Theater review | 'Kiss of the Spider Woman': Short North Stage delivers poignant musical
Few musicals encompass such extremes of brutality and kindness, love and death as “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”
Daring and disturbing, but also romantic and sentimental, the sophisticated fantasia won seven Tony awards in 1993, including best musical and score.
Yet, only now has the legendary Broadway hit arrived in Columbus. The gripping production by Short North Stage, opened Friday at the Garden Theater.
Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb (“Cabaret,” “Chicago”) have rarely written a score so seductive, melodic or smoothly integrated into the story, deftly adapted by Terrence McNally from Manuel Puig’s magical-realist novel.
Director Michael Licata weaves passion, suspense, humor and poignancy into a web of theatricality reinforced by Edward Carignan’s flamboyant choreography.
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Kudos to the terrific 14-member ensemble and six-member orchestra.
Scott Hunt anchors the show with a tender and amusing performance as Molina, a gay window dresser imprisoned in the 1970s in Argentina.
Joe Joseph charts a compelling arc as Valentin, a revolutionary whose distaste for Molina’s effeminacy fades amid the desperate intimacy of their prison-cell existence.
At Thursday’s preview, Eli Brickey soared as Aurora, a 1940s movie queen whose lurid roles include the Spider Woman. From her retro-Hollywood dancing to her aerial ballets on silks and trapeze, Brickey is the diamond in the show’s crown.
Other standouts: Linda Kinnison Roth as Molina’s idealized mother, and male dancers Patrick Carmichael, Kevin Ferguson, Edgar Lopez and James Schoppe in macho double roles as prisoners and Aurora’s film chorus.
The singing is beautiful.
Among the memorable songs: “Dear One,” a heartbreaking double duet; “The Day After That,” an urgent anthem led by Valentin; and “I Do Miracles,” a lilting lullaby of impossible hope by Aurora and Marta (Danielle Grays).
Wayne LaFaber’s somber prison garb and sparkling fantasy costumes help define the dialectic.
The 2½ hour show, suggested for mature audiences because of violence and sexuality, isn’t for the faint of heart.
Yet, its redemptive affirmation of dignity amid despair surely can be taken to heart by anyone with compassion for the oppressed.