“Staging "Kiss of the Spider Woman" is like juggling. In addition to the regular Herculean demands of making a musical, a successful production must keep political themes, campy comedy, intertwined relationships and ideas about sexual identity in the air all at the same time. Drop any one of those balls, and the whole complex, ambitious effort will clatter to the ground in a loud and very visible mess. But the Minneapolis Musical Theatre handles the material with grace and aplomb, delivering one of the most accomplished and fully realized stagings in the company's recent history.
Edward Williams, Jr. preens and swishes and demurs as Molina; the size and texture of his performance feels larger-than-life without ever dipping into caricature. Tim Kuehl has a different but almost-as-easy set of macho stereotypes that could trip up his performance. But he, too, chooses wisely, to the end that this seemingly impossible relationship between two very different men, forged under the most brutal of conditions, seems organic and intensely human.
It doesn't hurt that both Williams and Kuehl are fully up to the vocal demands of the score, or that Stacey Lindell seizes the role of Aurora with both fists and sings the bejeezuz out of it. The character is temptress, confidant, comforter, and finally, death angel, and Lindell - giving her a fantastical edge - manages to wrap Aurora up in one scintillating and provocative package.
Musical director Lori Maxwell fronts a conspicuously fine-sounding seven-piece instrumental ensemble and set designer Joshua Stevens contributes a set that economically but effectively conveys the dank nightmare of a Third World prison.” – St. Paul Pioneer Press
“The cast is solid to excellent, with Edward Williams, Jr. giving a terrific performance as Molina. Tim Kuehl is also good as Valentin, and the two have nice chemistry together. Stacy Lindell does a great job as Aurora, tackling a variety of musical and acting styles in her different roles. Director Steven Meerdink and designer Joshua Stevens do a fine job with the theater's small space, ... it's a strong production from beginning to end, one that draws out much of the power within the script and reminds the audience that oppression is always with us, and sometimes fantasies can provide the strength we need to fight and survive.” – TalkinBroadway.com
“A strong production by Minneapolis Musical Theatre ... Meerdink stages the work with obvious affection. The salvation of the production is the relationship of Molina (Edward Williams, Jr.) and Valentin (Tim Kuehl). They make a persuasive pair, with strong, expressive voices. Williams brings more humanity to Molina than is in the script. Kuehl succeeds in conveying Valentin's journey from loathing to genuinely caring for Molina. The male chorus is, to a man, excellent.” – Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Vividly directed by Steven J. Meerdink with musical direction by Lori Maxwell, Kiss of the Spider Woman is quite the best show they've done since Bat Boy. Meerdink opens the show with the image of dancing cages revealing the frustrations of the prisoners, as they whirl around the stage. Using cinema as a focus, Meerdink's production not only enhances the most dramatic moments, but he finds the corniness in a sequence at the top of Act II, helping to lighten the tension a bit. The top acting honors go to Edward Williams, Jr., who is merely terrific as Molina, carrying the weight of the story on his shoulders, but he's equally matched by a marvelously delivered performance by Tim Kuehl as Valentin. Stacey Lindell as Aurora ... becomes the bewitching title character.” – On The Purple Circuit
This activity is made possible, in part, by funds provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council from an appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature.
