Kennedy Center’s SPIDER WOMAN Cancelled- Page 3

[SeanD2]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 3:28pm

TheSweatlessOracle said: "

No but seriously, what are we going to get? Somebody leak it please."

Perhaps something humorous and courtly."

Oh god... I hope not. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 3:39pm

are you saying there might be an opening for a princess?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 4:19pm

Danny Burstein as Valentin? What? The ages of the characters as announced by the Warden can be changed, but Valentin needs to be relatively young - 30 max I'd say. Molina can be any age, but probably 35 - 45 is best.

Also, in 2023 I cannot imagine any actor in the cast not being of Latine heritage, or at least a person of color. I mean Brazil is pretty ethnically diverse, but I don't think we'll see lily-white Brent Carver or William Hurt types in any major production of this show ever again.

In any case, it's a great musical and way overdue for a Broadway revival.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 4:24pm

Based on that hint, I went on the Kennedy Center's website and plugged in "spamalot" in the Kiss of the Spider Woman page's URL, and it says "access denied." If you put in literally ANY other title, it says "this page cannot be found," so...maybe that's it?

[Nicticorax]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 4:45pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I mean Brazil is pretty ethnically diverse."

The movie was switched to take place in Brazil, but the book and musical take place in Argentina. I do agree with your overall point, although Argentina has a much higher % of their population that are of European ancestry than Brazil does.

 

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 4:48pm

There was a 2015 workshop with Audra McDonald, Stephen Pasquale, and Alan Cumming. I am wondering if Audra is still attached to the project. It would be a sure financial hit.

[BJR]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 4:57pm

From what I know, the right holders didn't know this was happening until it was announced. It was granted the rights like any regional. Though obviously it isn't just any regional, hence the issue.

I just wonder what took them so long. I was hearing it may not happen at least 6 months ago... Were there actual negotiations, and over what? I wonder.

As for a Bway revival, it's not this season certainly. Kander has a new show opening, that Tom Kirdahy is producing at that.

If anything, there might just have been a desire to keep the property closely held until a revival could move forward.

Bummer for the cast and team, which I'm sure were excited just 2 months out. This biz, I tell ya!

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 4:58pm

Maybe Vanessa Williams will do it. She’s literally the same age as Chita was when she opened the show on Broadway in 1993.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 5:05pm

Were there any rumblings about who the KC cast was going to be? Surely they had stars lined up

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 5:09pm

Nicticorax said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: "I mean Brazil is pretty ethnically diverse."

The movie was switched to take place in Brazil, but the book and musical take place in Argentina. I do agree with your overall point, although Argentina has a much higher % of their population that are of European ancestry than Brazil does.

"

Well then get a blonde Latiné peformer. But Latiné.

[Nicticorax]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 5:16pm

blaxx said: "Nicticorax said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: "I mean Brazil is pretty ethnically diverse."

The movie was switched to take place in Brazil, but the book and musical take place in Argentina. I do agree with your overall point, although Argentina has a much higher % of their population that are of European ancestry than Brazil does.

"

Well then get a blonde Latiné peformer. But Latiné."

I didn't say anything about blonde. Most Argentinians have a Spanish or Italian background, which aren't exactly known for naturally blonde hair. My main point was just that the musical doesn't take place in Brazil. I think any Broadway revival will and should have a mostly Latino cast.  

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 5:53pm

Kad said: "Strange that a Broadway revival conflict is being cited here. It seems highly unlikely such a production would be happening until the fall at the earliest, how could a short-running KenCen production months earlier be a conflict?"

I think the "conflict" is not the one you think. 

Peter Mark's tweeted (https://twitter.com/petermarksdrama/status/1629162584992620544?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet):

"KenCen is 'withdrawing' from 'Kiss of the Spiderwoman' as its next Broadway Center Stage production. A conflict developed over plans for a potential Broadway revival."

So assuming he has good info, we now know that it was not the rights that were withdrawn but the KC that withdrew from its plan to produce the show. And unless I am wrong, the "conflict" had to do with the Broadway "plans," but not the rights. My translation: Tom Kirdahy, the presumptive producer of the Broadway production (and also a presumptive rights holder since his husband's death), was not interested in negotiating any [meaningful?] involvement in the Broadway production by the KC or its head theatre executive, Jeff Finn (himself a Broadway producer).

Just a guess; as is often the case, "I know nothing."

[RunnyBabbit]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 6:14pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Based on that hint, I went on the Kennedy Center's website and plugged in "spamalot" in the Kiss of the Spider Woman page's URL, and it says "access denied." If you put in literally ANY other title, it says "this page cannot be found," so...maybe that's it?"

This is how someone on Reddit figured out the Baseball HOF induction this year 

I would definitely be interested in a Spamalot production. But if they do something similar to the Bway production, I’ve got to figure out a way to get my dad - named Arthur (with a Jewish sounding last name) - into that “special” seat!

Updated On: 2/24/23 at 06:14 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 6:16pm

Yo, guys. Eva Perón was a bleached blonde. She was a natural brunette.  That’s why they even show the young Eva with dark brown hair in EVITA. She didn’t become a blonde until she started her acting career.  It’s amazing how these details evade y’all.  WTF.  

[Nicticorax]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 6:24pm

In terms of casting, I wonder if they'll address Molina's gender ambiguity, which is pretty prevalent in the book. They refer to themself as a woman and with female pronouns for pretty much the entire story, say they're "100% woman", and constantly correct Valentin when he calls them a man. Could be interesting to cast a nonbinary actor. I think the visual mirroring between Aurora and Molina could also be emphasized and lead to some interesting commentary on that.

[RunnyBabbit]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 6:24pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "There's a belief that multiple high-profile productions within a year of each other can hurt buzz & interest and draw comparisons. The first-class rightsholders have the right to shut down these productions, similar to the MOCKINGBIRD situation. Some producers don't care, some do."

Obviously Covid pushed the timeline back, but the Bway production of Music Man was scheduled to open the year after the Kennedy Center production.  I don’t remember there being a ton of comparisons at the time; again, probably due to the delayed opening on Bway.  I do wish that the Kennedy Center production had transferred and we had a full flushed out version of that wonderful production rather than the version that did end up on Broadway, which I found to be a huge disappointment (probably an understatement).

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 6:55pm

but what if it ain't just about "the rights"?  Considering the times we live in and the constitution of that board, anything is possible.  

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 7:05pm

how’d you get spamalot from we’ve got an opening for a princess? To me that screams once upon a mattress 
 

TaffyDavenport said: "Based on that hint, I went on the Kennedy Center's website and plugged in "spamalot" in the Kiss of the Spider Woman page's URL, and it says "access denied." If you put in literally ANY other title, it says "this page cannot be found," so...maybe that's it?"

 

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 7:09pm

Impeach2017 said: "but what if it ain't just about "the rights"? Considering the times we live in and the constitution of that board, anything is possible."

If what you suggest was the case, they’d find a way to justify the cancellation without embroiling the licensing company or any other professional entity.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 7:13pm

TaffyDavenport said: "Based on that hint, I went on the Kennedy Center's website and plugged in "spamalot" in the Kiss of the Spider Woman page's URL, and it says "access denied." If you put in literally ANY other title, it says "this page cannot be found," so...maybe that's it?"
 

JBradshaw said: "how’d you get spamalot from we’ve got an opening for a princess? To me that screams once upon a mattress"

That princess comment was a response to hint, which was "something humorous and courtly," which is where I got Spamalot from.

Updated On: 2/24/23 at 07:13 PM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 7:44pm

Nicticorax said: "blaxx said: "Nicticorax said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: "I mean Brazil is pretty ethnically diverse."

The movie was switched to take place in Brazil, but the book and musical take place in Argentina. I do agree with your overall point, although Argentina has a much higher % of their population that are of European ancestry than Brazil does.

"

Well then get a blonde Latiné peformer. But Latiné."

I didn't say anything about blonde. Most Argentinians have a Spanish or Italian background, which aren't exactly known for naturally blonde hair. My main point was just that the musical doesn't take place in Brazil. I think any Broadway revival will and should have a mostly Latino cast."


Yes, Blaxx, you only partially quoted us and misrepresented what we were saying. Of course it should be an all-Latine cast.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 8:11pm

A great many Argentinians do not consider themselves Latin. A large part of  the population are of European descent.

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 8:23pm

QueenAlice said: "A great many Argentinians do not consider themselves Latin. A large part of the population are ofEuropean descent."

I’m guessing anyone with the name Luis Alberto Molina or Valentin Arregui Paz would probably acknowledge having Latin ancestry.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 10:28pm

pmensky said: "QueenAlice said: "A great many Argentinians do not consider themselves Latin. A large part of the population are ofEuropean descent."

I’m guessing anyone with the name Luis Alberto Molina or Valentin Arregui Paz would probably acknowledge having Latin ancestry."

We seem so far off the beaten track in this thread but just a couple of notes. The overwhelming majority of Argentina's population "of European descent" is from either Spain or Italy, both of which are "Latin" countries. (And the percentage of Italians in Argentina far exceeds the number here. It's about 60%.)  There are Latino/a/-x/etc people from Latin America but all people from countries with a native Romance language are Latin! 

And pmensky is of course correct that those names are of Latin origin, which includes Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc.. 

[TheOnlyOne2]

Posted: 2/24/23 at 11:27pm

I think I must be alone, because a majority of thr names I see being brought up for Aurora make me want to vomit. I I know it's going to go to a household name because of tickets but I will scream if it's Ariana Debose or Rachel Zeigler. I really don't wanna see that. Since it probably a  will be something aegul. I'm praying they have an alternate who isn't just about commercial ticket sales. I also think it's a mistake to cast Aurora under 45 or 50 years old. There's a level of command that a seasoned performer with decades of professional experience has that cannot be replaced. 

Here are the names I wanna see:

RACHEL YORK or the ghost of Bea Arthur

Stephanie Pope, Charlotte D'amboise, Brenda Braxton, Ruthie Henshall

OR they could cast Hannah Waddingham and please both sides. 

And I hope these sets are lavish AF. Expensive, jawdroppimg sets and staging.