kiss of the spider woman plot
kiss of the spider woman plot
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#1re: kiss of the spider woman plot
Posted: 9/15/04 at 10:08pmIt's based on a novel by Manuel Puig, which was also made into a movie starring William Hurt (who won an Oscar for it) and Raul Julia. It takes place in corrupt prison in an unknown Latin American country, where a flamboyantly gay man (Molina--William Hurt in the movie), in jail for having sex with a minor, and an angry revolutionary (Valentin, the Raul Julia character) help each other deal with the terror that surrounds them. Much of the show revolves around Molina's escape to his memories of his favorite movie musicals, which featured an actress named Aurora. One of the characters Aurora played was the "Spider Woman"--a.k.a. death, who, as a sort of grim reaper, kisses people right before they die. The musical plays on the idea that the Spider Woman is actually real, and is watching over Molina as she knows he is about to die. Think "The Shawshank Redemption" meets "Dead Like Me" with a gay twist. It's very universal in its themes though--loneliness, fear, and friendship. A really excellent show. It won the Tony for Best Musical (back when that award really meant something).
StateOfJade
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/6/03
#2re: kiss of the spider woman plot
Posted: 9/15/04 at 10:09pmI'd recommend seeing the movie. It's very interesting.
"I really liked the show--Wish I saw Boy's Night...Am I allowed as I am not a boy anymore:)"-duffyny1
#3re: kiss of the spider woman plot
Posted: 9/15/04 at 10:31pmVery good synopsis, Baritone! It's a complicated show but I love it!
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#4re: kiss of the spider woman plot
Posted: 9/16/04 at 5:19am
Anyone watching the movie should note one major difference between it and the musical:
In the movie the actress (Sonia Braga) who plays Aurora/the Spiderwoman, also plays the role of Marta, Valentin's girlfriend. So, symbolically, the fantasy woman and the real woman are the same. In the musical, Marta is played by a different actress. It certainly would not have worked to have 60 year old Chita Rivera play Marta.
By the way, I am getting so tired of saying "rent the damn movie" to people with these types of questions.
Even the dinkiest town in Nebraska has a Blockbuster Video.
There's also another way of getting good general information about the plot of a book/movie/play:
It's called a Google search.
Updated On: 9/16/04 at 05:19 AM
