Kiss of the Spider Woman Play Headed for Broadway
The story of Molina and Valentin, two men of very different backgrounds imprisoned together in Buenos Aires, Spider Woman focuses on the intimate relationship that forms during their captivity. Puig's stage version of his novel was translated into English by Allan Baker in 1983 and presented at London's Bush Theatre in 1985; the play was recently revived at the Donmar Warehouse. The Broadway production will mark the first time Baker's script will appear on the New York stage, and producer Darren Bagert wants it to be considered as a new play for next season's theatrical awards.
Spider Woman has been a success on both stage and screen: A 1985 feature film adaptation won a Best Actor Oscar for William Hurt as Molina and co-starred Raul Julia as Valentin. A musical adaptation opened on Broadway in 1993 with a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb and a book by Terrence McNally and won Tonys for Brent Carver as Molina, Chita Rivera in the title role and Best Musical, among others; Anthony Crivello co-starred as Valentin. The musical was recently revived at the Signature Theater of Virginia starring Hunter Foster, Will Chase and Natascia Diaz.