Jamaica

Film star Lena Horne made her Broadway debut in a show that was basically a concert. It didn't start that way. Jamaica was conceived as a vehicle for Calypso singer Harry Belafonte. He would play a Jamaican fisherman resisting the commercialization of the local culture and attempting to keep his NYC loving partner by his side. Some accounts say Belafonte left due to illness. Others say he was unhappy with the material.

Lena Horne had turned down St. Louis Woman in the 40's but agreed to play Jamaica's flighty leading lady. The show shifted focus to her character and the book was cut to ribbons. According to wikipedia she opts to stay in Jamaica after her fisherman beau (now played by Ricardo Montalbán) rescues her brother from a hurricane. Sure. Whatever. It ran a year and a half.

The show is so slight and dated that even Encores won't revive it. Instead they gave Vanessa Williams a handful of Horne's songs in a 2018 revue. Songs like "Push de Button," "Cocoanut Sweet" and "Ain't It The Truth" (cut from Horne's Cabin in the Sky) are worth another listen.

St. Louis Woman

Legends say that Lena Horne declined the title role when the NAACP denounced the character's "easy virtue" as demeaning. The show went through a rocky tryout and a short Broadway run. Encores produced a concert in 1998 starring Vanessa Williams. The recording is uneven but it reminds us that the score is full of gems.

"Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home"
"I Had Myself a True Love"
"Come Rain Or Come Shine"
And Pearl Bailey's 11 o'clock number "It's A Woman's Prerogative"

Kiss of the Spider Woman

This show isn't great but at times it's very good. If you're familiar with the novel the very idea of adapting this into a musical sounds silly. To the show's credit it dances the fine line for most of the run time.

The seduction of the straight cell mate is a touchy subject for many. In the book this is an act of vulnerable affection. ("You are the one who is kind.") In the musical it is a cynical manipulation. ("If we touch before he goes he'll make that call.")  Which is more believable? You decide.

The Spider Woman, Aurora, is Molina's muse. Her tunes provide comical commentary on a dark story in a manner similar to the Emcee in Cabaret though her films are much cheerier than the propaganda film in the novel. Two performances were recorded: Chita Rivera's and Vanessa Williams'. I've heard it said that Chita plays a gay man's fantasy and Vanessa plays a straight man's fantasy. Simplistic but funny. Chita brings out the scary gravitas of the character. She's there to kill. Vanessa brings out the sex appeal and the comedy. She's there to party.