Fishman back on Sydney stage

Alexis Fishman, who first rose to acclaim as ‘young Dusty’ in the jukebox musical Dusty, will return to the Sydney stage later this year in a presentation of Kiss Of The Spider Woman at the Darlinghurst Theatre.

The groundbreaking musical is set to open on July 8.

Fishman is playing the role of Aurora, and joins an all-star cast for the tuner.

James Lee, who plays Molina, was most recently in Jerry Springer – the Opera. Lee has been in a number of musical theatre productions including Fiddler On The Roof, Eureka, High Society, Bye Bye Birdie, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, 42nd Street and Les Miserables to name a few. In the role of Valentin is Frank Hansen, who most recently played the lead role of Princeton in Avenue Q. Hansen’s musical theatre credits also includeRocky Horror Show, Eurobeat, Titanic the Musical, Rent, The Producers and Hair.

Other cast includes Jennifer White, Matt Young, Jim Williams and Wayne McDaniel.

In a remarkable rendering of the musical genre, Kiss Of The Spider Woman is a fierce tale of humanity pushed to its limits. Two men share a prison cell in Latin America. Molina played by James Lee is a gay window dresser convicted of seducing a minor. His straight cellmate, Valentin played by Frank Hansen, is a no-nonsense Marxist locked up for his left-wing revolutionary activities. In this atmosphere of political paranoia and distrust, loyalty is tested and prejudices are confronted. To escape the daily brutality Molina recounts the movies of the ravishing screen beauty, Aurora played by Alexis Fishman. He loves all her films except one in which Aurora plays the Spider Woman who kills with her kiss.

“The honesty and daring of Kiss Of The Spider Woman the musical promises to redefine the way you think about musical theatre,” said Director, Stephen Colyer.

“The intensity and humanity of the musical will be revealed a new to maximize the powerful intimacy of the Darlinghurst Theatre space.”

Kiss of the Spider Woman is based on Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel, El Beso de la Mujer Araña and became an instant classic, translated around the world. With music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, creators of Chicago and Cabaret and the book written by Terence McNally, Kiss Of The Spider Woman the musical took New York by storm in 1993 and won three Tony Awards – Best New Musical, Best Score and Best Book.

The musical opens for a month-long season at the Darlinghurst Theatre on July 8. Bookings: (02) 8356 9987.