| KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN anecdote | |
| Posted by: jbk 07:13 pm EST 01/28/25 | |
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| Thirty-five years ago, in May of 1990, I went to SUNY Purchase to see what was supposed to be an under-the-radar tryout, specifically closed to critics, of a new musical by Kander and Ebb and Terrence McNally directed by Hal Prince. It was called "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and it was flawed and fascinating and obviously lacked a je-ne-sais-quoi which would eventually be provided by Chita Rivera and Brent Carver and Anthony Crivello and the masterminds who created the show. It didn't quite work but it had such tantalizing ingredients and after all this was a first attempt--an upstate chemistry experiment, far from Manhattan mavens. But then... Frank Rich reviewed it in the Times, quite dismissively. So unfair! Said Rich: "The show's potential virtues are being held hostage by a staging so overgrown that major esthetic reconsiderations, as opposed to cosmetic nips and tucks, are already foreclosed in this production." I felt really bad for everyone involved because the work they had done was wonderful. I wrote a letter to Hal Prince telling him how thrilled I was by what he and his cast had put on stage, how moved I had been. He wrote back soon after to say that he'd read my letter to the company and he couldn't thank me enough. And they all--Kander and Ebb and McNally and Prince--went on to glory when "Kiss" arrived on Broadway. Guess who gave it a rave in the Times. | |
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