THE ARTSAnother Record for ‘Sunset Blvd.’: Andrew...

THE ARTS

Another Record for ‘Sunset Blvd.’: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” continues to set box-office records. The Los Angeles production, starring Glenn Close, once again broke the house record at Century City’s Shubert Theatre, taking in $821,185 for the New Year’s week ending Sunday. And in New York, another Lloyd Webber production, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” starring Michael Damien, has broken the record for the highest weekly gross for any revival in Broadway history. The production, which opened in February at L.A.’s Pantages Theatre, took in $729,605 during the New Year’s week.

Arts License Plates Set to Ride: The California Arts Council has received more than 5,000 orders for its Arts License Plate, designed by Wayne Thiebaud. That means production of the plates, featuring a design of palm trees, can now begin and money from the program should be available for arts education and local arts programs in July. The plates, available for $20 plus a $10 annual renewal fee, are scheduled to start appearing in March. Decisions about exactly how the funds will be distributed are also expected soon.

POP/ROCK

Breathing on Her Own: Ailing country singer Tammy Wynette, although still in critical condition Monday, had improved enough to be removed from a life support system Sunday, and the singer issued a statement thanking her fans and God. “I don’t remember a lot but I feel wonderful to be alive and want to thank everyone for their prayers,” said Wynette, who had been on a respirator in a Nashville hospital since Wednesday when she fell ill with a bile duct infection, believed to have been caused by scar tissue from a previous surgery. “I just thank God that I’m alive,” the 51-year-old Wynette said.

Competing AIDS Benefits: Singer Elton John’s Atlanta-based AIDS foundation has drawn criticism from Los Angeles’ AIDS Healthcare Foundation for scheduling a major L.A. fund-raiser on Academy Awards night for the second straight year. In an angry letter signed by seven other AIDS organizations, the Los Angeles group, which has held Oscar night parties for the last four years, accused the Elton John Foundation of designing the March 21 event to “steal the thunder of an agency providing desperately needed health care to thousands of Californians.” Said AHF President Michael Weinstein: “I am so disappointed when local AIDS organizations who work in the trenches every day are disregarded by people who seem more interested in their own image enhancement than in advancing the effort.” There was no immediate response from John’s group.

RADIO

Dees Issues Stern ‘Refund’: Los Angeles deejay Rick Dees is taking on the syndicated king of shock, Howard Stern, over Stern’s New Year’s Eve pay-per-view special, “The Miss Howard Stern New Year’s Eve Pageant.” During his 6-10 a.m. show Monday on KIIS-FM (102.7), the station logged more than 2,000 calls from listeners who complained they felt ripped off by the Stern special. Dees issued a $40 “refund” to an estimated 150 listeners who got to voice snippets of their complaints on the air. He plans to issue more refunds Saturday on his syndicated “Rick Dees Weekly Top 40.”

QUICK TAKES

Pop diva Whitney Houston will receive the Award of Merit at the 21st annual “American Music Awards,” airing Feb. 7 on ABC. Past winners include Bing Crosby, Irving Berlin, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson and James Brown. Houston leads the nominations for this year’s awards, with eight nods in categories including favorite single (“I Will Always Love You”) and album (“The Bodyguard”).