UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Centre Stage will present "Kiss of the Spider Woman," directed by Darcy Evans, music directed by Loclan McKenzie Spencer, and choreographed by J. Austin Eyer, April 3-7 at the Playhouse Theatre on the University Park campus.
The story of two very different men who occupy a prison cell in Brazil, the musical was a popular movie first, garnering an Academy Award for Best Actor, and nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. On Broadway it won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Leading Actor and Actress, along with five more Tony Awards.
"Kiss of the Spider Woman" focuses on the story of Luis Alberto Molina, a homosexual window dresser, who lives in a fantasy world to escape his prison conditions. His fantasies turn mostly around movies, particularly around a vampy diva, Aurora. He loves her in all roles, but one scares him: That is the spider woman, who kills with her kiss.
Senior musical theatre major Jonathan Savage plays Molina. His previous credits include Penn State Centre Stage's "Sweet Charity," "Titanic," and "Be More Chill."
Aurora is played by sophomore musical theatre major Jessica Ortiz. Ortiz was last seen in Penn State Centre Stage's production of "Sweet Charity." Last summer, she worked at the Woodstock Playhouse in Woodstock, New York, and was featured in "42nd Street," "All Shook Up," and "Mary Poppins."