People talk 11/25/02

'Frankie and Johnny' gets new faces

NEW YORK -- Broadway has its new "Frankie and Johnny."

Rosie Perez and Joe Pantoliano will replace Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci on New Year's Day in the hit revival of "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," Terrence McNally's blue-collar romance.

Perez is best known for her film roles in "White Men Can't Jump" and "Fearless," and Pantoliano played the recently departed Ralph Cifaretto in HBO's "The Sopranos," where Falco appears as Carmela Soprano.

"Frankie and Johnny," which opened in August at the Belasco Theatre, is one of the season's successes. Falco and Tucci give their last performance Dec. 29.

New all-star musical offers 'nun stop' fun

NEW YORK -- What do two former television sitcom stars, a regular guest on the old "Ed Sullivan Show," a rock 'n' roll legend and a former Miss America have in common?

They're all in a new musical -- playing nuns.

Get ready for "Nunsense-- 20th Anniversary All-Star Tour," slated to open next October in Los Angeles.

Scheduled to portray the Little Sisters of Hoboken are Kaye Ballard of the 1960s series "The Mothers-in-Law;" Georgia Engel of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show;" Mimi Hines, who was a familiar face on the "Ed Sullivan Show;" singer Darlene Love of "Da Doo Ron Ron" fame; and Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955.

The original "Nunsense," written and directed by Dan Goggin, debuted off-Broadway in the 1980s. From it, Goggin created a parade of "Nunsense" shows including "Nunsense II: The Second Coming," "Sister Mary Amnesia's Country Western Jamboree," "Nuncrackers" (a Christmas musical) and the all-male version, "Nunsense A-Men!"

Madeleine Albright honored in Prague

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the highest-ranking woman in U.S. political history, received a warm welcome in her native Prague -- along with an award for her years of public service.

The Prague Society for International Cooperation presented Albright with its annual citizenship award Saturday for "international public service and understanding."

"Secretary Albright is an example of courage and self-sacrifice," said the group's president, Marc S. Ellenborg.

Albright was born in Prague in 1937 in what was then Czechoslovakia. Eleven years later, her family moved to the United States to escape the country's totalitarian communist regime.

Jackson Browne settles lawsuit with Eagles

LOS ANGELES -- Rock star Jackson Browne and two other songwriters settled a lawsuit that claimed they were underpaid for their contributions to one of the Eagles' most popular albums.

Browne, Jack Tempchin and J.D. Souther sued Warner-Chappell Music Inc. in February for more than $10 million.

An attorney for Brown and the others announced the settlement Friday but refused to discuss specifics.

According to the lawsuit, the songwriters were supposed to be paid a fluctuating royalty rate for their contributions to "Eagles -- Their Greatest Hits, 1971-1974."

At the time of the suit, the rate was 7.5 cents per song.

Instead, they have been paid only about 2.5 cents per song since 1975 for the hits "Already Gone," "Best of My Love," "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and "Take it Easy," according to the suit, which sites an audit performed in 2000.

The album has sold more than 26 million copies, according to the lawsuit.

Tempchin wrote "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and co-wrote "Already Gone." Souther co-wrote "Best of My Love" and Browne co-wrote "Take it Easy."

'Naked Chef' opposes airport expansion

LONDON -- Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver joined several hundred protesters to fight government plans to expand airports in southern England.

Oliver, who gained fame through his television food show "The Naked Chef," opposes a proposal to build more runways at Stansted Airport north of London.

Residents say the plan would cause congestion and noise pollution for thousands of people in a largely rural area.

"I am sure a chef cannot give you all the answers but the decision that will upset the lives of thousands and thousands of people should be thought about very carefully," Oliver, 27, said Saturday. He recently bought a 16th-century manor house in his home village near Stansted.

"It's out of scale with the geography and architecture of the area and a lot of people are very, very upset."

-- From wire reports