'Kiss of the Spider Woman'

Todd Pearthree is a director who doesn't shy away from a challenge, and staging "Kiss of the Spider Woman" at small, conservative Theatre Hopkins definitely qualifies as a challenge.

Based on the Manuel Puig novel, which was in turn the basis for the 1985 movie starring William Hurt, "Kiss of the Spider Woman" focuses on two cellmates in a Latin American prison. Theatre Hopkins' production, which opens tomorrow, stars Edward J. Peters and Christopher Millard. Lanor Long plays the title role -- a fictitious movie star idolized by one of the prisoners. Winner of the 1993 Tony Award, the show has a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb and a book by Terrence McNally.

Theatre Hopkins performs in the Merrick Barn on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:15 p.m. Sundays, through May 16. Tickets are $10 and $12. Call 410-516-7159.