Kiss Of The Spider Woman 25th Anniversary — Page 2

DAME said: "Oh god no! Please not another paired down broadway revival. This show was big ,magical , and very theatrical . That’s the way I want it."

Don't get me wrong, I would also hate a pared down revival on Broadway. This project (some 17 years ago) was to force myself to put it in a new space so I would be thinking about it differently. Since we also had to kind of be our own directors in those classes, my concept didn't reduce the cast size at all, or any of the fantasy elements. It just put them into a much more immediate setting.

CATHERINE ZETA-JONES

Was Vanessa Williams really that big a star in 1995 to warrant an entirely new cast recording (on a different record label), or was that a Garth Drabinsky stunt?

YAAASSS. CZJ for the win!!!

I can hear her singing now... "And the moon grows dimmer, at the tide's low ebb..."

Am i correct that the Vanessa sings half a step higher than Chita?

Was Vanessa Williams really that big a star in 1995 to warrant an entirely new cast recording (on a different record label), or was that a Garth Drabinsky stunt?

I don't know the specific reason as to why the cast recording was made, but yes, she was riding a tidal wave of success at the time. She already bounced back from the Miss America scandal by producing her first hit single, Dreamin', in 1988. By 1994, she had two more successful albums, and a #1 hit single, Save the Best for Last, which was also featured in the popular Australian flick, Adventures of Priscilla. Her Broadway debut in Spider Woman was a pretty big deal at the time. The other replacements for Aurora, Carol Lawrence and Maria Conchita Alonso, didn't come close to the impact Vanessa made, which was one of the best-reviewed Broadway replacements in the last 25 years.

My only quibble with Williams is her stylistic choice to slide down the note at the end of every phrase. Regardless, I adore her. I still think she's the most beautiful woman on the planet and I have massive crazy respect for her. The way she bounced back was amazing for any woman, but for a POC in the 80s-90s, it was EXTRAORDINARY.

I recently saw the Melbourne Theatre Company production of this show with Caroline O'Connor (who I've now seen in The Rink, Anastasia, Chicago & Gypsy). I haven't seen the show in 10 years - Act 1 was a bit longer than I remember (too long), and I do wonder if the whole Aurora escapism theme is a bit overdone. Valentin feels like he could have been written with at least some personality. But overall, I just love this show - it's dark, entertaining, camp & serious at all different points throughout the same show. At this point, I now feel like I can accept a revival never happening - but it would seem like a missed opportunity for it not to be so. There is so much that can be done in this show in terms of performances, musical arrangements, direction & staging.

qolbinau said: "I recently saw the Melbourne Theatre Company production of this show withCaroline O'Connor (who I've now seen in The Rink, Anastasia, Chicago & Gypsy). I haven't seen the show in 10 years - Act 1 was a bit longer than I remember (too long), and I do wonder if the whole Aurora escapism theme is a bit overdone. Valentin feels like he could have been written with at least some personality.But overall, I just love this show - it's dark, entertaining, camp & serious at all different points throughout the same show.At this point, I now feel like I can accept a revival never happening - but it would seem like a missed opportunity for it not to be so. There is so much that can be done in this show in terms of performances, musical arrangements, direction & staging."

I saw that production as well...I don't think it made much of a case for that show. However, as much as I lLOVE Caroline O'Connor (I've seen her wonderful Gypsy Rose and Rink Anna in England, her Follies Phyllis in Chicago, her Assassins Sarah Jane Moore in Milwaukee and her Anything Goes Reno in Melbourne) I think a lot of the blame lies with her. For this show she was just the wrong actress. You need someone statuesque and mysterious as Aurora and she came off more or less a cartoon.


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