Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

MOVIES

Mission: Big Sales: Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” debuted with a record $3.4 million in ticket sales on the first day of its release, according to industry estimates Wednesday. The motion picture remake of the 1960s television spy series shattered a mark set by “Jurassic Park” when it earned $3.1 million in its debut in 1993, Paramount spokesman Blaise Noto said. “Mission: Impossible” was previewed Tuesday in more than 1,500 theaters nationwide.

STAGE

More Tony Trouble: “Victor/Victoria” star Julie Andrews isn’t the only one upset with this year’s Tony Awards. David Merrick, producer of the musical “State Fair,” has filed a $2-million lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court seeking an injunction against the awarding of a Tony for best musical score because two songs from the two Rodgers & Hammerstein films of “State Fair”--including the Oscar-winning “It Might as Well Be Spring”--were excluded from award consideration. The Tony ballot requires voters to consider only four of the show’s 15 songs, which are the least well-known in the score. Merrick argues that the ballot puts “State Fair” at a disadvantage and charges that the administration committee acted arbitrarily since entire scores of other shows derived from films--most recently 1994’s “Beauty and the Beast”--were deemed eligible. Tony spokesman Keith Sherman called Merrick’s suit “frivolous” Wednesday, saying that the “State Fair” eligibility was abbreviated because the majority of “State Fair” songs were either not written for the Broadway stage or had already been performed on Broadway in previous shows; in the case of “Beauty and the Beast,” he said, 11 of the Broadway show’s 15 songs were new. “State Fair” played at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in September.

TELEVISION

Closer to Perfect?: The CBS comedy “Almost Perfect” will return with a somewhat different format as well as a new time period in the fall. Nancy Travis will be back as the producer of a fictitious TV series, but co-star Kevin Kilner is leaving the year-old romantic comedy, with the network deciding to shift its focus from being about a working woman balancing a relationship and career to the character being single and in a dating mode. A spokeswoman said Kilner, principally known for stage roles, will focus on his movie career.

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Whole Lotta Larry: New episodes of “The Larry Sanders Show” won’t return until this winter, but devotees can get a good fix of the critically acclaimed series when HBO carries 17 episodes from the past season over a five-day stretch beginning June 3. Two episodes will be seen each night from June 3-6, beginning at 11:30 p.m., then on June 7, nine episodes will be shown consecutively starting at midnight, following Shandling’s 11:30 p.m. guest appearance on “Dennis Miller Live.” The “Larrython” marathon includes guest appearances by Roseanne, Courteney Cox, Sandra Bernhard, David Letterman and others.

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Election Coverage for Women: Cable’s Lifetime has joined the rush of networks offering free air time to the major presidential candidates. But in addition to setting aside one prime-time hour for the candidates to take questions from a female audience, the station--which targets female viewers--has also announced plans to set aside a free hour for the candidates’ wives. In addition, journalists Linda Ellerbee and Dana King will anchor “Go Vote ‘96,” an ongoing public service campaign on Lifetime aimed at inspiring women to vote.

POP/ROCK

Drumming, Olympic Style: Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, composer Philip Glass and percussionist Zakir Hussain are putting together a drum spectacular for the Olympics’ July 19 opening ceremony. The piece will be performed by 100 Atlanta-area musicians. “Mass drums joined together create a glorious sound of victory and triumph and character,” said Hart, who will not perform at the ceremony.

QUICK TAKES

Dale Evans, rider of the happy trails along with her husband, Roy Rogers, is alert and doing well after undergoing artery bypass surgery over the weekend, her son, Roy “Dusty” Rogers said. The surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center followed a stroke that Evans, 83, suffered on Mother’s Day. Evans also had a heart attack on Mother’s Day four years ago. . . . Kenneth “Babyface” Edmunds on Tuesday night became the first songwriter to win both song and songwriter of the year categories two years in a row during the annual BMI pop music awards at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Edmunds was honored this year for the Boyz II Men hit “I’ll Make Love to You,” deemed the year’s most performed song. . . . Actor-director Forest Whitaker, who on Tuesday pleaded innocent to drunken driving charges from a March 20 arrest in Los Angeles, wed model Keisha Nash in Jamaica on May 4, the actor’s spokeswoman announced Wednesday. . . . Kirk Douglas’ youngest son, Eric Douglas, 38, was in police custody early Wednesday after being arrested in his Manhattan apartment, where police say they found 11 vials of crack and 1,085 anti-depressant Xanax pills. . . . High school and college students are invited to attend a free Los Angeles Philharmonic rehearsal at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at 10 this morning. Pierre Boulez will conduct Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” as well as “Antiphonies” for piano and orchestra by Harrison Birtwistle. Seating is limited.