THE ARTS’Beauty’ at the Shubert: Century City’s...

THE ARTS

‘Beauty’ at the Shubert: Century City’s Shubert Theatre will be the Los Angeles home for Disney’s hit stage musical, “Beauty and the Beast,” based on its popular animated film. The Los Angeles production is expected to open at the Shubert in April for an unlimited run. The musical opened on Broadway in April and was nominated for nine 1994 Tony Awards. It broke Broadway records with single-day box-office sales of $1.3 million the day after the June 12 televised Tony Awards show.

*

Balanchine Dispute: A contract dispute caused four works by the late George Balanchine to be pulled from this weekend’s “Principal Dancers of the New York City Ballet” stand at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Barbara Horgan, executrix of Balanchine’s estate and head of the New York-based Balanchine Foundation, told The Times that the works were pulled because of the disagreement between the foundation and Columbia Artists Management Inc., which is producing the dance tour. Officials with Columbia in New York declined to comment. The dancers will instead present pieces by emerging choreographers.

*

Local Auction Results: Two Sotheby’s auctions in Los Angeles of 19th- and 20th-Century contemporary prints rang up $664,700 in sales on Wednesday, with 197 of the 351 lots offered finding buyers, while another 154 lots went begging. Top sales included $26,450 for Lichtenstein’s “The Melody Haunts My Reverie,” which was expected to bring $14,000 to $18,000, and the same price for Richard Diebenkorn’s “Touched Red,” which was estimated at $15,000 to $20,000.

TELEVISION

Shepherd’s New Series: Former “Moonlighting” star Cybill Shepherd has started production on an upcoming CBS series, “Cybill,” in which she plays a struggling actress raising 16- and 22-year-old daughters. Alan Rosenberg (“Civil Wars,” “L.A. Law”) and Tom Wopat (“Dukes of Hazzard”) co-star as Shepherd’s two ex-husbands, and the show’s producers include Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner of “Roseanne” fame. CBS has scheduled “Cybill” as a midseason replacement series.

*

Actor Gets Apology: As part of a defamation lawsuit settlement, Sabrina Mulligan Robinson, the ex-wife of “Empty Nest” star Richard Mulligan, has retracted claims to the National Enquirer that the actor physically harmed her. In a written apology, Robinson called the 1993 statements “false, untrue and without any foundation whatsoever.”

*

‘Reboot’ Rebooting: “Reboot,” ABC’s groundbreaking computer-animated Saturday morning cartoon series, will go on hiatus from Oct. 15 to Nov. 12, a victim of its cutting-edge technology. A network spokeswoman said that the show had fallen behind in production because it is so difficult to make. “Reboot” will be replaced temporarily by “SuperHuman Samurai Syber Squad.”

NEW MEDIA

Jones Goes Interactive: Time Warner Interactive has announced plans for a Nov. 15 release of “Chuck Jones’ Peter and the Wolf,” a CD-ROM project featuring original animated characters created by the longtime Warner Bros. animator known for his work with such characters as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Featuring the voices of Kirstie Alley, Lloyd Bridges and Ross Malinger, the CD-ROM release will be followed by a hardcover book of Jones’ illustrations and a read-along audiocassette. The Prokofiev classic is Jones’ first interactive project.

POP/ROCK

Houston in South Africa: Singer Whitney Houston has scheduled three November concerts in South Africa “in honor of Nelson Mandela, elected president of a free and unified South Africa.” One of the dates, a Nov. 12 Johannesburg show, will be televised that same day on cable’s HBO. “Whitney--The Concert for a New South Africa” will be filmed before an estimated 70,000 fans at a Johannesburg soccer stadium. Proceeds from the event will support South African children’s charities. Houston sang at a reception for Mandela at the White House earlier this week.

MOVIES

Parents’ Guide: A new “Parents’ Guide” implemented over nationwide telephone lines this week aims to help parents choose movies suitable for their children by describing the reasons a rating is assigned to a particular movie. Enacted by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, the National Assn. of Theater Owners and MovieFone, the “Parents’ Guide” will carry descriptions such as: “ ‘Little Rascals’ is rated PG for some rude dialogue,” or “ ‘The Client’ is rated PG-13 for kids in jeopardy and language.” MovieFone serves 18 major cities including Los Angeles, where it is reached via 777-FILM in the (213), (310), (714) and (909) area codes, and 444-FILM in the (818) area.