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In the title character in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," John Kander and Fred Ebb brought another strong woman character to the American musical stage. Spider Woman and her alter ego, Aurora, followed in the tradition of Sally Bowles in "Cabaret" and Velma and Roxie in "Chicago" as dynamic women not cut from the same cloth as typical musical heroines: Instead of sweet, yearning ingénues, they are sophisticated and savvy vamps.

The show also gave Kander and Ebb another opportunity to work with singer/dancer/actor Chita Rivera, who won a Tony Award for her performance. In fact, "Spider Woman" swept the 1993 Tony Awards, winning a total of seven, including best musical, score and book (by Terrence McNally) and acting awards for the portrayals of all three of its principal characters. Now Utah Repertory Theater Company is giving the show its regional premiere in a splashy production that's entertaining and emotionally satisfying.

"Spider Woman" is an intriguing fusion of grim reality and fantasy. Two unlikely prisoners share a cell in an Argentinian prison: Molina, a gay man arrested for soliciting sex with a minor; and Valentin, a revolutionary plotting against the repressive government. At first Valentin refuses to have anything to do with Molina, but after Molina compassionately cares for Valentin after he's tortured, the two bond, and Molina shares his love of the movies with his friend, especially his obsession with an actor named Aurora. Playing her movies over and over in his memory is the only thing that keeps Molina going, but one of the characters she portrays frightens him: the spider woman, a seductress whose kiss results in death. When Molina's mother becomes ill, the prison warden promises to free him if he betrays Valentin, and Molina must make an impossible choice.

"Of course they're not real; they're better than real," Molina says about the movies, and Aurora and her men supply many of the lively song-and-dance numbers that drive the show: "Her Name Is Aurora," "Where You Are," "Gimme Love" and "Only in the Movies." Most of the cast do double duty as prisoners and Aurora's dance team.

Director Johnny Hebda has staged the show across the length, rather than the width, of the Sorenson Center's space, which gives the dancers more room, and Ashley Gardner Carlson's choreography is catchy and easy to do. Cara Pomeroy's prison set with its giant spider web features metal bars that move flexibly in and out to create more space.

Counterpointing these numbers are more tender ballads like "Dear Hearts," "I Do Miracles" and "You Could Never Shame Me," sung by Molina (Kenneth Wayne), Valentin (Juan Pereira), Aurora (Erin Royall Carlson), Molina's mother (Casey Matern) and Valentin's girlfriend, Marta (Karli Rose Lowry). Molina and Valentin powerfully celebrate their newfound relationship in "Anything for Him," and "The Day After That" is a triumphant paean to freedom by the ensemble. The show's live band, led by musical director Anne Puzey, is a wonderful addition.

The performances are excellent. Alvaro Cortez is a wily, manipulative warden, and Lowry and Matern's sweet voices blend beautifully as the women whose love supports and inspires Valentin and Molina. But the well-matched and dynamic trio of Wayne's creative, caring Molina, Pereira's tough, idealistic Valentin and Carlson's sexy, seductive Aurora provides the spark that ignites "Spider Woman."

Bobby Cody's flexible lighting flashes to red and blue to highlight intense moments, and Michael Nielsen's colorful costumes, especially Aurora's vivid outfits, convey the magical world of the movies.

"Kiss of the Spider Woman" does not rank with "Cabaret" and "Chicago" as one of Kander and Ebb's best shows, but it's still a worthwhile component in their canon, and the performances and musical numbers in this production make it well worth seeing. —

Tangled web

P Fine performances and lively singing and dancing bring out the best in Kander and Ebb's "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

When • Reviewed April 22; plays Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. through May 6, with an additional matinee at 3 p.m. May 7

Where • Sorenson Unity Center, 1383 S. 900 West, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $20; $17 for students and seniors; utahrep.org; contains adult language and situations

Running time • 2 ½ hours (including an intermission)