"Puig adapted the script from his 1976 novel, and other iterations of the tale have included a 1985 film, a subsequent Kander and Ebb stage musical, and an upcoming movie musical starring Jennifer Lopez. The two-hour GALA production, in Spanish with English surtitles, reveals a taut, wrenching story that, with no disrespect to screens or show tunes, deserves more airings in straight-play form."
"But respect, shared vulnerability and a will to survive propel them into a dangerous intimacy. The relationship's ups and downs - stormy, funny, achingly poignant - play out with vivid realism. Pedreira is riveting as Valentín, a stoic torture survivor often seen restlessly pacing the stark black-walled cell. (Tony Cisek designed the set.) Ruiz invests Molina with whimsy, face lighting up and gestures turning diva-grand as the character recounts the plots of old movies, the cellmates' sole escapist outlet."
A stirring revival of Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spider Woman opens GALA Hispanic Theatre's 50th anniversary season under José Luis Arellano's direction. The play, adapted from Puig's 1976 novel and presented in Spanish with English surtitles, traces the fraught bond between political prisoner Valentín and cinephile Molina as they share a cell during political repression. The production emphasizes visual and dramatic intensity, featuring Tony Cisek's stark black-walled set and strong performances by Rodrigo Pedreira and Martín Ruiz. Intimacy blossoms from respect, vulnerability and survival instincts, producing stormy, funny and achingly poignant exchanges that underscore political and personal stakes.
Read at The Washington Post
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