Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541514
K I S S O F T H E S P I D E R W O M A N | P E R S P E C T I V E 8 9 A n E s c a p e T h r o u g h M u s i c a l F a n t a s y K I S S O F T H E S P I D E R W O M A N BY SCOTT CHAMBLISS, PRODUCTION DESIGNER WRITER/DIRECTOR BILL CONDON'S IMPRESSIVE RESUME includes the films Chicago (2002), Dreamgirls (2006), The Greatest Showman (2017) and Beauty and the Beast (2017). His latest feature is Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025), based on the acclaimed 1976 novel by Argentine author Manuel Puig, as well as the 1992 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with a book by Terrence McNally. The show won several Tonys. Condon's new original adaptation is an entirely fresh take on the source material. THIS NEW SPIDER WOMAN FILM is in fact, two highly contrasting period movies in one: a 1970s Sidney Lumet-style harsh prison drama interwoven with a glossy Technicolor late 1940s MGM musical extravaganza. It is an unusual combination to say the least, and each period film required its own uniquely heightened visual storytelling style for Kiss of the Spider Woman as a whole to succeed. Rather than employing current-day filmmaking styles and techniques, to add authenticity, Condon chose to mimic film techniques of the era in which each period story is set.