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

THEATER

Ready to Close Up: The Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” will close March 22 after 977 performances--without recouping its $10-million production costs. The musical reportedly costs nearly $500,000 a week to operate, and in the weeks following Christmas, receipts at the Minskoff Theater have dipped considerably below that. “Sunset” was a consistent sellout with its original star, Glenn Close, but grosses faltered after Betty Buckley and later Elaine Paige took over the role of silent screen diva Norma Desmond. The London production, which opened in 1993, is closing April 5, but the American touring company, currently in Minneapolis, will continue. The Broadway show, which opened Nov. 17, 1994, has paid back 75% of its costs and another payment to investors is expected shortly, spokesman Adrian Bryan-Brown said Monday. “It’s not a total wipeout,” Bryan-Brown said.

MOVIES

Pryce to ‘Bond’ With Brosnan: Jonathan Pryce, currently starring in Alan Parker’s film “Evita” as Juan Peron, soon will become the next Bond villain. Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli confirmed Monday that Pryce will take on Agent 007 as “the wealthy and powerful leader of a media empire” in the as-yet-untitled 18th installment of the Bond series, which currently stars Pierce Brosnan as Bond, James Bond. Pryce appeared on Broadway and London stages in the musical “Miss Saigon”; his film credits include “The Age of Innocence,” “Brazil” and “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

MUSIC

Will Elvis Be There?: Liberace, the legendary pianist with a penchant for glitz who died Feb. 4, 1987, at his Palm Springs home of complications of AIDS, will be remembered today, 10 years after his death, at a special service at the Liberace family mausoleum at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills. A week after his death, more than 1,000 people gathered to sing “I’ll Be Seeing You,” Liberace’s theme song, in a church on the Las Vegas Strip, where the flamboyant entertainer had been earning $400,000 a week by the end of his four-decade career. In his stage shows, Liberace encouraged audiences to feel his flashy costumes or touch the $3 million in jewelry he often wore, saying: “Go ahead, let’s face it, you bought it.”

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Yanni to Go to Taj Mahal: Composer-performer Yanni has become the first Western artist granted permission to perform at India’s Taj Mahal and at the Forbidden City in China, the musician and Virgin Records announced Monday. On March 20 and 21, Yanni and his 45-piece orchestra will play two concerts at the Taj Mahal as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of India’s independence. Yanni-plus-orchestra will perform two additional shows at the historic Working People’s Cultural Palace at the Forbidden City May 30 and 31. Each concert will be broadcast in its country of origin; the performances in China also will be beamed to other Asian nations. Yanni’s “Live at the Acropolis” performance in March 1994 aired on PBS and became one of the biggest fund-raisers ever for public TV.

RADIO

Golden Mikes: KCBS-TV Channel 2 News was the top winner at the Radio & TV News Assn. of Southern California’s 1996 Golden Mike awards ceremony in Beverly Hills last weekend, garnering 10 wins and three merit awards, including best 30-minute-or-less newscast and best daytime news broadcast of any length. KTTV-Channel 11 Fox News came in second with nine wins and one merit award, including the coveted best 60-minute news broadcast. In the radio competition, KNX-AM won eight Mikes in its division; KFI-AM, KOST-FM and KPSI-AM/FM of Palm Springs also went home with awards in various categories.

TELEVISION

‘SNL’ Reunion: Original “Saturday Night Live” cast members Chevy Chase and Laraine Newman and past contributors Steve Martin, Jan Hooks, Martin Short, Mike Myers, Al Franken, Chris Farley, Kevin Nealon, Dick Ebersol and David Spade will join current “SNL” stars and producer Lorne Michaels at the Third Annual Comedy Arts Festival (USCAF), Feb. 26-March 2 in Aspen, Colo. The reunion, presented by the American Film Institute, will take place March 1 at 9 p.m. at Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House. It will feature a montage of classic “SNL” moments and a Q&A; moderated by Steve Kroft, co-editor of “60 Minutes.” Portions will air March 2 as part of an HBO special on the festival.

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All in the Animation: Former “All in the Family” producer Norman Lear is producing a new animated comedy-adventure series for the WB Network, which in the fall expands its children’s programming to 19 hours a week. Lear’s “Umptee-3 TV,” which is designed to meet educational programming requirements, will lead off a Saturday morning lineup that includes classic Warner Bros. properties. In addition to Steven Spielberg’s “Animaniacs” and “Pinky & the Brain,” there will be a new animated version of “Calamity Jane,” “Superman,” “Batman” (shifting over from Fox), “The Daffy Duck Show” and “Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries.” WB also will offer an hour of children’s programs weekday mornings and a two-hour block each afternoon. WB airs locally on KTLA-TV Channel 5.