Casting Set for Vortex' 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'

For the second production in its 2007 season of musicals, the Vortex Theater Company will premiere its radical new vision of Kander and Ebb's Kiss of the Spider Woman - The Musical, directed by Gisela Cardenas with musical direction by Milica Paranosic. Performances will officially open on Monday, September 10 at 8:00 p.m. at the refurbished Sanford Meisner Theater, 164 Eleventh Avenue (between 22nd and 23rd Streets). The production will close Saturday, October 6. 

The cast includes:  Liza Baron, Michael Beatty, Gabe Belyeu (Cameron Mackintosh's Oliver!, National Tour), Damian deShaun Smith (Rent, International Tour, Williamsburg The Musical), Max Ferguson, Marc Ginsburg (Cameron Mackintosh's Oliver!, National Tour), Harold Lewter, David Macaluso (Vortex Theater's Drama Desk nominated H.M.S. Pinafore, Naked Boys Singing), Kim Shipley, Nikki Van Cassele (Cabaret, National Tour), Rolfe Winkler, Michael Yeshion.

The creative team includes: Director Gisela Cardenas (2007 Princess Grace Theatre Fellowship, 2006 Drama Desk nomination "Outstanding Director of a Play"), Musical Director Milica Paranosic (Manager of Music Technology Center at Juilliard),  Producer Joshua Randall (Vortex Theater Artistic Director, 2007 Drama Desk nomination "Outstanding Revival of a Musical"), Set Designer Jian Jung, Costume Designer Oana Botez-Ban (recipient of a 2007 Princess Grace Fellowship), Lighting Designer Lucrecia Briceno,  Sound Designer Marcelo Anez (3 time Grammy Award winner),  Assistant Director Cara Scarmack, Assistant Producer Julianna Slaten.

Following its 2007 Drama Desk nomination for "Outstanding Revival of a Musical" (H.M.S. Pinafore), the Vortex Theater Company will collaborate once again with Drama Desk nominee Gisela Cardenas ("Outstanding Director of a Play", Agamemnon, 2006) to reinvent one of the most classic musicals of the last twenty years, Kander and Ebb's Kiss of the Spider Woman - The Musical. "Based on the best-selling novel by Manuel Puig, this dark tale of torture and imprisonment has become a cult hit among musical theater fans since it opened in 1993 and won seven Tony Awards.  By pairing this traditional musical with a creative team well-versed in experimental theater, the Vortex will create a unique theatrical event that joins political ideology with a cabaret aesthetic.  The result will be a provocative new staging of this testament to the power of imagination under the most extreme circumstances," state press notes.

The complete schedule (September 10 - October 6) will be:  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 5:00 p.m.  There will be one additional performance: Opening night Monday, September 10 at 8:00 p.m.   The show will run 2 hours with one intermission.  Tickets: $18.  TDF vouchers accepted.  Tickets for all performances are available at 212-352-3101 or www.theatermania.com. 

Visit www.vortextheater.com for more on the Vortex Theater Company.

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