GLOBE SWITCHES SHAKESPEARE PLAYS

Brian Bedford is coming and “Cymbeline” is going, a switch in the Old Globe Theatre’s summer schedule. According to a Globe spokesman, Shakespeare’s historical fantasy did not offer Bedford a suitable part--the key character being that of Imogen--so the renowned actor has been accommodated with the title part in “Richard II,” which Joseph Hardy will direct. Alas, we gain a tragic hero in Richard/Bedford, but lose a chance to hear a woman play Imogen.

Bedford, a native of Yorkshire, England, has long been a leading man at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada. In San Diego, he will also direct “Much Ado About Nothing,” featuring Robert Foxworth as Benedick. Foxworth, of “Falcon Crest” fame, drew praise as the narrator in the San Diego Symphony’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” earlier this year.

Foxworth also will appear as one of the comedians in “Beyond the Fringe,” to be directed by Paxton Whitehead, who will play a leading role in the comedy revue.

In other Globe news, subscribers to the Cassius Carter Centre Stage plays will be able to see “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” even though it has been shifted to the larger Globe Theatre. “If they subscribed and really wanted to see ‘Pump Boys,’ ” a swap can be arranged,” a spokesman said.

ARTS OPINIONS: Most Americans are willing to pay $25 in additional taxes to support the arts. Most also believe that arts courses for children should be subsidized through the regular school budget instead of with special or contingency funds. However, only 27% of adults make an annual contribution to the arts.

That information and much more is contained in a survey of public opinion titled “Americans and the Arts.” Funded by Philip Morris Inc. and dated October, 1984, the telephone survey by an affiliate of Louis Harris and Associates of 1,504 adult Americans is chock full of tidbits such as the growing shortage of leisure time.

That’s right. We’re working longer and playing less. The median work week is 47.3 hours, up from 46.9 hours in 1980. While men work longer, they also have more leisure time than women. Women, who still bear most child-rearing and homemaking responsibilities, have almost five hours a week, or 23% less, leisure time than men. The correlation of leisure time and arts attendance is interesting. Theater buffs have more leisure time than do classical music aficionados: 19.3 hours to 16.9. That implies that concertgoers give a high priority to music.

OPERATHON: In the wake of the San Diego Symphony’s fund-raising “radiothon,” on classical music station KFSD (FM-94.1), comes another radiothon, this one for the San Diego Opera. Relax, the opera says its not about to go under. The purpose of Sunday’s radiothon, which airs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. over KFSD, is to hawk season subscriptions. “We’ll give away opera glasses and records,” to winners of operatic on-the-air quizzes, a spokeswoman said. Radiothons have been a part of the opera’s ticket-marketing scheme for several years.

REP RAP: Caught by a surprise construction delay in the opening of Horton Plaza’s Lyceum Theatre, the San Diego Repertory Theatre was left with a month-long gap in its schedule--a long time between paychecks. To minimize the damage, the Rep will reprise “Rap Master Ronnie,” the Garry Trudeau-Elizabeth Swados musical comedy spoof of the Reagan Administration that drew sold-out houses during its fall run.

“Rap Master” will succeed the Rep’s current production of “To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday,” which wasn’t deemed as strong a draw. “Gillian” closes Sunday.

The only major cast change is JoAnn Reeves, who will replace Darla Cash as Nancy Reagan. With the exception of the substitution of James A. Strait for Sam Woodhouse in the ensemble, the remainder of the cast is unchanged.

ARTBEATS: “Cabaret Babylon-Atzlan,” a performance artwork first presented at the Centro Cultural de la Raza as part of its “Border Realities” art show, has moved to the Sushi gallery. The Poyesis Genetica production about San Diego and Tijuana stereotypes continues at 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. After the Saturday performance, a reception will be held for Los Angeles photographer Steven De Pinto, whose Sushi art show, “Altars and Fixtures,” about “perceptual confusion,” runs through April 19. . . .

The Bowery Theatre’s staging of “Gaslight” has been extended a third time, through March 23. . . . San Diego Union arts critic Anne Marie Welsh will give a preview lecture on ballet before the American Ballet Theatre’s San Diego performances this month. Welsh will speak on the history of ABT, “Giselle,” “Don Quixote” and the creation of the Baryshnikov productions of these dances. The lecture, with box lunch, costs $8 and is part of the San Diego Arts Foundation’s salon series. It will be at 11:30 a.m. March 18 at the Imperial Bank Tower, 701 B St. Reservations must be made through the San Diego Arts Foundation.