Jennifer Lopez Lost An Iconic Movie Musical Role To Madonna

For the first time in her 30-year career, Jennifer Lopez is finally starring in a musical — but it’s not for lack of trying. On Sept. 11, the actor attended a screening and Q&A in Los Angeles for her upcoming movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and revealed that she lost an iconic ’90s musical role to none other than the queen of pop herself, Madonna.

As seen in a video clip posted by Variety, J.Lo told the story of how she tried out for the titular role of Evita, the 1996 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famed Broadway musical.

“I went to audition for Evita for [director] Alan Parker,” she said. “I had been practicing for weeks, and I sang my heart out and did my thing. And he goes, ‘You’re amazing. You know Madonna has the part, right?’”

After the audience roared with laughter, J.Lo joined in, before recalling how she awkwardly left the room. “I said, ‘OK, bye-bye. Nice to meet you,’” she added.

Madonna’s turn as former Argentine First Lady Eva Perón earned her a Golden Globe, while the movie itself garnered five Oscar nominations, winning for Best Original Song.

How J.Lo Finally Got A Musical

J.Lo has been open about her dreams of starring in a musical. “I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” she said in January after the Spider Woman premiere at Sundance Film Festival, as reported by People. “My mom would sit me in front of the TV [to watch] West Side Story on Thanksgiving. I remember I was just mesmerized, and I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’”

In fact, Evita wasn’t her only attempt at landing a movie musical. “I remember auditioning for Chicago and for Nine — getting very close on Nine,” she recalled. “There was a lot of things that I had always hoped that I could do and just wasn’t the right time. But this is the right thing.”

Almost 25 years after her audition, Chicago screenwriter Bill Condon offered her the part of Ingrid Luna for his film adaptation of the 1976 musical Spider Woman, previously played by Chita Rivera. “I had known for years that she wanted to do a musical,” he told Entertainment Weekly on Sept. 11. “She has a real legitimate voice. But mostly, it’s her larger-than-life personality.”

Speaking at the Los Angeles Q&A, J.Lo affirmed that Spider Woman was actually the perfect debut musical. “It couldn’t have been a better one for me,” she said. “I was really, really glad to be able to do it and step into Chita Rivera’s shoes.”