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

THEATER

Inching Forward onthe Great White Way

Broadway has rebounded a bit during the second full week of performances following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

If business wasn’t exactly booming, several plays made impressive gains, according to figures released by the League of American Theatres and Producers.

The most startling jump was made by “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” the Charles Busch comedy starring Valerie Harper, which actually did better than the week prior to the tragedy. “42nd Street” inched past 80% capacity and “Cabaret” was at the 98% level with the help of discounted tickets.

Though grosses from the tourist-dependent “Les Miserables” and “The Phantom of the Opera” have declined considerably since Sept. 11, “The Producers” and “The Lion King” were sold out, as usual.

TELEVISION

Viewers Lacking Motivation for ‘Bob’

“Bob Patterson,” ABC’s heavily promoted new comedy starring “Seinfeld” alumnus Jason Alexander as a motivational speaker, got off to a poor start in its debut Tuesday, attracting only 9.8 million viewers versus 16.5 million for NBC’s “Frasier” during the same half-hour.

NBC’s new medical comedy “Scrubs” fared better, slipping just 7% off “Frasier’s” audience to 15.4 million viewers.

UPN also launched former WB network series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with a two-hour network premiere that drew 7.7 million viewers, the second-largest audience in the show’s history.

THE ARTS

CommemorativeQuilt in the Works

The Otis College of Art and Design is creating the Otis Wooden Quilt project to commemorate the victims of the World Trade Center attack.

About 1,400 51/2-inch-square blocks of wood were sent out last week, on which members of the college community were asked to express their feelings about the incident. The pieces will be connected on Friday at 11 a.m. on the Otis campus, 9045 Lincoln Blvd, L.A. The public is invited.

MOVIES

New, Expanded ‘Famous’ DVD

“Almost Famous” made its debut on DVD earlier this year but another edition will be issued on Dec. 4. The new release will feature the version that the public has seen as well as an extended version containing more than 30 minutes of material that writer-director Cameron Crowe cut before the theatrical release last year.

Other features on the two-disc set include video footage and a CD of music by Stillwater, the fictional band at the center of the movie; Crowe’s Academy Award-winning script, and rehearsal scenes of Peter Frampton instructing the Stillwater actors how to behave like ‘70s rock stars. The film is based on Crowe’s experiences as a rock journalist during that era.

QUICK TAKES

ABC is developing a comedy series based on MGM’s summer hit “Legally Blonde,” the story of a young woman attending Harvard Law School ....VHS and DVD versions of the first video documentary about the terrorist attack will go on sale Oct. 15. Spectrum Films, the distributor, is donating 20% of gross sales to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund .... Shepard Smith, anchor and senior correspondent for the Fox News Channel, was signed to a new long-term contract on Wednesday.