The Kiss of the Spider Woman movie makes its world premiere at Sundance this month, and the film’s star Jennifer Lopez is shining light on what audiences can expect. In an interview with Parade, the superstar commented on the success of Wicked, which has achieved enormous box office and commercial success, before discussing her new movie.
“First of all congratulations to everybody who did Wicked. That is a big commercial musical,” said Lopez. As for Spider Woman, she notes the forthcoming movie musical differs in style: “It’s a beautiful movie, but it’s very different than Wicked. It feels in a way more indie, but it’s impactful and important and relevant. I’m very excited for people to see it.”
The film has yet to receive a theatrical or streaming release date but is expected to debut in 2025 following its world premiere at Sundance. The 2025 Sundance Festival will kick off on Thursday, January 23, with premieres in Park City every day through the end of Tuesday, January 28. Additional showings will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City throughout the Festival until Sunday, February 2. Single Film Tickets for in-person and online screenings go on sale January 16 at 10 a.m. MT.
Winner of seven 1993 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, based on the novel by Manuel Puig, explores the complex relationship between two men caged together in a Latin American prison for very different reasons. The musical has a book by Terrence McNally, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.
Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver-screen diva, Ingrid Luna/”>Luna.
The film is written and directed by Bill Condon, who previously helmed Dreamgirls, two of the Twilight films, and Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. The cast includes Diego Luna/”>Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, and Aline Mayagoitia.
In a previous interview, Jennifer Lopez revealed that composer John Kander was involved with the film. “John Kander, who is 97 years old, was in the studio with me,” Lopez said. “He is the most beautiful man. He was there for all of our recordings of the album and the pre-records for the movie. It was a dream.”
In the film, Lopez stars alongside Luna and Tonatiuh who play Valentin Arrequi and Luis Molina, respectively. Lopez added that Kander only had “very small notes” for her performance, a fact that left the actress “shocked.” Her producing partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, added that Kander said her performance was “the best he ever heard.”
Lopez commented on the show, calling it “a very special musical. It is very relevant and timely right now. It’s a beautiful love story. The music and lyrics alone that Kander and Ebb did is so moving and so beautiful. I honestly was blown away and so incredibly fortunate to be able to sing those songs. I’ve never worked on a movie that I did not want it to be over. I wanted it to go on and on and on and on.”
