Kiss of the Spider Woman — Page 2

MEF, I agree with you about Vanessa Williams. How many times have we seen people on this board slamming her for not being Bernadette Peters in Into the Woods?

Yikes, I hope people didn't want Williams to have given Peters' misguided Witch performance! (I love Peters, but her Witch was somewhat schticky.)

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re: other Kander & Ebb

I would rank KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN as one of the great theatre scores of the 1990s (after RAGTIME and PASSION.)

Someone suggested WOMAN OF THE YEAR. It is long out-of-print but worth a hunt. It is a much lighter score than KISS but the show made an enjoyable evening in the theatre (as long as Lauren Bacall stayed with it. R.Welch mugged too much and stepped out of character to play to the audience!)The OCR is a mostly delightful 52 minutes. "the Grass is Always Greener" was the big 2nd act showstopper, but "Sometimes a Day Goes By" is an achingly beautiful song; and the ensemble numbo "It Isn't working" was staged with great pizzazz which comes thru on the record.

Also check out STEEL PIER. It actually opened to better reviews (5 favourable) than either THE LIFE of TITANIC but after winning no Tonys it closed. The book could have used some fixing, but the score is quite good and the recording captures the theatricality of the performance. And it marked Kristen Chenoweth's Broadway debut.

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Bluewizard, your comments about Bernadette's witch are one hundred percent correct. She was beyond schticky. She DID NOT get Tony nominated because her performance was pretty bad. Her singing was enthralling. But her acting was awful..she simply had no idea what to do. Often, it seemed like she was acting in a sketch from The Carol Burnett Show. I love Bernadette to pieces, but her witch was dreadful.

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Wow. I never thought people felt that way about Bernadette's Witch. She was the best Witch to me, hilarious and moving. I wish she had the Tony that year.

"i cant believe how people prefer that old hag that can't sing,just because she opened the show,it doesn't mean she is better."

Chita's dancing was magnificent. Williams may have a better voice, but her dancing was clumsy.

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When i saw Chita...i was afraid she was gonna die in the middle of the show...i mean...she is very old and i admire her for trying but...come on!!!! she got a Tony out of pity.

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I wish she had the Tony that year.

What?? And deny Joanna Gleason her very well-deserved Tony for a definitive star turn as the Baker's Wife?

From what I've heard, Vanessa Williams' Aurora/Spider Woman was actually very good. My issue is that the second cast recording doesn't have the charisma of the original OBCR. I understand it encapsulates more of the show, but it doesn't flow as well as the original recording and feels dull.

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LOL, one more reply.

Bernadette Peters was never Tony-nominated for her performance in INTO THE WOODS, so they both weren't really "up for it," just Gleason was. Since Peters had left the show by the Tonys were gearing up, the producers thought it was better to submit only Gleason's name for consideration. Another reason for this decision was probably because Peters' performance wasn't well-received, as can be attested by several members here; most have found her take on the Witch to be misguided and underwhelming. I love Bernadette Peters, but this certainly wasn't one of her better performances.

But back to KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN -- I would have loved to have seen the original production, which I've heard was quite innovative in its staging. Can anyone share their memories of the show?

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But back to KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN -- I would have loved to have seen the original production, which I've heard was quite innovative in its staging. Can anyone share their memories of the show?

I can! I was at the Toronto openng in June 1992.

The historic performance was Brent Carver's and we knew then he would win the Tony award. Chita's role was peripheral (and they never quite licked that problem) but she had the star quality the production needed. Her first number was "Don't Even Think About it" (later replaced by "Where You Are.") I did an interview with Hal Prince and with Kander and Ebb. John Kander's favourite song was "dear one" whiel Fredd Ebb liked "Dressing Them up." Hal Prince commented that whenever he does a show and people wonder "How in hell are you gonna make a musical out of that?" he knows it will be an excitng show.

Despite all the ads and promotion the show was not selling out the Bluma Appel theatre and cut the run short by 2 weeks. It moved to London where it again got good reviews but did weak business. Then it moved to New York where it promptly won the Tony and settled in for a 2 year run that still lost money, though that may have had more to do with Garth Drabinsky's "creative book-keeping" that saw much of the box office take slipped into his private bank accounts.

I was supposed to see Vanessa do it in New York but Livent's press people screwed up and when I got to the theatre there were no tickets waiting for me. Oh well. She does sound fine on the CD.

I think we will see future productions, perhaps on a smaller more intimate scale. I think the first act would play better if it were about 15-20 minutes shorter.

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Incidently I'm listening to KISS' original cast recording right now (Brent Carver's "She's a Woman" and "Anything For Him" are utterly heartbreaking), and a friend of mine recently gave me the show's opening night programme at the Bluma Appel Theatre. What a souvenir! I didn't know Susan Gilmour was in the show.

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Updated On: 3/12/05 at 03:44 AM