THE ARTSPasadena Theater College Revived: Theatre Corp....

THE ARTS

Pasadena Theater College Revived: Theatre Corp. of America, which operates the Pasadena Playhouse, is reviving the playhouse’s former training wing in conjunction with the Musical Theatre Works Conservatory of New York. A bi-coastal College of Theatre Arts will open next fall, at both the playhouse and the conservatory. Theatre Corp. will manage the new academy, and it will be headed by Anthony Stimac, the conservatory’s founder. The conservatory is affiliated with Musical Theatre Works, which produces readings and workshop productions of new shows in Manhattan. Classes are expected to begin in September, with an eventual goal of as many as 200 students on each campus, working in a two-year training program.

TELEVISION

Return Set: “Cagney & Lacey,” the critically acclaimed cop show that won 14 Emmys during its run on CBS from 1982-88, is returning to the airwaves. Producer Barney Rosenzweig and Orion Pictures Corp., which syndicated the series after its CBS run, will begin production in April on the first of several planned two-hour movies. Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly will reprise their roles as New York policewomen Christine Cagney and Mary Beth Lacey, with the first installment picking up several years later with the two women meeting again at a reunion of their old 14th Precinct. John Karlen is expected to return in his Emmy Award-winning role of Mary Beth’s husband, Harvey, and conversations are currently underway with other original cast members. Terry Louise Fisher and Steve Brown, who wrote many of the series’ original 127 episodes, will write the first movie. Rosenzweig is planning the movies for a network run, although no deals are set.

* Roseanne Speaks Again: Roseanne Arnold took a few more bites of the hands that feed her during her appearance Thursday on NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” Arnold told host Jay Leno that she had not signed a new agreement with ABC or the show’s producers, the Carsey-Werner Co., for the renewal of her top-rated “Roseanne” series for three more seasons, despite an announcement last week by ABC and Carsey-Werner. “I’m still on the market,” she said. When Leno asked her if she would stay with ABC, Arnold replied, “Oh, I hope not,” adding that CBS Broadcast Group President Howard Stringer was sending her gifts and wooing her professionally. Carsey-Werner officials responded Thursday that the deal “was closed.” ABC had no comment.

* Jacksons Barely Dent Olympics Ratings: NBC’s broadcast of the “Jackson Family Honors” Tuesday night suffered the same Nielsen fate as other programs attempting to compete against CBS’ Olympics coverage these last two weeks. From 9 to 11 p.m., when the “Jackson Family Honors” aired, the Olympics claimed more than 37% of the TV viewing audience (an estimated 23.9 million homes), compared to the Jackson’s 17% (about 10.7 million homes). The Jacksons did a bit better, however, than NBC did all of last week when it averaged only 14% of the audience to CBS’ 40%.

* Rush Watch: Although he was the inspiration for “Monty,” Rush Limbaugh shed no tears Thursday for the Fox sitcom, which was canceled the day before. He told listeners that the 6-week-old series, which starred Henry Winkler as a conservative talk-show host, could have been successful had the producers accurately reflected conservative viewpoints instead of making fun of them. Limbaugh is in Los Angeles to make a guest appearance as himself on CBS’ “Hearts Afire,” for broadcast later this spring. He’s also due to visit “The Tonight Show” tonight.

MOVIES

‘For the Boys’ Suit Dropped: A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed a breach of contract lawsuit filed by comedian Martha Raye against Bette Midler, 20th Century Fox, director Mark Rydell and others involving the film “For the Boys.” Raye had claimed the film was based on a screen treatment of her own life story that she co-wrote and offered to Midler for $1 million. But at the end of the plaintiff’s presentation of its case, Superior Court Judge Jerry Fields granted the defendants’ motion for “nonsuit,” ruling that Raye’s attorneys had failed to show similarities between the film and Raye’s life story. After the dismissal, Midler, who had testified in the trial last week, said she was “delighted” that “this frivolous lawsuit” was over, but also “extremely angry at the tremendous waste of time and taxpayers’ money resulting from this baseless action.” Raye, who was recently hospitalized for pneumonia, did not attend any portion of the trial.

QUICK TAKES

Michael Moriarty, who recently left his starring role on TV’s “Law and Order,” has reportedly agreed to replace Richard Chamberlain in the lead role of Broadway’s “My Fair Lady” when Chamberlain’s contract runs out April 3. . . . Famed opera star Kathleen Battle, recently fired from the Metropolitan Opera for her “unprofessional actions” offstage, performs with Grammy-winning jazz singer Al Jarreau on tonight’s “ABC in Concert.” The duo will sing the Broadway classic “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music”. . . . Singer, songwriter and producer Curtis Mayfield will be honored as “a musical standard bearer for the civil rights movement” whose “creative genius and business acumen set numerous precedents within the recording industry” when he receives a Grammy Legend Award at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards on CBS Tuesday. Among those paying homage to Mayfield will be B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt and Bruce Springsteen.