Havok Theatre Co Announces LA Premiere of 'Kiss of the Spider Woman'

The newly formed Havok Theatre Company in association with the Bootleg Theatre is thrilled to present its third production, the Los Angeles Intimate Theatre Premiere of KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, book by Terrence McNally, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, choreography by Lee Martino, with musical direction by Michael Paternostro and directed by Ovation Award-winner and Artistic Director of the new Havok Theatre Company Nick DeGruccio.  KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN will preview on Thursday, September 18; Friday, September 19; Saturday September 20 at 8pm; Sunday, September 21 at 3pm and Thursday, September 25 at 8pm and will open on Friday, September 26 at 8pm and run through Sunday, October 26, 2008 at the Bootleg Theatre, 2220 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Based on the novel by Manuel Puig and winner of seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN revamps a harrowing tale of persecution into a dazzling spectacle that juxtaposes gritty realities with liberating fantasies.  Thrown together in a Latin American prison, Valentin is a tough revolutionary being tortured for political information, and Molina is an unabashed homosexual serving eight years for deviant behavior.  Molina shares his fantasies about a movie actress named Aurora with Valentin to help him mentally escape from the horrors of the prison.  One of Aurora's movie roles is a "Spider Woman" who kills with a kiss.  Two unlikely cellmates, Valentin and Molina play a breathless cat-and-mouse game as they struggle to survive.

Director Nick DeGruccio and Choreographer Lee Martino will create an intimate chamber piece with this brilliant musical, accompanied by a live six-member orchestra, bringing the action of the show literally close enough to touch.

Nick DeGruccio (Director) is the recipient of the LA Ovation Award for Direction of both a Play and a Musical.  Nick's most recent credits include the West Coast Premiere of The Andrews Brothers at Musical Theatre West, Jekyll & Hyde at Cabrillo Music Theatre, Altar Boyz at the Welk Resort, and the first two productions for Havok Theatre Company, the L.A. Premieres of DOG SEES GOD: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead and THRILL ME: The Leopold & Loeb Story.  This year, Nick won the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle Award for Direction for the LA Premiere of Zanna, Don't! at West Coast Ensemble (also 2007 LA Ovation Nominations for Direction, Production).  He also directed Bad Apples, a World Premiere Play for the Rubicon Theatre Company and Beehive at the El Portal Theatre, which was nominated for five 2006 Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Awards including Direction and two 2007 LA Ovation Award Nominations. He also directed The Last Five Years and I DO! I DO! in rep at The Pasadena Playhouse, The Full Monty for San Diego Music Theatre's inaugural production and I Left My Heart…a tribute to Tony Bennett for the Welk Resort, San Diego. He directed the LA Premiere of A Man Of No Importance for MTG, which was nominated for three 2006 Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Awards as well as a GLAAD award for production. He also directed The Laramie Project for the Laguna Playhouse having directed the LA premiere at The Colony Theatre, which received three LA Ovation Awards for Best Play, Best Direction, Best Ensemble and has raised over $36,000.00 for the Matthew Shepard Foundation.  He directed the LA premiere of Side Show, which received eight Ovation Nominations including Direction and was voted One of the Top 10 Plays of 2002 by The Los Angeles Times.

He directed the production of 1776 at Performance Riverside receiving the 2004 LA Ovation Award for Direction and the production garnered five LA Ovation Awards including Best Musical.   He directed Side By Side By Sondheim at the Rubicon Theatre which was moved to The Pasadena Playhouse (2004 LA Ovation Nominations for Production and Ensemble). He directed the acclaimed west coast premiere of The Spitfire Grill at The Laguna Playhouse receiving the OC Award for Best Musical as well as My Way for McCoy-Rigby Entertainment at the La Mirada Performing Arts Center and for the Welk Resort in San Diego. He directed Guys and Dolls for Musical Theatre West which was nominated for four 2005 LA Ovation Awards including Direction of a Musical and the The Fantasticks at Performance Riverside.
 
He also directed a staged concert of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party at the Alex Theatre (MTG), Basic Training at 2nd Stage receiving an NAACP nomination for direction and La Cage Aux Folles for Musical Theatre West (which received two 2004 LA Ovation Nominations). He directed the Colony Theatre Company productions of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, City of Angels (LA Ovation Award for Best Musical Smaller Theatre), the West Coast Premiere of Sondeim's Putting It Together, (Garland Award and LA Ovation Award nomination for Direction) and Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer. Other directing credits include: Pippin for the BCLO, Two By Two and How Now Dow Jones for the Musical Theatre Guild at the Pasadena Playhouse, Happily Ever After...After All (voiceovers by Angela Lansbury) for the 9 O'clock Players, The Foreigner and The History of The Musical Theatre in 44 Minutes and 28 Seconds for MTG which is touring LA Schools. Nick is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director's Lab West. 

Lee Martino (Choreographer) is recognized as one of the entertainment industry's leading stage, television and corporate event director/choreographers, having garnered numerous awards and multiple nominations for her work, including two Los Angeles Drama Critic's Awards, two Ovation Awards, and Garland awards. Lee was recently honored with the 2007 Ovation, LADCC, and Garland awards for her work in On Your Toes for Reprise!  

Choreography for other shows at Reprise! include: Li'l Abner starring Cathy Rigby, Damn Yankees, On The Town and Brigadoon.  Lee is the resident choreographer for Reprise Theatre Company in Los Angeles.

Other theatre credits include:  Beehive (El Portal Theatre), The Full Monty, All Shook Up (West Coast Premieres for Musical Theatre West), I Do I Do and Side By Side By Sondheim (The Pasadena Playhouse), Cabaret (West Coast Ensemble), Grease, Titanic, Jekyll and Hyde (Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities), excerpts for The King and I starring Lynn Redgrave and Patrick Stuart (Hollywood Bowl), Man of La Mancha starring Robert Goulet, Mame starring Carol Lawrence and Sally Struthers, and the opening of the Hobby Performing Arts Center in Houston  (A Tribute to Jerry Herman) for Theatre Under the Stars, Universal Studios' New York Rascals Show, Disney's Santa Clause 3 Stage Show (El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood).  Lee has directed and choreographed Broadway Babies starring Marilyn Mayes, Mimi Hines and Karen Morrow and Best of Reprise which Daily Variety touted the entire production as "powerhouse entertainment"both were at the John Anson Ford Theatre.

Lee choreographed IMPACT AT FORD FIELD, the Gala Opening of the Detroit Lions Football Field starring Gladys Knight, the Grand Opening of the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs, starring American Idol Ruben Stoddard, and Disney International's Latin American stage Tour A Dream Is A Wish. Lee has directed and choreographed several large scale dance production shows for Harley-Davidson in Denver, San Diego, Dallas and Orlando.
 
Lee has choreographed several benefit performances: What A Pair! (also director), a breast cancer benefit starring the industry's leading females, The Alzheimer's Association working with such stars as Jason Alexander, Vanessa Williams, Steven Weber, Ana Ortiz, and Kristen Bell, The Actor's Fund starring Angela Landsbury and Carol Channing, S.T.A.G.E. (Los Angeles' longest running AIDS benefit), starring television and Broadway celebrities, Children's Hospital of Orange County Benefits (raising close to four million dollars for the charity) with Dick Van Dyke.  Hot Hollywood at the Henry Fonda Theatre (Music Box), featuring Nadine Valazquez ("My Name is Earl"), Shanelle Workman ("The Bold and the Beautiful") and Eric Martsolf ("Passions").   Lee Martino can currently be seen on Bravo TV's new dance show, "Step It Up & Dance", choreographing and preparing contestants for a series of audition dance challenges.  Other TV credits:  NBC's "Hit Me Baby One More Time", the WB's "What I Like About You", starring Jenny Garth and Amanda Bynes, Nickelodeon's "All That", Warner Bros.' animated feature "The King and I", and Sony Pictures' "Dark Wolf.

The cast of KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN features Terra C. MacLeod (Broadway and Paris companies of Chicago, The Pajama Game) as Spider Woman/Aurora, Chad Borden (The Laramie Project, A Chorus Line) as Molina, Daniel Tatar (Paradise Lost, The Last Five Years) as Valentin, Ed F. Martin (Angels & Demons, The Laramie Project) as the Warden, Eileen Barnett (Broadway's Nine, Company) as Molina's Mother, Zarah Mahler (Great Expectations) as Marta, Che Rodriguez as Esteban, Salvatore Vassallo as Gabriel/Prisoner, and Shell Bauman, Jeffrey Parsons, Hector Guerrero, and Mike Motrino as Aurora's Men/Prisoners.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN features an award-winning design team.  The set design is by Tom Buderwitz.  The lighting design is by Steven Young.  The sound design is by Drew Dalzell.  Costumes (original design by Anne Kennedy) will be furnished by the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA.  KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN is co-produced by the Havok Theatre Company and April Shih in association with the Bootleg Theatre. Associate Musical Director Steven Ladd Jones will conduct the live six-member orchestra with new orchestrations by Billy V. Malpede.

SCHEDULE AND PRICING

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN will preview on Thursday, September 18; Friday, September 19; Saturday September 20 at 8pm; Sunday, September 21 at 3pm and Thursday, September 25 at 8pm and will open on Friday, September 26 at 8pm and run through Sunday, October 26, 2008 at the Bootleg Theatre, 2220 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm; Sundays at 3:00 pm.  Ticket prices are Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 are $34; Saturdays at 8:00 are $40; Sundays at 3:00 pm are $38. ($25 for previews).  For ticket reservations, please call 1-800-595-4849 or visit  www.havoktheatre.com.

During street construction, there is free parking available in the lot behind the Fellowship Church across the street at 2235 Beverly Blvd.

For press information, interviews, photos or press comps, please contact David Elzer at DEMAND PR at 818/508-1754 or at ELZERD@aol.com.

Havok Theatre Company's mission is to produce Los Angeles Premieres of Broadway, Off-Broadway and Regional plays and musicals, World Premieres of new works, and revivals of rarely-produced critically-acclaimed pieces.  Our top priority is creating the highest quality artistic experience possible.  We will strive to contract LA's best union actors and designers and give voice to new playwrights, composers and lyricists.  With a passionate, fresh and edgy approach to both art and business, we will bring our audiences highly entertaining and thought-provoking theatre.