STAGE

Fitness guru Richard Simmons is branching out from the exercise video and talk show scene these days and making a bid for Broadway. His newest project is a musical (co-written by Bruce Vallanch and with music by Artie Butler and Earl Brown) about an eccentric woman and her son (to be played by Simmons) who run a fat farm in Palm Springs. Simmons said the “funny and sad” play follows the lives of 12 overweight characters who visit the farm, and added, “Everyone’s not a perfect Size 5, and this will give those who aren’t a chance to show off their real talents.” Simmons hopes to open the show in the fall of 1990.