Axelle Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
There’s an independently financed feature take of the 1992 John Kander and Fred Ebb West End and Broadway musical of Kiss of the Spider Woman that’s being ready to shoot in the spring with Jennifer Lopez set to play the role of Aurora, which Chita Rivera originated on the Great White Way.
Lopez is ripe to put on the high heels for the role: the Billboard hitmaker, Primetime Emmy nominee, 2x Golden nominee sings, and dances too.
Dreamgirls and Beauty and the Beast filmmaker Bill Condon is directing, and Barry Josephson (Enchanted) is producing with Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith Thomas and Benny Medina executive producing. Sergio Trujillo is the choreographer.
The musical was based on the Oscar winning 1985 Hector Babenco directed movie that starred Sonja Braja as the Spider-Woman, as well as the late Raul Julia and William Hurt.
Both the movie and musical follows a gay man and a political prisoner who are cellmates together. The former narrates the stories of two fake movies and his own life.
The musical was directed by Harold Prince and won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Musical. The show also won Tonys for Best Book of a Musical, Original Score, Leading Actor in a Musical (Brent Carver), Leading Actress (Rivera), and Featured Actor in a Musical (Anthony Crivello) in addition to Best Costume Design. The musical played 390 performances on the West End and another 904 on Broadway.
Variety had the story about Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Carol Dennis is an entertainment aficionado with an eye for all things pop culture. She dives into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry, from movie premieres to music festivals. Carol’s passion for storytelling extends beyond her reporting, as she’s an aspiring screenwriter in her free time.
