Uptown Players Open KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Tonight

Uptown Players continues its 2013 season with the Tony Award winning musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, running tonight, August 2 through August 18, 2013, at the Kalita Humphreys Theater.

With the book by Terrence McNally and music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, Kiss of the Spider Woman revamps a harrowing tale of persecution into a dazzling spectacle that juxtaposes gritty realities with liberating fantasies. Condemned to a brutal Latin American prison for the crime of homosexuality, Luis Molina (Mikey Abrams) has learned to escape the humiliation and torture of his surroundings with an elaborate fantasy world. His fantasies recall the glamorous diva Aurora (Linda Leonard Will reprise her Leon Rabin Award winning role) from the movies of his youth. But his ability to escape reality is tested by his new cellmate, a Marxist revolutionary named Valentin (John Campione). For despite falling in love with Valentin, Molina has been co-opted by the warden and the secret police to get information out of his cellmate in exchange for early parole. Can Molina's fantastical tales of Aurora and her Spider Woman character help him navigate the dangerous events of the real world?

Kiss of the Spider Woman won the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Score when it debuted on Broadway, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical. A harrowing tale of torture and political oppression, this musical nonetheless embraces hope and the beauty of love. The cast features Linda Leonard, Mikey Abrams, John Campione, Bill Jenkins, Sarah ElizaBeth Smith, Lois S. Hart and Kyle Montgomery, with Michael Albee, LaMar Brown, Jonathan Garcia, Sergio Antonio Garcia, Clinton Greenspan, Ian Moore, Rob Pounds, Dustin Simington, and Jason Robert Villarreal. The production is directed by Bruce R. Coleman with choreography by Vicki Squires and music direction by Jeff Crouse.

The production runs tonight, August 2 through August 18, 2013, with shows at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. There is an added bonus performance on August 15 at 8 p.m. Performances take place at the Kalita Humphreys Theatre, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd (at Blackburn), Dallas, TX 75219. Tickets are $30-$40 and can be purchased online at www.uptownplayers.org or by phone at (214) 219-2718.

Now in its twelfth season, Uptown Players has gathered a dedicated following with an annual audience base of over 15,000 patrons, including almost 900 season subscribers. The response from the community and critics has been remarkable, including over 25 Leon Rabin Awards from the Dallas Theatre League, hundreds of "The Column" Awards and 20 Theatre Critics Forum Awards in its first eleven seasons. In recent years, its productions of Next To Normal and The Producers have made top ten lists in the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Voice, Theatre Jones, and The Column online. Uptown Players has also been named the best theatre company by the Dallas Voice Readers Awards, and the Dallas Observer, and has appeared on the WFAA-A list and Best of Big D - D Magazine. Uptown Players has been featured on Good Morning Texas and Daybreak on WFAA. Uptown Players is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, presenting plays and musicals that challenge audiences artistically, build cultural bridges, and strive to create greater positive public awareness and acceptance through the performing arts. There is no other theater group with this unique mission in the Dallas area.

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