Critics Agog Over South Pacific

Production can be uneven, but still enjoyable

(NEWSER) - The highly anticipated revival of West Side Story on Broadway opened last night to solid reviews, with critics applauding an unusually tender interpretation in which the women rule. Highlights:

• “Even when they’re flashing switchblades and kicking people in the ribs, the teenage hoodlums who maraud through Arthur Laurents’s startlingly sweet new revival of West Side Story seem like really nice kids,” writes Ben Brantley in the New York Times.

Julie Taymor says she's not being fairly compensated

(NEWSER) - More drama behind the curtains for Broadway’s Spider-Man: Former director Julie Taymor is suing the show’s producers over what she says is a lack of compensation for her creative work. “The producers' actions have left her no choice but to resort to legal recourse to protect her rights,” her attorney says. Taymor was fired following much-publicized trouble onstage and off, but she's the only director eligible for a Tony for the show. More»

Scarlett Johansson, VIola Davis, Catherine Zeta-Jones Prevail

(NEWSER) - Denzel Washington won his first Tony Award tonight for his performance in August Wilson's Fences, and Scarlett Johansson and Catherine Zeta-Jones joined the Hollywood-to-Tony parade by picking up statuettes of their own. Best play Red and best musical Memphis also enjoyed big nights, the AP reports . More»

But will his performance be convincing enough for 'Newsweek' critic?

(NEWSER) - Sean Hayes is a Broadway newcomer, but he's nominated for a Tony for lead actor in a musical—and he'll be hosting the award ceremony as well. Today's announcement comes in the wake of the controversy over Newsweek critic Ramin Setoodeh's dismissal of the openly gay Hayes' ability to play straight, and co-star Kristin Chenoweth's stinging rebuttal . By tapping Hayes, the Los Angeles Times notes , the Broadway establishment is standing up for an actor best known for his TV work, as dizzy sidekick Jack on Will & Grace. More»

Kristin Chenoweth defends 'Promises, Promises' co-star Sean Hayes

(NEWSER) - Sean Hayes made his Broadway debut shortly after officially coming out , and his performance has drawn mixed reviews, a Tony nomination—and one scathing notice from Ramin Setoodeh of Newsweek . Setoodeh, who is gay, called Hayes "the big pink elephant in the room" and deemed his performance as a lovestruck straight guy "wooden and insincere." That didn't sit well with co-star Kristen Chenoweth, notes Broadway.com . So she pretty much destroys Setoodeh's argument. More»