurses him, Valentin asks him to tell him about his movies. Molina is happy to do so; Valentin also shares his fantasies and hopes with Molina.
Molina is allowed a short telephone conversation with his mother, and he announces to Valentin that he's going to be freed for his good behaviour the next day. Valentin begs him to make a few telephone calls for him. Molina at first refuses, but Valentin persuades him with sex. Molina is brought back the next day, heavily injured. He has been caught in the telephone call, but refuses to tell whom he has phoned. The warden draws his pistol, threatening to shoot him, if he doesn't tell. Molina confesses his love to Valentin and is shot. The scene then shifts to Molina in a heaven-like world, where all of the people in his life are watching his final "movie." The Spider Woman arrives and gives her deadly kiss as the curtain falls.
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| Character | Original Toronto & West End Production | Original Broadway Production | Original National Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1993 | 1996 | |
| Aurora | Chita Rivera | ||
| Molina | Brent Carver | Juan Chioran | |
| Valentin | Anthony Crivello | John Dossett | |
Kiss of the Spider Woman was first staged by New Musicals, whose goal was to create, develop, and provide a working home for sixteen new musicals over four years, at the Performing Arts Center,State University of New York atPurchase in May 1990. It was directed by Harold Prince with choreography bySusan Stroman and featuredJohn Rubinstein,Kevin Gray, Lauren Mitchell, andHarry Goz.[1] An attempt to persuade New York critics not to review this initial production (a "work in progress") failed, withFrank Rich inThe New York Times arguing that it is "presented to the audience as a full-dress commercial production rather than a workshop",[2][3] followed by other critics covering the production and also filing mostly negative reviews.[4] New Musicals folded afterSpider Woman.
Two years later, the producerGarth Drabinsky became involved, and in June 1992 his company,Livent, produced the show inToronto at the Bluma Appel Theatre of theSt. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.Harold Prince directed a cast that starredBrent Carver as Molina,Anthony Crivello as Valentin andChita Rivera as Spider Woman/Aurora.[5][6] (Of the original Purchase staging, Frank Rich had written that the title role needed "a dazzling musical-comedy presence of the Chita Rivera sort who has always ignited the flashiest Kander and Ebb songs."[3]) Vincent Paterson choreographed the production assisted by Kim Blank.Keith McDaniel served as the production's dance captain and lead dancer who was featured as a dance partner to Chita Rivera in the original staging.[7]
Kiss of the Spider Woman then transferred to theWest End opening on October 20, 1992 at theShaftesbury Theatre, where it ran for 390 performances. Directed by Harold Prince with choreography byVincent Paterson and co-choreography byRob Marshall, it again starred Brent Carver, Anthony Crivello and Chita Rivera.[8] The production won theEvening Standard Award for Best Musical.
It opened on Broadway at theBroadhurst Theatre on May 3, 1993 and closed on July 1, 1995 after 904 performances. It was again directed by Harold Prince, with choreography by Vincent Paterson and Rob Marshall, scenic design and projection design by Jerome Sirlin, costume design byFlorence Klotz, and lighting design byHowell Binkley. The cast included Carver, Crivello and Rivera repeating their roles, as well asMerle Louise and Kirsti Carnahan. Carver, Crivello and Rivera wonTony Awards for their performances. Notable replacements included:Brian Stokes Mitchell (Valentin),Howard McGillin andJeff Hyslop (Molina); and, as AuroraMaría Conchita Alonso,Vanessa L. Williams (in her Broadway debut) andCarol Lawrence.
The US regional theater premier took place at Masquerade Theatre in Houston, TX in May 1999. Directed and choreographed by Jim Williams, the show featured scenic and lighting design by Amy Ross and music direction by Brandon Matthews. The cast included Gina Nepoli-Holmes as Aurora, L. Jay Meyer as Molina, Pablo Bracho as Valentine, Monica Rial as Molina's Mother, Jacqui Williams as Marta, Tim Wroble as Gabriel, and Todd Porter as The Warden.
A 1996 touring version featured Chita Rivera again along withJuan Chioran as Molina andDorian Harewood as Valentin.
It opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Lola Membrives Theatre on May 2, 1995.
It opened in São Paulo, Brasil, in 2000, withCláudia Raia andMiguel Falabella in the main roles.
Vortex Theatre Company revived it off Broadway in New York City in 2007.[9][10]
A reduced production with a cast of 7 opened at The Darlinghust Theatre in Sydney, Australia on 13 July 2010. Directed and choreographed by Stephen Colyer and music directed by Craig Renshaw, the cast included Alexis Fishman (Aurora/Marta), James Lee (Molina), Frank Hansen (Valentin), Jennifer White (Molina's Mother), Wayne McDaniel (The Warden), Jim Williams (Estabon/Gabriel), and Matt Young (Marcos/Aurelio).
In December 2023,Jennifer Lopez was announced to star as Aurora in afilm adaptation of the musical withBill Condon as writer and director. The independently-financed production was executive produced by Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas andBenny Medina through theirNuyorican Productions banner, whileBarry Josephson,Tom Kirdahy and Greg Yolen and Matt Geller served as producers.Sergio Trujillo, Brandon Bieber and Christopher Scott choreographed the musical sequences. Upon the announcement, a casting call opened for an unknown to play the role of Molina. Filming began in March 2024 inNew Jersey. In March 2024,Tony Dovolani joined the cast as mob boss Johnny Desiderio. In April 2024,Diego Luna andTonatiuh joined the cast as Valentin and Molina respectively, withBen Affleck andMatt Damon joining the producing team under theirArtists Equity banner.[11][12][13][14] Lopez completed filming of her scenes in May 2024.[15] Filming officially wrapped on June 16, 2024.[16]
The film differs slightly from the stage version in that it cuts almost every song set in reality at the prison where Molina and Valentin are held (including "Dressing Them Up," "Over the Wall" and "The Day After That") and only keeps the ones set in the "fantasies" Molina comes up (except for "And the Moon Grows Dimmer," "Come" and "Anything for Him"), creating a stark contrast between the grittiness of prison life in Argentina and theTechnicolor lavishness and beauty of a classicMGM musical film, a storytelling technique similarly used inBob Fosse's1972 film adaptation ofCabaret. In addition, three new songs were written by Kander with existing additional lyrical material by Ebb, each entitled "I Will Dance Alone", "Never You" and "An Everyday Man" (which was actually used in the original, vastly different 1990 premiere production in Purchase, NY).[17][18]
It premiered at the2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025 to generally positive reviews from critics, and was released theatrically byLionsgate,Roadside Attractions andLD Entertainment on October 10, 2025.[19][20]
In his review of the Broadway production forThe New York Times, Frank Rich wrote that the musical "does not meet all the high goals it borrows from Manuel Puig's novel. When it falls short, it pushes into pretentious overdrive (a "Morphine Tango", if you please) and turns the serious business of police-state torture into show-biz kitsch every bit as vacuous as the B-movie cliches parodied in its celluloid fantasies. Yet the production does succeed not only in giving Ms. Rivera a glittering spotlight but also in using the elaborate machinery of a big Broadway musical to tell the story of an uncloseted, unhomogenized, unexceptional gay man who arrives at his own heroic definition of masculinity."[21]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Brent Carver | Nominated | ||
| Best Director of a Musical | Harold Prince | Nominated | ||
| Best Set Design | Jerome Sirlin | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design | Howell Binkley | Won | ||
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Book of a Musical | Terrence McNally | Won | ||
| Best Original Score | John Kander andFred Ebb | Won | ||
| Best Actor in a Musical | Brent Carver | Won | ||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Chita Rivera | Won | ||
| Best Featured Actor in a Musical | Anthony Crivello | Won | ||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Harold Prince | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography | Vincent Paterson andRob Marshall | Nominated | ||
| Best Scenic Design | Jerome Sirlin | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | Florence Klotz | Won | ||
| Best Lighting Design | Howell Binkley | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Brent Carver | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Chita Rivera | Won | ||
| Outstanding Music | John Kander | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Set Design | Jerome Sirlin | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Costume Design | Florence Klotz | Won | ||
| New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards[22] | Best Musical | John Kander, Fred Ebb and Terrence McNally | Won | |
In 2020, an amateur production of the musical is the focus of "Chapter Seven: Kiss of the Spider Woman" episode ofKaty Keene.[23] TheKaty Keene cast album of the musical was produced viaWaterTower Music.[24]