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

TELEVISION

Dr. Laura Says Criticism Has Hurt: Controversial radio talk-show host Laura Schlessinger says efforts by gays and lesbians to have her upcoming television show axed have taken a toll. “I’ve cried more at times than I would like to admit,” Schlessinger told Time magazine. “It’s been agonizing.” Schlessinger expounded in the interview on her views on homosexuality. “Not being able to relate normally to a member of the opposite sex is some kind of error,” Schlessinger said. “We were biologically meant to give birth to more people.” She also said that despite protests over her Paramount-syndicated show, she has not been asked to tone down her approach. The program is scheduled to premiere Sept. 11. “They hired me because I’m outgoing and direct,” she said. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation took out full-page ads in several newspapers last month urging companies not to sponsor Schlessinger’s series. Some advertisers backed away from the program, seeking to avoid the controversy.

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‘60 Minutes’ Chief Stays Put: Don Hewitt, creator of the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” and still its executive producer, said Monday he has signed on for four more years after his current contract expires in six months. Hewitt, 77, said he’ll think about retiring when his contract is up at 82--and then probably sign on for four more years. Bowing out has never really crossed his mind, he said. “It is too satisfying to me,” he said. “I can’t imagine doing anything that would give me more satisfaction.”

THE ARTS

UCLA Performing Arts Director Named: David Sefton has been named director of UCLA Performing Arts, effective Oct. 1, it was announced Monday. Sefton comes to UCLA from London’s Royal Festival Hall, where he has been the head of contemporary culture since 1998. He succeeds Michael Blachly, director since 1992, who resigned in February to become associate dean for arts resources and services, and director of the Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Florida at Gainesville. “David Sefton is a distinguished addition to UCLA’s cadre of experts in the arts,” said Chancellor Albert Carnesale. Sefton has been an arts journalist, served as assistant director at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool and was the assistant director at the Millfield Theatre in London.

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Picassos Recovered: Police in western Turkey have recovered a second stolen painting believed to be by Pablo Picasso, the BBC reported. “Ugly Woman”--a 1938 portrait of the Spanish artist’s lover, Dora Maar--was seized in the town of Selcuk on Saturday after a suspected smuggling gang tried to conclude a multimillion-dollar deal with undercover officers. Two suspects were arrested, and two others were being sought. Earlier this month, police in the nearby city of Izmir arrested six men who were trying to sell Picasso’s 1908 “La Fermiere.” It is now being held in the Fine Arts Museum in Ankara, where art historians say it is authentic. Izmir police chief Hasan Yucesan said experts had conducted a preliminary study on “Ugly Woman,” finding that it bore original elements but had been significantly damaged. Both of the recovered works are believed to have been stolen from a Kuwaiti palace during the Iraqi invasion of 1990, then brought to Turkey via Syria. Neither was registered as stolen, and nobody has claimed ownership thus far.

OCPAC 2001 Dance Season Unveiled: Four of the world’s leading dance companies will appear in the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s 2001 International Classic Dance Season. The season will include the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg (March 16-18, 2001), Le Ballet de L’Opera National de Paris/Paris Opera Ballet (May 8-13, 2001), Il Balletto del Teatro alla Scala/La Scala Ballet (July 10-15, 2001), and National Ballet de Cuba/National Ballet of Cuba (Oct. 18-21, 2001).

POP/ROCK

Dixie Chick Weds: Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines tied the knot over the weekend after her group performed in Las Vegas. Maines, 25, stole away to A Little White Wedding Chapel on Saturday to marry actor Adrian Pasdar, group spokeswoman Kathy Allmand said. The Dixie Chicks--Maines, Emily Erwin and Martie Seidel--are currently on their first headlining tour. Pasdar is filming the upcoming NBC television series “Mysterious Ways.”

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RMM Troubles: A federal jury in Puerto Rico ordered RMM Records to pay $7.7 million to salsa singer and songwriter Glenn Monroig, in part for illegally recording one of his songs with minor changes to the lyrics. The ruling further underlines troubles at the New York-based tropical label, which has lost most of its top artists in the past two years, including Marc Anthony, India, Tito Nieves, Celia Cruz and Jose Alberto.

STAGE

A Noise Within Eyes Glendale Property: A Noise Within is leaving Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Theater after only one season and hopes to return to Glendale by next fall, though not to the same building that the classical company used from 1991 until last year. The Glendale City Council is scheduled to vote today on a proposal to provide use of a parking lot on the northwest corner of Brand Boulevard and Harvard Street, where the company would erect a temporary facility. The troupe hoped the city would provide at least half of the estimated $500,000 necessary to build the temporary, 300-seat theater, but Glendale redevelopment officials are recommending that the city contribute only $50,000, as well as free use of the space and the removal of the space’s parking meters.