FLASH FRIDAY: Gimme Love! KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Is Ready To Weave Another Web Over Broadway

By: Pat Cerasaro Jan. 16, 2015

Today we are revisiting a dynamic 1990s Best Musical winner poised for a Broadway revival should the recent all-star reading having proved worthwhile, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN.

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The Day After That
The awe-inspiring legacy of legendary songwriting team John Kander and Fred Ebb evidences that they have produced some of the most groundbreaking, notable and memorable musicals in Broadway history - CABARET, CHICAGO and ZORBA among them - yet the subject matter of the dark and mysterious prison-set musical drama KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN provided the team with incredibly daring subject matter and complex characters beyond anything that they had embarked on prior - with some seriously spectacular results. Based on Manuel Puig's Argentinian novel of the same name, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN has one of the most unusual production histories of any musical in history owing to the fact that it was originally first presented as part of the SUNY Purchase New Musicals program in 1990, directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Susan Stroman, starring Kevin Gray, John Rubinstein and Lauren Mitchell. While the program at the arts university was initially intended to be a four-year experiment in which 16 new musicals were to be workshopped - eventual Tony-winner THE SECRET GARDEN among them - only a handful ever ended up actually coming to fruition, largely as a result of the controversy ascribed to the first production of KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN.

As history would have it, the Purchase-based out of town workshop production of KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN was reviewed and subsequently panned in The New York Times by top theatre critic Frank Rich against the wishes of the production and the New Musicals program, prompting the creative team to re-examine the material over the next several years. Next, the tangled web of the musical's history became even more labyrinth due to the involvement of uber producer Garth Drabinsky, who shepherded the show to an eventual West End and Broadway opening in 1992 and 1993, respectively - keeping two sets of books and running wildly over budget all the while, as would later be revealed in the earth-shattering legal case that led to his imprisonment and disbarment. Premiering first in the West End with iconic leading lady Chita Rivera in the title role, the new musical was heavily retooled and revised for its UK bow, showcasing leads Anthony Crivello and Brent Carver alongside the dynamite diva at the center of the fantasy-flecked tale of two prisoners who come to understand one another in the worst circumstances imaginable. Prince directed once again, with choreography by Vincent Patterson and Rob Marshall, and the production received several Laurence Olivier Award nominations that year, taking home the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical.

Six months later, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN was previewing on Broadway and a clear frontrunner for top honors in the awards season of 1993, reaping Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical, Best Featured Actor and Best Actress In A Musical. Then, when the Tony Awards rolled around the next month, in a heated competition with THE WHO'S TOMMY (which incidentally played across the street), KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN took home not only Best Musical, but also Best Actress In A Musical, Best Actor In A Musical (Carver), Best Featured Actor In A Musical (Crivello), Best Book (Terrence McNally), Best Costume Design (Florence Klotz) and, in a rare tie, Kander & Ebb for Best Score (along with TOMMY's Pete Townshend). Running for more than two years on the Great White Way, the musical hit boasted a bevy of showstopping stars in the lead role following Rivera's run, as well, including Vanessa Williams, Carol Lawrence and Maria Conchita Alonzo, with Bebe Neuwirth eventually also essaying the part in the West End.

From a stormy start and birth on barren land emerged a truly magical mirage of a musical boasting some of the most moving and magical sequences in any show of the 1990s. Now, with news of Audra McDonald joining Steven Pasquale and Alan Cumming for a reading of the show directed by John Tiffany earlier this month, the time could very well be right for a whole new web to be woven over Broadway - and a brand new Aurora ready to claim her next victim.
Over The Wall
So, now, let's take a look at some highlights from KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN over the years.
First up, a fascinating documentary on the history of the show.
Next, a look inside the West End production of SPIDER WOMAN.
Now, the cast of SPIDER WOMAN dazzle on the 1993 Tony Awards.

Chita Rivera takes home the Tony Award.
Anthony Crivello claims his Tony Award.
Brent Carver receives his Tony Award.
Also, Chita Rivera entrances in this alluring music video.
Vanessa Williams shimmers singing the title song live.
Donna Murphy tributes Chita Rivera singing the eponymous anthem.
A 2008 featurette on the musical from the special edition DVD of the 1985 feature film.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? tackles SPIDER WOMAN.
Lastly, Liza Minnelli performs "The Day After That" live.
As a special bonus, Brown University presents a thrilling post-curtain finale to their student production.
What is your absolute favorite element of the poetic and powerful KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN? Furthermore, what major leading lady and talented male twosome would you like to see in the leading roles of the musical? With a show this strong, a score this memorable and parts this juicy, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN is a web worth getting caught up in again - and sticking to, too.

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