Jennifer Lopez to star in film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Kiss of the Spider Woman”

Jennifer Lopez to star in film adaptation of the Broadway musical “Kiss of the Spider Woman”
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'Dreamgirls' director Bill Condon is set to helm the adaptation of the musical, which won Chita Rivera her second Tony.

Jennifer Lopez is entering her "vampy diva" era — an era, arguably, that began with 2019's Hustlers — as JLo will star in a film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman, directed by Dreamgirls' Bill Condon, EW can confirm.

Before you roll your eyes out of MCU exhaustion, this Spider Woman has nothing to do with superheroes.

<p>Frazer Harrison/Getty</p> Jennifer Lopez

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Jennifer Lopez

Rather, the source material is the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig, which was adapted, first, into a 1983 stage play, and then into a 1985 film starring William Hurt, in an Oscar-winning performance, and Raul Julia.

Puig's novel was then adapted into a musical of the same name by John Kander and Fred Ebb, the team behind Chicago and Cabaret.

The musical concerns two prisoners — Luis Molina, a gay window dresser serving time for corrupting a minor, and Valentin Arregui, a captured revolutionary. Molina takes comfort in a fantasy vampy diva named Aurora, whom he discusses with Valentin as their relationship grows and takes on new dimensions.

Starring Chita Rivera as the titular arachnid, Kiss of the Spider Woman opened on Broadway in 1993 and won seven Tonys, including Best Musical and trophies for its entire (three-person) cast: Brent Carver (Molina) for Leading Actor in a Musical, Anthony Crivello (Valnetin) for Featured Actor in a Musical, and Rivera, scoring her second Leading Actress in a Musical Tony.

According to Variety, producers are currently searching for an unknown to portray Molina, with rehearsals set for February and filming to begin in April in New Jersey.

Though Lopez has been successfully balancing music and movie careers for decades, Kiss of the Spider Woman will be her first movie musical.

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Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.