THE ARTSSpanish Opera House Burns: Fire destroyed...

THE ARTS

Spanish Opera House Burns: Fire destroyed Spain’s leading opera house, the 146-year-old Gran Teatre del Liceu, on Monday. The cause of the blaze on Barcelona’s picturesque Ramblas Boulevard had not been determined. It broke out shortly after 11 a.m. behind the theater’s stage and within an hour had spread through the building, causing much of the roof to collapse. Jordi Pujol, head of the Catalonia regional government, said the theater would be rebuilt immediately. The city and regional government had been planning to begin a $28-million, two-year restoration of the theater later this year.

* ‘Tommy’ to Play Universal: The touring production of “The Who’s Tommy” will play the Universal Amphitheatre for at least three weeks beginning July 13. Acoustic walls will narrow the sides of the seating area, reducing capacity from 6,251 to 3,801 in an attempt to improve sight-lines, and the stage will be extended backward to create space for the show’s elaborate set and projection equipment. Although the show has been announced as playing only through July 31, a three-week extension is possible. As previously announced, the tour also is slated for the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert April 28-May 1 and the Orange County Performing Arts Center May 10-15.

COMEDY

Comedians Take Up Pens: Comedian Sandra Bernhard slams pop star Madonna, and Woody Allen confesses to funny scenes he’s imagined but never dared film, in the premiere issue of Laugh Factory magazine, which hits newsstands today. Published by the owner of Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard nightspot, the publication is being billed as “the first national magazine of its kind to contain humorous articles by and about the ‘who’s-who’ of the comedy and entertainment world.” Other articles in the premiere issue feature comedians Tim Allen, Brett Butler, Rodney Dangerfield and “Seinfeld” executive producer Larry David.

MOVIES

Cruise, Ryan Take the Pudding: Tom Cruise and Meg Ryan have been named man and woman of the year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. The annual awards go to performers who have made “a lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment.” Ryan, who starred in “Sleepless in Seattle,” will be saluted with a parade through Harvard Square on Feb. 15. Cruise, star of “The Firm,” will be honored Feb. 22 when the group presents its 146th annual satirical play. Past honorees include Jodie Foster, Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams and Bob Hope.

* Casting Call: 20th Century Fox is looking for the next Natalie Wood. Fox, along with writer-producer John Hughes, will hold a seven-city open casting call on Saturday to find a 6-year-old star for the studio’s remake of the 1947 holiday classic “Miracle on 34th Street.” “We’re considering both boys and girls to portray the character . . . and we’re opening the auditions up to kids with or without acting experience,” said Hughes. “What we’ll be hoping to find is that magical quality of humor and innocence that helped to make the original ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ a classic.” Hopeful stage mothers will have to take their wards to Houston, Dallas, Seattle, New York, Chicago, Orlando or Minneapolis for an audition--no open casting call is scheduled for Los Angeles.

* Casting Call, Part II: An open casting call will be held at Melrose Avenue’s Raleigh Studios Wednesday for “9021-Zero--The Movie,” a film parody of the Fox TV series “Beverly Hills, 90210.” The Tomorrow’s Girl project, which is scheduled to start production in April, follows the publicity surrounding the lives of Duke Cherry, Jace Popely, Torny Reading, Wennie Girth, Byron Justin Chartreuse, Lian Hering and Giselle Cataract as they react to their volatile co-star, Dannen Doberman. Look-alikes of the TV stars are requested.

QUICK TAKES

Jill Clayburgh and James Farentino will play parents Kitty and Jose, and Billy Warlock and David Beron will portray brothers Lyle and Erik in “Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders,” a TV film based on the real-life story, which is now in production for Fox. . . . Edward Asner will return to TV later this season in the new ABC series “Thunder Alley.” He plays a retired stock-car driver whose life is turned around when his divorced daughter returns home with her three young children. . . . The J. Paul Getty Museum is selling “Cloud, Mexico,” a 1926 photograph by Edward Weston, in an April photography auction at Christie’s New York. The platinum print, valued at $80,000 to $100,000, is nearly identical to another Weston in the museum’s vast collection of photographs. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Getty’s acquisitions fund.