Singer Robert Goulet Awaits Lung Transplant

Acclaimed crooner was awaiting a lung transplant

(NEWSER) - Robert Goulet, whose deep baritone and matinee-idol looks propelled him to fame in the 1960s, died yesterday while waiting for a lung transplant. Goulet, 73, became a star almost overnight when he debuted as Lancelot in the Broadway production of Camelot, the LA Times reports, and went on to a long, successful career as a singer, actor and Vegas headliner. More»

$9 million on sets, costumes alone

(NEWSER) - Amid injuries, delays, and firings, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has managed to eat through $75 million, New York state financial statements reveal. To put that in perspective: The play The Book of Mormon cost $9 million, reports the New York Times . Here’s where some of the money—and time—has gone:

• $4 million to rent the theater for two years before opening (most shows need it just months in advance)
• $9 million on sets, costumes, and, er, shoes

He should know ... he wrote them

(NEWSER) - When Stephen Sondheim thinks about the lyrics he wrote for West Side Story—for example, “It’s alarming how charming I feel”—he likes to “put my head under my wing and pretend I’m not there,” he tells Nightline . The universally beloved musical “embarrasses me,” he says. “It's very hard for me to listen to some of those songs,” which he wrote in his early twenties. “I don't mean that they are terrible,” he adds of the lyrics, “I just mean they're so self-conscious.” More»

But wowed audience loved 'heart-racing' stunts

(NEWSER) - Previews of Broadway musicals are rarely perfect, but last night's debut of the long-plagued Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was especially troubled. The start was delayed 24 minutes; the show was paused five times for technical problems; an actress hung upside down in the air for six minutes. Yet none of it was enough to dissuade many of the fans, who tweeted throughout expressing delight at the aerial stunts. Samples from the Wall Street Journal : "My heart was racing," said one audience member; "WOW on flying thru theater," said another. More»

Miscast and old-fashioned, revival falls flat

(NEWSER) - Back when it debuted in the late '60s, Promises, Promises was a critical darling. These days... not so much. Here's what the critics are saying:

• “Problems, like promises, abound,” writes John Simon of Bloomberg . Chief among them: “Musical comedy has evolved well beyond these cookie-cutter songs, however cute.” Kristin Chenoweth is also badly miscast as a sweet, innocent menial; she “oozes star glamor.”