New Bilingual West Side Story Tender, Uneven

Mike Myers in talks to write Broadway show

(NEWSER) - Austin Powers on Broadway? Yeah, baby! A source tells the New York Post that Mike Myers is in talks to turn the spy-spoof franchise into a "musical stage show." Though Myers will be "heavily involved" in writing it, he won't star in it, the source says—"even though he has quite a good singing voice." If that bums you out, perhaps this will help: Myers has also reached a deal for a fourth Austin Powers movie, which sources say he will star in as well as write and produce (expect a 2013 or 2014 release). The third and, so far, last Powers flick came out in 2002. More»

Sylvester Stallone says he always pictured it as a musical

(NEWSER) - Can you picture Sylvester Stallone’s famous Rocky character bursting into song after winning a boxing match? Because that might just happen when Rocky: The Musical becomes a reality. “I always had the idea of Rocky as a musical,” says Stallone, who has teamed up with boxers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko to create the German stage show, opening next November. “At the end of the day, Rocky is a love story and he could never have reached the final bell without Adrian,” Stallone continues. More»

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»

$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

Arthur Laurents enjoyed success as playwright, director, screenwriter

(NEWSER) - Arthur Laurents, writer of landmark Broadway musicals including West Side Story and Gypsy, has died at his Manhattan home at the age of 93. Laurents' career as a playwright spanned seven decades. He also enjoyed success as a director and as screenwriter of movie classics including Rope and The Way We Were, AP reports. The Brooklyn-born Laurents served as a writer of military training films and radio scripts during World War II. His first Broadway play, 1945's Home of the Brave, dealt with anti-Semitism in the military. More»