ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

ART

Looted Klimt Painting Returned: Ending a 13-year legal battle, a French court ordered the city of Strasbourg on Friday to surrender a Gustav Klimt painting seized by the Nazis and later purchased at a discount by local authorities. The court ordered that the 1909 painting “Die Erfuellung” be returned to the children of Jewish Austrian textiles trader and art collector Karl Grunwald, who shipped some of his treasures off to France from Vienna in the late 1930s. The painting was among many seized by the Nazis when they annexed Strasbourg in World War II. The World Jewish Congress has called on France to drastically accelerate the restitution of some 2,000 prized works of art seized by the Nazis, complaining that so far only 20 of these art objects have been returned to their rightful owners. The restitution effort also is heating up in the Czech Republic, where the Czech government has announced plans to launch a Web site this month to display artwork looted by the Nazis, aiming to return thousands of objects currently owned by Czech museums and art galleries to their original Jewish owners or heirs.

THEATER

Who’s Afraid of Capt. Picard?: Patrick Stewart and Mercedes Ruehl have been cast in Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” which opens at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in late February. Stewart, who played Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” will play George, the husband. Ruehl, who won a 1992 Academy Award for “The Fisher King” and a 1991 Tony Award for “Lost in Yonkers,” will play his wife, Martha. The British-born Stewart recently starred in Arthur Miller’s “The Ride Down Mount Morgan” on Broadway. That drama was directed by David Esbjornson, who will be staging “Virginia Woolf.”

Vegas Moves: Singer Rick Springfield (“Jessie’s Girl”) will take over as the headliner of “EFX” at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on Jan. 30. He replaces Tommy Tune, who has starred in the stage production for two years and whose final performance will be on Jan. 13. Meanwhile, former “EFX” star David Cassidy’s “At the Copa” show at the Rio hotel will close on Jan. 21 after less than a year. That show’s future became uncertain last month when Cassidy’s co-star, Sheena Easton, announced plans to leave the production.

POP/ROCK

Hip-Hop at Carnegie Hall: Wyclef Jean, a member of the Grammy-winning rap group the Fugees and a solo artist, has announced plans to headline a charity concert at Carnegie Hall on Jan. 19, making him the first hip-hop headliner there. Jean, a songwriter and producer for numerous artists, has also enlisted Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Destiny’s Child, Charlotte Church and Third World to perform. He expects more to sign on and said the concert will feature music from the 1950s to today. The event will raise funds for the Wyclef Jean Foundation, which provides education and training to children with musical talent. “Ever since I was a little kid in school growing up, I always knew, like, one of these days, I’m going to play at Carnegie Hall,” Jean said.

Trevi Extradition: Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered the extradition of disgraced Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi home to face sexual abuse charges after 11 months behind bars in Brazil. Trevi, her manager Sergio Andrade and backup singer Maria Raquenel Portillo made an impassioned plea earlier this week proclaiming their innocence and challenging the extradition on the grounds that no formal charges have been made. But the seven Supreme Court judges voted unanimously for her extradition to Mexico, where authorities have labored to bring the singer to trial for nearly two years. Trevi’s lawyers are expected to make a last appeal that will likely draw out the saga until February. Brazil’s Supreme Court rarely changes its decisions in extradition cases, however. The three are accused of luring girls into their training program for future stars, cutting them off from their families and turning them into virtual sex slaves for Andrade.

QUICK TAKES

NBC has canceled its 1:30 a.m. talk show “Later,” which began in 1988 and was hosted by sportscaster Bob Costas. In more recent years, it had been creatively adrift with a slew of different hosts, including Cynthia Garrett, who was behind the desk when the show was pulled. No replacement program has been announced. . . . Univision will broadcast a half-hour program Sunday for parents of children with learning disabilities. The Spanish-language television network said that “Retos y Triunfos en el Aprendizaje” (“Challenges and Successes in Learning”) will be hosted by network news anchor Neyda Sandoval. The program is part of the Univision Education Initiative that was established last year in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education. . . . A major exhibition of artwork by John Lennon continues at Le Meridien in Beverly Hills through Sunday. The exhibition includes drawings from Lennon’s children’s book “Real Love,” and other work that has never been seen in the Los Angeles area. . .. CBS will audition teammates for its as-yet-untitled summer global adventure reality series from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at CBS Television City. The show, from executive producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Bertram Van Munster, sends eight American couples on a race around the world. The team reaching the final destination first wins $1 million.