STAGE’Beauty and Beast’ Sets Record: The show...

STAGE

‘Beauty and Beast’ Sets Record: The show doesn’t open here until spring, but hundreds lined up at the Shubert Theatre box office Sunday as tickets went on sale for “Beauty and the Beast.” With box-office and telephone orders, the musical set a single-day ticket sales record for Los Angeles: $929,919. That tops the $894,272 taken in by “Phantom of the Opera” on March 20, 1989. Tickets for “Beauty” are $25 to $65 with a $5 discount for preview performances March 21-April 11. Official opening is April 13.

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Lloyd Webber Ill: Meanwhile, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer of “Phantom,” “Cats” and “Sunset Boulevard,” was being treated for an ulcerative esophagus, his spokesman in London said Monday. The 46-year-old composer was hospitalized in England Friday after returning from New York, where his latest hit, “Sunset Boulevard” starring Glenn Close, opened to rave reviews. Lloyd Webber is being fed intravenously and is expected to recover within a few weeks, the spokesman said. Added Lloyd Webber, in a statement: “It is just the case of sitting around with a tube in my arm until I can have my first consomme.”

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Stepping Up: Sherry Glaser’s one-woman “Family Secrets” will return to Southern California in big venues next year, playing the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert Feb. 2-5 and the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood Feb. 8-March 12. The show previously played two sub-100-seat sites in Los Angeles, enjoying a long 1990-91 run at the Heliotrope (now the Deaf West). It also played in San Diego and Orange County, then went on to open Off Broadway in late 1993 and will close there Jan. 1. The run at the 863-seat Fonda is scheduled to reopen the theater after repairs from the Jan. 17 earthquake.

MOVIES

‘Diabolique’ Redux: Actress Sharon Stone has a $6-million deal to star in an American remake of the classic 1955 French chiller “Diabolique,” which starred the late Simone Signoret. Stone, whose box-office appeal is strong in Europe, will play the vengeful mistress who, along with a long-suffering wife, plots to bump off a tyrannical lover only to discover that they may have botched the job. Earlier, Warner Bros. had refused to pay Stone more than $4 million for the role, but the actress got her price when the film’s financing was taken over by Morgan Creek Productions. Morgan Creek even agreed to throw in a $100,000 makeup trailer. “She spends half the day (during filming) in the makeup trailer, doing her hair, makeup and retouching, so it makes sense,” said her manager, Chuck Binder. “We like to make each deal different.” The film is being written by Don Roos and is to be directed by Jeremiah Chechik (“Benny & Joon”). It will be produced now by Morgan Creek’s James Robinson along with Marvin Worth.

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Sundance Kickoff: “Before Sunrise,” a romance starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy and directed by Richard Linklater (“Slacker,” “Dazed and Confused”), will open the 1995 Sundance Film Festival with a world premiere screening in Salt Lake City on Jan. 19, festival organizers said. The 10-day festival then moves to Park City where more than 150 films and documentaries will be shown, many for the first time. Among those highly anticipated but, like “Sunrise,” not competing for awards: “My Family” with Edward James Olmos and Jimmy Smits; “Miami Rhapsody,” starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Antonio Banderas, Mia Farrow and Paul Mazursky; and “The Basketball Diaries,” featuring Leonardo DiCaprio.

TELEVISION

NBC Nabs Spielberg Epics: Director Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List” will receive early broadcast runs on NBC as the result of a unique $50-million deal with Universal and Amblin Television, an NBC source confirmed Monday. “Jurassic Park,” which has grossed more money worldwide than any film in box-office history, is expected to hit pay-per-view in February and then bypass a premium cable channel in order to air on NBC. “Schindler’s List,” named best picture of 1993 at the Academy Awards in March, will run on the small premium cable service Starz! in January and then move over to the network. NBC’s deal reportedly includes two airings of “Schindler’s List” and multiple airings of “Jurassic Park.” Both films are available on videocassette.

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Company’s Coming: Expecting visitors? It might not compare with the reunion Ruth and Joe Martin will have next month. And they don’t even know about it. Nineteen friends and relatives will make a surprise return to Pine Valley to celebrate the rebuilding of the Martins’ home, which was leveled by a tornado last summer. The 19 are former cast members of ABC’s daytime drama “All My Children” who will reprise their roles to mark the serial’s 25th anniversary, Jan. 3-6. Ruth and Joe are played by original cast members Mary Fickett and Ray MacDonnell. Also finding her way to Pine Valley for the anniversary: Carol Burnett.