Video: Jennifer Lopez Recalls Auditioning for CHICAGO, EVITA, & More

With Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jennifer Lopez is singing and dancing onscreen in the role originated by Chita Rivera on Broadway. However, this isn't the first time that the superstar sought to appear in a Broadway adaptation. 

"I remember auditioning for Evita, I remember auditioning for Chicago," she explained to The Hollywood Reporter at the Sundance Film Festival, adding that she got "really close" to starring in Nine. "There were a lot of things that I had always hoped I could do and it just wasn't the right time," she clarified.

The film of Evita was released in 1996 with Madonna playing the titular role. Chicago and Nine, both directed by Rob Marshall, starred Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Marion Cotillard and Penélope Cruz, respectively. In a different interview, Lopez also recalled being up for a film version of Bye Bye Birdie, which ultimately fell through. "I love the role of Rosie DeLeon in that. I even talked about directing it at one point. I don't know, we'll see, my fingers are always crossed."

The Bill Condon-directed movie musical of Kiss of the Spider Woman, made its premiere this past weekend at the Sundance Film Festival. Read reviews of the film here.

Winner of seven 1993 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, based on the novel by Manuel Puig, explores the complex relationship between two men caged together in a Latin American prison for very different reasons. The musical has a book by Terrence McNally, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.

Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver-screen diva, Ingrid Luna.

The film is written and directed by Bill Condon, who previously helmed Dreamgirls, two of the Twilight films, and Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. The cast includes Luna/">Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, and Aline Mayagoitia.