Destiny's 'Third' Child Hits London's West End

Creator Judy Craymer back for similar musical

(NEWSER) - Mamma Mia! creator Judy Craymer has signed a deal to make a Spice Girls musical in the same vein as her ABBA-themed megahit. The new show won’t actually be about the British pop outfit; it’ll just link their greatest hits with an unrelated story, the same way Mamma Mia! raided ABBA’s songbook, the Times of London reports. More»

Multiplatinum American Idiot a coming-of-age story

(NEWSER) - Green Day’s multiplatinum album American Idiot is taking the stage as a 75-minute rock opera that will “challenge the very definitions of punk, theater, and musical,” writes David Downs in the East Bay Express. A 19-member cast will showcase a “Fight Club-esque story of self-discovery through death and destruction,” using only the lyrics from the album. More»

Movie star's Shakespeare turn gets strong notices

(NEWSER) - Jude Law took to the stage last night for the opening performance of Hamlet in London, and newspapers were largely impressed by the actor's take on the melancholy Dane. In the Telegraph, Charles Spencer writes that Law showed "rare vulnerability and emotional openness" in Shakespeare's toughest role. Dressed in black jeans, a worn T-shirt, and often near tears, Law "joins the modern pantheon of spellbinding sweet princes." More»

(NEWSER) - Ciara's tiny voice can't survive in the spaces her producers leave on her new album, Fantasy Ride, but the disc does provide a few fascinating diversions. Some critical opinions:

• "That's what you get with Fantasy Ride," Tom Breihan writes on Pitchfork. "A few brilliant left turns that feel almost accidental mixed in with a sort of end-times hunger for a top-40 audience that doesn't seem to exist anymore. As a vivid little snapshot of what's happened to the pop music business, it's fascinating. But it's not much of an album."

Could even be Evita lead, originally played by Susan's idol

(NEWSER) - Susan Boyle’s dream might be coming true. The Britain’s Got Talent superstar—who elicited snickers from the audience when she said before her audition that she aspired to be like British stage icon Elaine Paige—has caught the eye of musical theater composer Andrew Lloyd Weber, who is considering giving her a part in one of his shows. Insiders tell the Sun it could be the lead in Evita. More»