Directed by Nick DeGruccio with choreography by Lee Martino, the "intimate chamber production" — featuring a six-member orchestra — will begin previews at the Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles Sept. 18 with an official opening scheduled for Sept. 26. Performances will continue through Oct. 26.
The cast will comprise Terra C. MacLeod as Spider Woman/Aurora, Chad Borden as Molina, Daniel Tatar as Valentin, Ed F. Martin as the Warden, Eileen Barnett as Molina's Mother, Zarah Mahler as Marta, Che Rodriguez as Esteban, Salvatore Vassallo as Gabriel/Prisoner, and Shell Bauman, Jeffrey Parsons, Hector Guerrero and Mike Motrino as Aurora's Men/Prisoners.
With a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb and a book by Terrence McNally based on the novel by Manuel Puig, Kiss of the Spider Woman won seven Tony Awards in 1993: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score (Kander and Ebb), Best Actor in a Musical (Brent Carver in the role of Molina), Best Actress in a Musical (Chita Rivera in the role of Spider Woman/Aurora), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Anthony Crivello in the role of Valentin) and Best Costume Design (Florence Klotz). It also received five Drama Desk Awards.
The musical, according to press notes, "revamps a harrowing tale of persecution into a dazzling spectacle that juxtaposes gritty realities with liberating fantasies. Thrown together in a Latin American prison, Valentin is a tough revolutionary being tortured for political information, and Molina is an unabashed homosexual serving eight years for deviant behavior. Molina shares his fantasies about a movie actress named Aurora with Valentin to help him mentally escape from the horrors of the prison. One of Aurora's movie roles is a 'Spider Woman' who kills with a kiss. Two unlikely cellmates, Valentin and Molina play a breathless cat-and-mouse game as they struggle to survive."
The design team will include set designer Tom Buderwitz, lighting designer Steven Young and sound designer Drew Dalzell. Costumes (original design by Anne Kennedy) will be furnished by the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. Michael Paternostro is music director; associate musical director Steven Ladd Jones will conduct the orchestra with new orchestrations penned by Billy V. Malpede. Show times are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM.
The Bootleg Theatre is located at 2220 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA. For tickets call (800) 595-4849 or visit www.havoktheatre.com.
