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NEWS ABOUT: theater reviews

Spider-Man Musical 'Is Dead:' Sources

Negative reviews, money woes, poor ticket sales plague show

(Newser) - The abysmal reviews for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark were the final nail in its coffin, sources say. The long-troubled musical “is dead,” says one. The money is running out, tickets are going unsold, and Michael Riedel predicts it will stagger on for a few more months, but... More »

Spider-Man Musical: 'Sheer Ineptitude'

Problem-plagued musical not worth your time, money: critics

(Newser) - Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark hasn’t officially opened yet, but people are already shelling out up to $275 a ticket to see it—and considering its opening has already been pushed back five times, many news organizations “skirted Broadway protocol” and reviewed the show today, since its last... More »

Actress Blasts 'Homophobic' Newsweek

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... More »

Promises, Promises More Problems, Problems

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
... More »

American Idiot Musical Rocks

Broadway learns to love punk music

(Newser) - Could a Green Day musical be the best Broadway show of the season? It's possible. Critics agree that American Idiot looks and sounds spectacular—though some bemoan its thin plot. Here's what they're saying.
  • It's “thrilling raucous and gorgeously wrought,” writes Charles Isherwood of the New York Times
... More »

Johansson Wows in A View From a Bridge

But Arthur Miller's moralistic script was a turn-off for some

(Newser) - Scarlett Johansson is getting rave reviews for her Broadway debut in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Here’s what the critics are saying:
  • Scarlett Johansson proves to be “this season's most inspired piece of movie-star casting,” writes Elysa Gardner of USA Today . Her “youthful
... More »

Obama Musical: Silly Propaganda and Bad Songs

'Hope' debuts in Germany, and it's as awful as you might imagine

(Newser) - Hope—The Obama Musical Story is not political, insists its composer—“Right, but only in the sense that Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will was just a documentary.” The musical premiered in Germany (where the president is still a “messiah”), and it’s pure “political... More »

Zeta-Jones' Broadway Debut 'Luminous'

But performance in A Little Night Music earns mixed reviews

(Newser) - Catherine Zeta-Jones returns to the stage—and makes her Broadway debut—in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, which opened last night to mixed reviews:
  • The musical, which centers around “the complexly amorous adventures of a group of upper-class characters” in turn-of-the-century Sweden, was long overdue for a
... More »

Sienna Miller on Broadway: Legs 10, Acting 0

She looks fantastic, but isn't cut out for After Miss Julie role

(Newser) - Critics agree on one thing when it comes to Sienna Miller’s Broadway debut: She looks hot. Her performance in After Miss Julie, however, wowed exactly no one:
  • Ben Brantley was rooting for Miller from the start, but ultimately she “registers as a healthy, sane young woman with good
... More »

Hathaway Stuns in Twelfth Night Under the Stars

Rave reviews for Shakespeare in the Park debut

(Newser) - New York theater critics are giving raves to this summer's free outdoor production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, starring Anne Hathaway. For Charles Isherwood of the New York Times, Hathaway has "the unmistakable glow of a natural star" and invests the shipwrecked Viola with "a bright humor that feel... More »

Jude Law's Hamlet Slays Critics

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... More »

New Bilingual West Side Story Tender, Uneven

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’
... More »

No Misunderestimating Ferrell as Dubya

(Newser) - It’s not quite a landslide, but critics mainly agree that Will Ferrell gets his mission accomplished in lampooning the 43rd president with his Broadway show, You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush. Though Saturday Night Live viewers will see the “retread” in Ferrell’s... More »

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