The Battalion
iss of the Spiderwoman
rings R-rated 'slice of
tellect' to Texas A&M
By Michael Schaub
The Battalion
'ore than 20 years after Ar-
ler: Bk / I gentine novelist Manuel
IsmBY XPuig penned El Beso de la
Uijer Arana {Kiss of the Spider
'ffomari), audiences nationwide
pii flock to see the newest incarnation
|hi If the Kiss, a Tony Award-winning
iimoadway musical.
■The MSC Opera and Performing
|ffe:fts Society will bring the NET-
works production of the musical to
[ic Rudder Auditorium tonight at 8.
enle performance comes on the
■els of shows in Shreveport, La.,
md Jackson, Miss.
|y ittjeffrey Cranor, di-
on fttor of audience
■ucation and devel
opment for OPAS and
■senior journalism
major, said Kiss of the
Spider Woman offers
I ^audiences something
different from most
Broadway musicals.
V “It’s a musical
Bat makes you
think,” Cranor said.
[' '“Its still an enter
taining, fun show, but it has an
edge over a lot of Broadway
^Hows. It has a slice of intellect.”
fl The musical version of Kiss of
Hhe Spider Woman swept the 1993
Tony Awards, winning seven, in-
NL eluding Best Musical. Puig’s novel
[Lp also was adapted as a stage play
and a critically-ac-
Baimed motion
“I love it,” Cranor said. "It’s won
derful. It’ll be interesting to see a
completely different cast perform it.”
The musical tells the story of two
prisoners in South America: Moli
na, jailed for his homosexuality,
and Valent in, jailed for his Marxism.
The two become reluctant friends
as Molina shares with Valentin his ob
session with the movie star Aurora.
Molina is haunted by a film in which
Aurora played “the SpiderWoman,” a
harbinger of death he continues to
see in his dreams.
The musical’s depiction of tor
ture and cruel prison conditions are
the reasons OPAS gave the produc
tion an “R” rating,
Cranor said.
“Hopefully, the
rating will let fami
lies know what to
expect from it,” he
said. “I wouldn’t say
it’s inappropriate. It
informs people
about social condi
tions in a despotic
govermnent.”
Argentine ac-
tress Sandra Guida
plays the roles of
Aurora and the SpiderWoman.
Guida said the tour has gone
smoothly despite the play’s intense
subject matter.
“People love the show,” Guida
said. “They’re very accepting. It’s
not an easy show to digest.”
See Kiss, Page 4
“It's a musical
that makes you
think. ,,
Jeffrey Cranor
OPAS director of
audience education and
development
Mila Mason
^ndra Guida plays "the SpiderWoman," a fictional 'harbinger of death.'
By Melissa Price
The Battalion
S ome things are passed on from
generation to generation —
heirlooms, old keepsakes and
even musical talent.
Mila Mason, a 32-year-old up-
and-coming country and western
singer from Kentucky, grew up in
the midst of the entertainment in
dustry. Her mother, a musician who
often took her children along while
touring, sparked Mason’s interest in
pursuing a music career.
“My whole family can sing —
sometimes you just can’t help follow
ing in their footsteps,” Mason said.
Mason will perform along with
country artist Kenny Chesney in the
“Wal-Mart Country Music Across
America Tour” tonight at 7. The free
concert, which will be held at the
Super Wal-Mart store in Bryan, will
be followed by an in-store album
signing session by both artists. Both
Mason and Chesney will perform
40-minute sets in front of about
2,000 people.
The tour, which originated in
1995, aims to accelerate the ca
reer development of upcoming
country musicians while provid
ing free family entertainment.
This year’s tour will visit more
than 260 Wal-Mart store parking
lots across the nation.
Country Music Television
(GMT), the newest addition to the
concert series, will be touring with
the artists and filming concerts for
a two-hour program.
Mason said the Wal-Mart con
cert gives families from small towns
an opportunity to see perfor
mances they would not normally
have the chance to see. Mason said
she prefers performing in small
towns because she is able to close
ly interact with the fans.
“It has a homespun flavor to it,
whereas other concerts get way
too big,” she said. “It’s a great out
door live concert that you can
bring the kids to — it’s like the big
ol’ Sunday barbecue.”
Chesney, who did not consider
a music career until he was in col
lege, hit the top five in 1995 with
“Don’t That Make You Want to Fall
in Love” and “All I Need to Know.”
Chesney, who got his first break in
the music business as a song
writer, said being a country singer
is what he is all about. Although
the entertainment industry can
get hectic, Chesney said perform
ing in front of fans is an exhilarat
ing experience.
“Just being up there hearing
crowds, being able to sing my records
and having people know them —
that’s a great feeling,” Chesney said.
“When I am on stage and everything
is clicking, it’s awesome.”
Charlie Hadleman, a disc jockey
April. 24
Rudder Auditorium
TICKETS ON SALE SATURDAY
8 a.m. at the MSC Box Office
Persons with disabilities please call &4S-1S15 to ’ With SpGC/icll CJUGSt tO I3G AfillOUnCGCl
ALL SEATS, RESERVED 10 TICKET LIMIT
Page 3
Wednesday • April 2, 1997
It's a
country
thing
Kenny Chesney and Mila Mason
will perform today at the
Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bryan
at KORA and a freshman journalism
major, saw the Wal-Mart tour in
Texarkana in April 1996. He said stu
dents and Bryan-College Station
residents should take advantage of
this one-of-a-kind opportunity.
“We get the local favorites who are
established here like the Bellamy
Brothers, but rarely do we get some
one who is up-and-coming,” Hadle
man said. "This concert is more per
sonal — if you go to the Summit,
you’re not going to be as close.”
Mason said she suspects the
audience will enjoy the laid-back
atmosphere of the Wal-Mart con
cert tonight.
“They can expect to have as
much fun as we are having,” Mason
said. “We're just a bunch of goof-
balls. We’re nothing pretentious —
we’re just out there having fun.”
*
*
Kenny Chesney
HOWDY!
The Vice President for Student Affairs
Office wants you to be aware of our
open door policy.
Our office is here to help you in any
way possible. So, if there is anything
we can do to make life at Texas A&M
better, come by 10th floor Rudder
Tower or call 845-4728.
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