Jennifer Lopez to Star in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Film- Page 25

[joevitus]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 9:27pm

With the exception of "So What?" I think the book songs to Cabaret are pretty mediocre, and I don't need another movie adaptation, especially since the original is a genuine masterpiece. I like characters bursting out into song, too, but Cabaret, Pennies From Heaven and Chicago all used the stage-performance-or-private-fantasy-as-metaphor to their advantage.

The wider audience seems to have a real problem with the traditional style, in spite of two staggering exceptions: Grease and Wicked. I think it would be especially hard to pull it off with Kiss of the Spider Woman, considering the gritty and violent conditions under which the characters live.

But that doesn't mean the movie version Condon made utilized this structure successfully. The rest of us still have to wait until we can judge for ourselves. Apart from Jennifer Hudson, I couldn't stand his movie of Dreamgirls, but I'm just hoping for the best and waiting...impatiently. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 9:36pm

What about “What Would You Do?”?!

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/7/25 at 9:36pm

I will say I do think the "book" songs to Spider Woman are among their best, so I'll miss them.  In one interview, Condon says that John Kander considered it his most operatic score (which he explained as most truly integrated) so of course was sad to see that go, but understood.  I admit that part of my way of thinking is... I never saw any movie being made of this work at all so am happy with what we get and if it exposes anyone to the show (of course we did get that episode of Riverdale spin-off Katy Keane where one character performed their one person version of the musical, but, umm, yeah.)

Joevitus said: " I think it would be especially hard to pull it off with Kiss of the Spider Woman, considering the gritty and violent conditions under which the characters live. "  Right, I think that's part of the thinking (and even was for the film of Cabaret where there was some worry about a musical trivializing the rise of the Nazi party.)  Of course most of us don't feel that way, but it still seems to be a barrier for modern movie goers.  Wicked benefits from being a fantasy, and really some other movie musicals like Hairspray or, yes, Grease, are basically fantasies too.  If they DID keep the book songs for Spider Woman it would also probably have to be a much more expensive production with some way of making the prison scenes in their own way also stylized...