Jennifer Lopez to Star in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Film- Page 14

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/29/25 at 2:47am

ljay889 said: "“ “I thought they had written this specifically for Kiss of the Spider Woman, but what he did was a deep dive into all the Kander and Ebb songs that they wrote that had never been heard and never been used. He found ‘Never You’ and put it in [the film], which was my favorite song. Oh my God — it’s such a beautiful song.” Being the first performer to sing it on screen came with a “huge responsibility,” said Lopez, who revealed that Kander joined her in the studio when she recorded it. “It was amazing because he was sitting there — he is 97 years old — and I didn’t think he would come to the pre-records or any of the filming. He was just in tears listening to me sing, and it was just amazing. I couldn’t believe my life at that moment. It was a dream.” “

Thanks for this!  Funny enough, just last weekend I was listening to the 2 disc Harbinger release John Kander Hidden Treasures, which is brilliant--as long as you're ok with listening to almost entirely demos sung by the composers (there are a handful of tracks sung by different recognizable performers, including most interestingly, five from The Skin of Our Teeth.)  Anyway, Never You is one of two Kiss of the Spider Woman demos on it (the other is the campy Man Overboard which I am pretty sure is on my audio of the Purchase version.)  In the notes it's said that it was written for when Valentin starts to become suspicious of Molina, and in reply Molina sings the song, so I'm 99.9% that it was indeed written for Spider Woman, but I can't really fault JLo for thinking otherwise.

*edit* OH and I double checked and Never You IS in Act II of my audio of the Purchase version (John Rubinstein, who was Molina sings it) so there's at least one of our Purchase songs.

Here's the Harbinger CD of Kander Hidden Treasures disc https://castalbums.org/r30251




 

Updated On: 1/29/25 at 02:47 AM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/29/25 at 2:54am

For the Purchase production Never You was actually sung by the character Valentin plays in the movie within the musical to Aurora in Act II, so I guess it was slightly repurposed from the demo, but it absolutely has been performed (by Kevin Gray) and was written for Spider Woman, though at least at the performance that a live audio was taken from, it's cut short.

Updated On: 1/29/25 at 02:54 AM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 1/29/25 at 9:59am

And sadly. Variety confirmed that no distribution has been secured yet.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 1/29/25 at 12:24pm

AVClub:

Jennifer Lopez and Tonatiuh shine in a dulled version of Kiss Of The Spider Woman

Bill Condon updates the Tony-winning 1993 musical, but this revamp lacks the opulent luster of Technicolor Hollywood that it strives to emulate.

https://www.avclub.com/kiss-of-the-spider-woman-review

 

Also more collected on Metacritic: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/kiss-of-the-spider-woman-2025/critic-reviews/

[JSquared2]

Posted: 1/29/25 at 12:26pm

Robbie2 said: "Rentaholic2 said: "Why are critics even allowed to review it right now? Do they not have to wait until the movie it released? I thought showing at the festival was just to build buzz and get a distributor, not to open it up to critical review.

Does anyone have a full list of the songs that made the cut? The reviews mention several. I'm really sad we'll get none of the "over the wall" stuff, no The Day After That, etc. I hope we get some version of Anything for Him, even if it's just Aurora's part. But the more I think about it, the more I think this may have been the right choice for adapting this show to film. Thebest stage-to-screen adaptions aren't afraid to make significant cuts and changes in order to serve the new medium - and here, given the fantasy world is so clearly distinct from the prison world, the choice they made makes cinematic sense."

I heard they found a distributor"

 

Apparently you heard wrong.

[binau]

Posted: 1/29/25 at 1:32pm

Regardless of the cuts, the stills of Jennifer Lopez look stunning and a clear homage to Chita/the original production. I can't wait!

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 1/29/25 at 8:08pm

Cody Derricks of Next Best Picture gives it a 8/10.
https://nextbestpicture.com/kiss-of-the-spider-woman/

[morosco]

Posted: 1/30/25 at 12:20pm

User "ashowgoer15" has seen the film and posts a lengthy analysis over on All That Chat.

I Saw Spider Woman Twice at Sundance

[Ensemble1736545253]

Posted: 1/30/25 at 9:38pm

morosco said: "User "ashowgoer15" has seen the film and posts a lengthy analysis over on All That Chat.

I Saw Spider Woman Twice at Sundance"

I have also seen the film twice at Sundance; once during the premiere and once the day after for the encore. I can answer questions anyone has…

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 1:06am

Ah so now we know two of the songs taken from the Purchase version...  Never You and Everyday Man (which is a perfectly fine but pretty unexceptional pastiche number.)  Curious if there is actually a third...

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 2:11am

I have to say that if nothing else, this has gotten me to do a deep YouTube dive on the original production, which was long before my time, and it is honestly incredible. It really makes me mourn this kind of stagecraft, and it is kind of blowing my mind to see the context of the numbers I'd known for years in Prince's operatic, cinematic dark vision. Chita was truly, like, an interstellar performer and Hal Prince was a genius.Brent Carver was so amazing as well. It seems like the best possible presentation of this material, which I had considered lower-tier Kander & Ebb. I can see why it is so hard to revive, but I can also see why it ran at the time. 

It feels disappointing and safe that the "reality" numbers are cut, because I've finally just come around to a lot of them. But the prospect of the Aurora numbers onscreen is really exciting. I'm hoping for the best, still looking forward in hopes that there will be a little bit of that dark magic to it. 

Updated On: 1/31/25 at 02:11 AM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 6:44am

Lower tier K&E for me would be like, Woman of the Year or something...  I really put this--well at least in their top five.

But yeah, that Hal Prince production was truly incredible--though I saw the tour back when I was 13, images from it have really stayed with me.  Jerome Sirlin's designs too, including his projections which was an element I had never seen at that point (he doesn't seem to have a ton of credits in commercial theatre though he did do the projections for the original James Lapine directed Berlin Hunchback of Notre Dame which was known for its projections.)  And for all his awfulness, thank God Garth Drabinsky saw the ridiculously wrong headed Purchase production and, despite everyone else thinking it was completely DOA, and the foresight to tell them he wanted them to take an entirely different approach.

Speaking of that 1990 production, there's an interesting A&E Arts segment about it with some clips.  I love how Prince wants to point out how it will still have pretty showgirls, etc, and for all they talk about the project they seem to avoid using the word "gay" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqyV_WTKt20

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 9:43am

The thing that at this stage disappoints me the most is losing “ I’d Do Anything for Him” that onstage in the Hal Prince production was beyond thrilling, that staging was spectacular and the song soared. Everything in the show came to that climax. 

[morosco]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 10:07am

Jerome Sirlin's sets and projections were indeed stunning in the original London/Broadway productions. Here's video from a German production that duplicated the London/Broadway production complete with Hal Prince's staging and Rob Marshall's choreography. It was captured by a fixed infrared camera mounted on the balcony rail that was used by stage management. (Keep in mind that the use of infrared cameras gives the production members the ability to "see in the dark" so there are some moments you see in the video that are unseen by the audience members and are actually in complete darkness.)

Act I 

Act II

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 10:29am

rosscoe(au) said: "The thing that at this stage disappoints me the most is losing “ I’d Do Anything for Him” that onstage in the Hal Prince production was beyond thrilling, that staging was spectacular and the song soared. Everything in the show came to that climax."

Yep. I’m actually ok with most of the cuts, but losing “Anything For Him” is devastating. 

[BJR]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 12:55pm

EricMontreal22 said: "Speaking of that 1990 production, there's an interesting A&E Arts segment about it with some clips. I love how Prince wants to point out how it will still have pretty showgirls, etc, and for all they talk about the project they seem to avoid using the word "gay" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqyV_WTKt20"

Wow. Such a great reminder of what a different time that was.

[Showface]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 1:31pm

So-- how does Jlo...sound? 

I have no doubt she's probably serving for most of the movie, especially in the dance department. She definitely has a unique star quality, but I'm particularly curious about how she sounds on the title song.

It definitely seems like the type of song she would have the courage to attempt (she's been covering Barbra Streisand on various occasions for the past decade), but does it actually land? 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 2:35pm

ljay889 said: "rosscoe(au) said: "The thing that at this stage disappoints me the most is losing “ I’d Do Anything for Him” that onstage in the Hal Prince production was beyond thrilling, that staging was spectacular and the song soared. Everything in the show came to that climax."

Yep. I’m actually ok with most of the cuts, but losing “Anything For Him” is devastating."

I've never liked "Anything for Him". It removes any ambiguity about the sexual encounter between Molina and Valentin and it makes the manipulation of Molina so blatant that it removes any agency he has to make the choices he does. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 3:09pm

''I have also seen the film twice at Sundance; once during the premiere and once the day after for the encore. I can answer questions anyone has…''

So what did YOU think of Condon's movie of ''Kiss of the Spider Woman''? Pluses? Minuses? Do you mostly agree or disagree with Ashowgoer15's assessment?

And do you see it as a future Oscar contender? ,,, Thanks!

Updated On: 1/31/25 at 03:09 PM

[marytylermoore]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 5:57pm

Showface said: "So-- how does Jlo...sound?

I have no doubt she's probably serving for most of the movie, especially in the dance department. She definitely has a unique star quality, but I'm particularly curious about how she sounds on the title song.

It definitely seems like the type of song she would have the courage to attempt (she's been covering Barbra Streisand on various occasions for the past decade), but does it actually land?"

IMO, it's the best she has ever sounded (not to be catty—I really do love her pop music—but this is not a very high bar...). I had forgotten that most of the songs are in relatively low keys and the range of this score sat really beautifully in her voice. She doesn't have the heft of Chita (who J Lo clearly studied and admired), but upon listening to the Vanessa Williams cast recording, I was surprised to realize how similar J Lo sounds to Vanessa's recording. If memory serves me correctly, Chita sang Where You Are in A Flat and I believe Vanessa sang it a whole step up in B Flat. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Jennifer sang in Vanessa's keys because it was really striking how similar they sound. 

In reference to the title song, I don't remember all that well what she sounded like other than perfectly fine because the song in the film 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

cuts between the Spider Woman singing and Valentin and Molina, y'know, getting to really know one another...and that's where my attention was placed. 

 

Updated On: 1/31/25 at 05:57 PM

[BJR]

Posted: 1/31/25 at 8:27pm

SonofRobbieJ said: "I've never liked "Anything for Him". It removes any ambiguity about the sexual encounter between Molina and Valentin and it makes the manipulation of Molina so blatant that it removes any agency he has to make the choices he does."

Same! It's always bothered me for the exact same reason.

And I'm really glad I clicked on the spoiler from marytylermoore cuz that sounds like it does exactly what "Anything for Him" is trying to do, especially when the Spider Woman joins in.

[binau]

Posted: 2/1/25 at 7:24am

How thin/poppy/autotuned does Jennifer Lopez sound in the songs? I don’t think I could go any thinner than Vanessa Williams without being a little disappointed. Doesn’t have to be Chita though clearly. 

Does anyone think that Nicole S would actually be amazing in a revival? She can go the full spectrum of dark, quiet, eerie and powerful belt. Plus she has the stage presence. The kind of names thrown around previously (Audra, DeBose) haven’t quite felt right. 

[Bway boy2]

Posted: 3/11/25 at 9:38pm

I received this message from someone who has seen the movie at Sundance. The song list is:

Her Name is Aurora

Dear One

Where You Are

I Do Miracles

A Visit

She's a Woman

Gimme Love

Anything for Him

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Only in the Movies

There's also a "new" song from the Kander and Ebb trunk called Never You. It's short but very

[binau]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 4:27am

Wow they really have butchered the score! 

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 6:55am

No “Day After That” is very disappointing.