MORNING REPORT - News from June 16, 2000

“Supremes” Debut: Wednesday’s opening night of the much-scrutinized Diana Ross & the Supremes reunion tour was largely a Ross solo show, according to an Associated Press reviewer. “[Ross] failed in proving that the group was the Supremes. Don’t be misled. It’s a Diana Ross show with two solid backup singers in tow. . . . [The other two singers] were not even on stage for about half of the show,” the reviewer wrote of the tour’s kickoff performance at the First Union Spectrum in Philadelphia. The AP review also referred to the tour as “Ross & the Replacements,” evoking a familiar criticism of the tour. Early plans to make the tour a reunion of the three most famous surviving members of the group--Ross, Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong--fell apart in ugly fashion when Wilson publicly complained that Ross was offering a deal that would earn the lead singer $15 million, leaving only $2 million for each of her former compatriots. Ross is instead mounting the tour with Scherrie Payne and Lynda Laurence, singers who joined the Supremes in their more modest years after Ross departed the group. The “Return to Love Tour” is scheduled to visit the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim on Aug. 3.

ART

Raphael Drawings to Visit Getty: An exhibition of drawings by Renaissance master Raphael, on loan from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, will be on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from Oct. 31 through Jan. 7. The drawings were selected from the collection of Old Master drawings and watercolors in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. It will be the only Western United States showing of the exhibit, following presentations at the Queen’s Gallery in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Canada. Although the artist lived only to the age of 37, he is recognized as one of the three preeminent painters of the Renaissance, along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. A related exhibit will complement “Raphael and His Circle: Drawings From Windsor Castle,” featuring drawings from the Getty’s collection.

TELEVISION

‘Survivor’ Multiplying: CBS’ summer reality series continues to build audience, with an estimated 23.3 million people watching Wednesday’s episode--an increase of 5 million, or 27%, over the second installment. CBS has also made it official: “Survivor 2” will be staged in the Australian Outback, and that edition should be introduced early next year. The network is posting applications for new contestants on its Web site, https://www.CBS.com.

Regis Meets Jillian: Fox 11’s exuberant “Good Day L.A.” eather forecaster Jillian Barbarie toned down her outrageous act just a bit Thursday during her guest host stint with Regis Philbin on the syndicated “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee.” But Philbin still jokingly referred to Barbarie as “danger” and “a live wire.” Barbarie is one of several personalities filling in this week for the vacationing Kathie Lee Gifford and may be considered as a permanent replacement for Gifford when she leaves the show at the end of the month. During the initial segment of the talk show, Barbarie talked excitedly about her week in New York, her menagerie of pets and her often out-of-control personality.

STAGE

Knightsbridge Moves to Silver Lake: Knightsbridge Theatre of Pasadena has taken over the Colony Studio Theatre’s former home on Riverside Drive in L.A.’s Silver Lake area. Knightsbridge, a 7-year-old theater operating under Actors’ Equity’s 99-seat plan, began extensive renovations in May, as the Colony moved to the new Burbank Center Stage. It will launch its 2000-2001 repertory season at the renamed Knightsbridge L.A. venue with a reprise of its original American Sign Language and spoken-word production of “Godspell” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from Aug. 3 through 24. Knightsbridge will also continue to produce a full repertory schedule at its Pasadena venue, through the remaining three years of its lease there.

QUICK TAKES

Nick Park and Peter Lord, directors of the upcoming animated comedy “Chicken Run,” and screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick will sign “Chicken Run: Hatching the Movie” from 6 to 8 tonight at Storyopolis. . . . The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from New York’s Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 7. . . . Tony Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy, who will appear in “Death of a Salesman” at the Ahmanson Theatre this fall, has been named host of the upcoming Dick Wolf dramatic reality show “Arrest and Trial,” due out Oct. 2. . . . “The Education of Randy Newman” has been extended through July 9 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.