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Sunday, May 11, 2025
El beso de la Mujer Araña
Optimistic endings
Passionate romances
Beautifully beefy heroes
Taking death defying chances
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Spanish: El beso de la mujer araña) began as a 1976 novel written by Argentine writer Manuel Puig. The book introduces us to Molina and Valentin, and depicts the daily conversations between two cellmates in an Argentine prison. Molina and Valentin's relationship, and the intimate bond they form is at the center of the book.
The novel was unique in that there was no traditional narrative voice. It is large written as dialogue, without specifically stating who is speaking. The only clue is a dash (-) to show when speakers change. The conversations between the characters focus both on the present, as well as their recounting past events before they both ended up in prison. Puig adapted the novel into a stage play in 1983, with an English translation by Allan Baker.
A 1985 film version based on the novel and play was directed by Héctor Babenco from a screenplay by Leonard Schrader. The film starred William Hurt as Molina, Raul Julia as Valentin and Sônia Braga as the Spider Woman. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards, with Hurt winning for best actor.
The musical version of Kiss of the Spider Woman premiered in 1992. The show featured music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Terrence McNally. Directed by Harold Prince, the musical had runs in Toronto (1992), the West End (1992-93), and then on Broadway (1993). The original cast featured Anthony Crivello as Valentin, Brent Carver as Molina and Chita Rivera as the Spider Woman.
The musical won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. Each of the three main actors also won awards, Rivera and Carver for lead actors in a musical and Crivello for best featured actor in a musical. You can check out a performance from the 1993 Tony Awards telecast on Youtube HERE: Check out more on Brent Carver in the post below, including his one and only nude scene on film.
Some notable replacements in the original Broadway run included María Conchita Alonso, Carol Lawrence and Vanessa Williams as Aurora. (the Spider Woman) Stepping in as Molina were; Juan Chioran, Jeff Hyslop and Howard McGillin. Stepping in as Valentin was actor Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Although I loved the original cast, as I said, my introduction to the show came from the soundtrack featuring Vanessa Williams as the Spider Woman. Also on that soundtrack were Howard McGillin and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Although Brent Carver was amazing as Molina, McGillin also had some great performances on the soundtrack, and I especially love his version of She's A Woman. Stokes Michell was also powerful, especially belting out The Day After That.
Brent Carver in The Event
How lucky can you be?
So lucky, you'll agree
And I wish that she were me
That woman.
In addition to seeing new promotional images from the upcoming film release, today's spotlight on Kiss of the Spider Woman was also inspired by actor Brent Carver. As the original Molina, Carer won a Tony for his performance. I was reminded of Carver, and his talent, last month when doing a piece on the 1996 film Lilies. (HERE:) Carver had a uniquely beautiful look, which matched his unique talent and his presence on screen is very much missed. Carver died, at just 68 in 2020.
The Canadian born actor got his start on Canadian television in the early 1970's with a guest appearance on The Beachcombers. He went to appear in both Television and film, as well as an extensive theatre resume which included roles in; Company, Jesus Christ Superstar, Romeo and Juliette, King Lear and The Elephant Man. Carver also played Molina in Spider Woman not only on Broadway, but also in the Toronto and London productions.
In 1993, Carver starred as Brian in the drama The Event. The film focused on a a district attorney investigating several deaths of AIDS sufferers in the gay community of New York City's Chelsea District. Each case suggests the use of assisted suicide, which is illegal in New York. The film also starred two of the gay communities well known celebrity advocates, Parker Posey and Olympia Dukakis.
The film also featured what I believe is Carver's only on-screen nude scene. You can download the clip on SendSpace HERE:
A Spider's Kiss: Melbourne Theatre, 2019
🕷️ Kiss of the Spider Woman 🕷️
Melbourne Theatre
November-December 2019
I saved the image above a few years ago, not initially knowing what it was from. That image proved a worthwhile save, when I found it again looking for productions of Kiss of The Spider Woman. The image, features actors Adam-Jon Fiorentino and Ainsley Melham who played Valentin and Molina in a 2019 production at the Melbourne Theatre in Australia.
They joined Caroline O'Connor who played the Spider Woman. I'd heard of both actors before, Melham for his stage roles, and Fiorentino from his roles on television. I think I may have first seen Fiorentino in an old issue of DNA magazine, with a shirtless shot and a the heading of 'straight man of the month.'
Valentin is a rough and aggressive homophobe, yet there are deeper layers to discover.
Fiorentino
Molina is quick witted, high-spirited and a complete romantic
Melham
El Beso de la Mujer Araña 🕷️ Mexico, 2025
El Beso de la Mujer Araña
Cartelera De Teatro
Mexico
Thanks to a poster at DreamCap, I learned there a production currently running, featuring a scene with a nude Valentin. The production, which runs through June, stars actors Miguel Pizarro as Molina and Raúl Coronado as Valentin. This is a production of the play, not the musical, and spotlights the prison cell relationship between Valentin and Molina.
If we touch before he goes
He'll make that call
Miquel Pizarro has an impressive resume of television and film credits, with a long list of roles on Mexican and Spanish soap operas. Raúl Coronado is a Mexican actor with an equally long list of stage, television and soap opera credits. A sex symbol in his country, it's not surprising the director of the current production decided he should appear nude on stage.
This isn't the first time Coronado has stripped on stage, previously taking it all off for a Mexican variety stripping show.
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