John Kander
and
Fred Ebb
's music for
Kiss of the Spider Woman
tied for the 1993 Tony Award for Best Score with
the Who
's
Tommy
. The material seems ideal for the longstanding team, who have specialized in writing star vehicles (notably for
Liza Minnelli
) and have an interest in political themes (Cabaret).
Kiss
, which is set in a South American prison and features a prisoner who dreams of a gaudy movie star, would seem to offer them opportunities for both elements. In practice, although
Chita Rivera
does her best as the title character, this is not on a par with Cabaret, which is to say, good but not great
Kander
/
Ebb
. (Although it features the major performers from the Broadway cast, this recording is not technically an original Broadway cast recording, but in fact an original London cast recording, since it was made in London at the time of the West End run, prior to the show's coming to Broadway.) ~ William Ruhlmann