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

STAGE

Madonna Sets London Debut: Madonna will make her London theater debut next summer in a revival of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” producer Bill Kenwright said Monday. Although contracts have yet to be signed, Sir Peter Hall’s production, with Madonna as the sexually voracious Maggie the Cat, is expected to begin rehearsals after Madonna completes her role in the film version of the musical “Chicago.” The Williams play will mark Madonna’s first stage appearance since David Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow” on Broadway a decade ago. Madonna is expected to commit to the role for 20 weeks.

POP/ROCK

Invasion of the Tattooed Man: Dennis Rodman might want to stick with his regular line of work. The Chicago Bulls star decided to jam with Pearl Jam during a concert Sunday night in Dallas. Guzzling wine from a bottle, a shirtless, shoeless Rodman leaped on stage and tried to sing along during “Alive” and “Spin the Black Circle.” After the stage crew finally cut off Rodman’s microphone, lead singer Eddie Vedder said to Rodman: “I’m guessing you’ve been drinking for about three days straight.”

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Huge Paris Concert Given Government OK: A Bastille Day concert in Paris featuring composer Jean-Michel Jarre, expected to draw a crowd of 1 million, has been given the go-ahead despite concerns over recent World Cup violence. French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement, shocked by outbursts of violence during the current soccer tournament, was reluctant at first to give the concert his approval. He said it was inevitable that there would be trouble if hundreds of thousands of people attended. But in a letter to Paris Mayor Jean Tiberi on Monday, Chevenement gave the concert his blessing. He said 3,500 police would be on hand to ensure order at the July 14 evening concert. Called “Electronic Night,” it will include fireworks and will be staged near the Eiffel Tower. Jarre is considered by many of his French fans to be the “pope” of synthetic music.

MUSIC

Central Park Subject of Opera: Central Park has been the home to big-time musical productions. It will soon be the subject of one. Playwrights A.R. Gurney, Terrence McNally and Wendy Wasserstein have been commissioned to write librettos for three one-act operas about the park, which will be performed as one show. “Central Park” will be held at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, N.Y., next summer, followed by six performances at the New York City Opera, where the work will be taped for PBS’ “Great Performances.” Three young composers have been asked to write the music: Deborah Drattell, Michael Torke and Robert Beaser. Wasserstein wrote “The Sisters Rosensweig” and “The Heidi Chronicles,” Gurney is noted for his plays about WASP culture in America, and McNally’s credits include “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and the book for the musical “Ragtime.”

PEOPLE WATCH

That’s David and Keith: Because of a dropped comma in a news release, the Associated Press erroneously reported last week (and The Times published Saturday) that David Keith and Robert Carradine will receive awards at the 16th annual Golden Boot Awards ceremony on Aug. 15. The awards, which are given to actors and others who have furthered the tradition of the western in movies and television, will be presented to three Carradines: David, Keith and Robert--but not to the actor David Keith.

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Unflattering Portrait of Uncle Miltie: Milton Berle’s son is circulating a proposal for a tell-all biography that his father might find as funny as a heart attack. The New York Post reported Monday that several publishers have been reviewing a draft of the book, which portrays the comic as an absentee father, domestic tyrant, chronic gambler and a world-class womanizer. In “Near You,” 36-year-old Bill Berle writes that he lost his virginity when his father hired a Las Vegas showgirl to disguise herself as a maid and seduce him. “After that, when Berle and his son shared hotel suites, Milton would finish having sex with a woman and then shout into Billy’s room, ‘Billy, you want her now?’ ” the book’s co-author, Brad Lewis, told the newspaper. Buddy Arnold, a writer and producer for Berle, said he had not seen the draft. But he said of the general criticisms: “I don’t believe any of them. To me they are false.” Berle is about to celebrate his 90th birthday with charity parties in Los Angeles this month and in New York this fall.

QUICK TAKES

Jon Lovitz will join the cast of NBC’s “NewsRadio,” playing a new character to fill the void left by the death of fellow “Saturday Night Live” alumnus Phil Hartman. Lovitz recently starred in his own pilot, which didn’t make the cut at ABC. . . . “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” continues on a ratings roll, finishing the second quarter (April through June) averaging 6.2 million viewers a night--the NBC show’s best results since Leno took over from Johnny Carson in 1992. . . . Actor Brad Renfro (“The Client”) agreed to a plea deal in Knoxville, Tenn., that should allow him to avoid a trial on cocaine and marijuana charges. Renfro, 15, agreed to be screened randomly for drugs and evaluated for any substance abuse problems. If the Knoxville native stays out of trouble for six months, prosecutors will recommend the case not be pursued and he will have no juvenile criminal record. Renfro and a cousin were stopped June 3 on suspicion of drunk driving. Police said Mark Singleton, 19, was drunk, driving without a license and had a bag of what appeared to be drugs in his underwear. Renfro reportedly had two bags of cocaine and marijuana in his sock.