Kiss of the Spider Woman
Vintage Theatre: 10/27 – 12/2
Megan Van De Hey as Aurora
Heartbreaking and haunting, director Craig Bond’s production of “Kiss of
the Spider Woman” is one you really must see… and hear.
The musical had just about everything going for it by the time it hit
Broadway. Music by Kander and Ebb (“Cabaret” and “Chicago”) book by Terrence
McNally (“Ragtime” and “The Full Monty”) and all based on the highly successful
novel by Manuel Puig. Besides winning multiple Drama Desk and Olivier Awards,
“Kiss” snagged Tonys for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book for a Musical.
It’s the story of two men caged in a Latin American prison cell. Molina
is a homosexual window dresser who’s been jailed for eight years for
“corrupting a minor.” He clouds the ugly reality of prison life by escaping
into fantasies involving memories of Aurora, a movie diva who once frightened
him as a vampy film character called the spider woman who killed with her kiss.
Molina’s cellmate is Valentin, a virile revolutionary type who’s been
captured and tortured for his Marxist leanings.
The show takes place entirely in the tiny claustrophobic prison cell and
then expands into the sprawling Cinemascope fantasies conjured up in Molina’s
imagination.
The cast is huge and the chorus includes some seasoned dancers and a
number of cute new chorus boys. Director Craig Bond has brought in Ron “Ronnie”
Marriott, a choreographer who has worked for many years on Broadway to give the
choreography for this show that sensibility needed to conjure up memories of
the sweep of those big old nostalgic musicals of yester-year. The music is
infectious and Mitch Samu’s musical direction makes it indelibly so.
Megan Van de Hey’s performance of Aurora, The Spider Woman, is so outrageously
well done the memory of her work will be forever etched in your mind. With
every syncopated beat she gives us movement a la the physiology of the female
spider. Here is yet another coup de theatre performed by this brilliant actor.
Her performance is creepy, unsettling and you will not be able to take your
eyes off of her.
Brian Merz-Hutchinson’s portrayal of Valentin is a brilliant tour de
force. Powerful and gut-wrenching, Merz-Hutchinson’s arc from homophobic
disgust to a tender affection for his cellmate Molina is out pictured with a
gritty brio that very few actors in our community could match. His performance
of the heart-pounding anthem, “The Day After That,” will put you in mind of
those glorious anthems in “Les Mis.”
L to R: Julie Lemieux, Gabe Morales, Brian Merz-Hutchinson and Deborah Persoff
Gabe Morales
provides us with an endearing portrait of Molina, the gay window dresser who
has been imprisoned because of his sexual orientation. Morales creates a strikingly
complex character whose love for Valentin and for his mother entangle him in a
web of love and delusion.
Deborah Persoff plays Molina’s mother with a gentling almost ritualistic
compassion as she mirrors his (Molina’s) gestures with her own and soothes him
by clouding the ugly realities of prison life with her attentive presence.
(It’s interesting to note that the writing of this character provided the
Broadway musical theatre with its first portrait of a mother who
unconditionally loves and accepts her gay son.)
Julie Lemieux is remarkable in
the role of Valentin’s wife, Marta. Ms. Lemieux is an actor with real stage
presence. Although her role is small her impact is significant and one looks
forward to seeing her again soon upon the boards.
The singing of the quartet, “Dear One” by Ms. Persoff, Ms. Lemieux ,
Merz-Hutchinson and Morales is profoundly moving.
Preston Britton stands out in the ensemble of prisoners, as do Brian
Walker-Smith and Brian Murray in that of the guards and warden.
Sean Cochrane’s very fine set design deconstructs from the ugly
experience of the prison cell to the sprawling movie musical fantasy that
Molina conjures.
Not to be missed!
Vintage Theatre presents
Kiss of the Spider Woman
The complex relationship between two men caged together in a Latin American prison is explored.
Oct. 27 - Dec. 2
Fri/Sat at 7:30 p.m.; Sun at 2:30 p.m.
Fri/Sat at 7:30 p.m.; Sun at 2:30 p.m.
Fri/Sat $30; Sun $25 303-856-7830 or online at www.vintagetheatre.com
NEW Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora 80010
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