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

POP/ROCK

Both Sides Appeal

in James Brown Case

Soul singer James Brown and the woman who won a wrongful-termination lawsuit against him have both appealed the verdict, their attorneys said.

Lisa Agbalaya claimed Brown fired her as West Coast president of New James Brown Enterprises because she rejected sexual advances he made when she visited his Georgia home in 1999. She sued the 69-year-old “Godfather of Soul” for $1 million for sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful firing and infliction of emotional distress. A jury awarded Agbalaya about a year’s salary for wrongful termination ($40,000) but rejected the other charges.

Brown wants the judgment against him overturned. He denied that he made any unwanted sexual overtures to her and testified that Agbalaya was laid off after he closed his West Coast office because it wasn’t making money.

Agbalaya’s attorney, Shelly McMillan, also has asked for a review, saying there were problems with the handling of evidence and jury instructions.

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Warwick Arrested

on Drug Charges

Dionne Warwick was arrested at Miami International Airport on Sunday after 11 suspected marijuana cigarettes were allegedly found in a lipstick container in the singer’s carry-on luggage.

Warwick, a five-time Grammy Award-winner and cousin of Whitney Houston, was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles when screeners noticed what they described as a suspicious item in her carry-on bag. The singer was charged with possession of less than five grams of the drug and released after signing an affidavit promising to appear in court.

Warwick, 61, who became famous in the 1960s for songs such as “Walk on By” and “I Say a Little Prayer,” could not be reached for comment.

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MUSIC

Pavarotti Hints That

He May Soon Retire

Luciano Pavarotti has hinted that he might retire from singing following his cancellation of two performances of “Tosca” at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House last week.

His last-minute withdrawals on Wednesday and Saturday, triggered by a bout of the flu, were greeted disapprovingly by audiences attending what was expected to be the legendary tenor’s swan song at the venue.

According to BBC News, Pavarotti wrote an open letter to fans, some of whom paid up to $1,875 for a concert-dinner gala, unapologetically explaining that his voice wasn’t strong enough to perform. He also told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that he might be forced to consider retiring soon. Though he has no future dates booked at the Met, he is scheduled for future arena concerts and recitals.

“The media seem to imply that the New York opera public will not forgive my cancellation,” he said. “But forgiveness assumes that one has made a mistake; no matter how much I regret with a passion not being able to sing at the Met on this occasion, catching the flu was certainly not a willful mistake I made.”

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THE ARTS

Sotheby Victims Get No Financial Satisfaction

Many of the 130,000 customers filing a class-action suit against Sotheby’s and Christie’s have yet to collect any money, the New York Times reports. This, despite the fact that a year has passed since Manhattan Federal Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan approved a $512-million agreement between buyers and sellers who lost millions in the price-fixing scheme concocted by the two auction houses.

Last month, A. Alfred Taubman, former chairman of Sotheby’s, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for his role, and Diana D. Brooks, the chief executive, is facing six months of house arrest, three years’ probation and 1,000 hours of community service.

Because a Manhattan law film has filed an appeal on behalf of customers who say the settlement is unfair, the money can’t be released. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan says that the situation is compounded by the inability of lawyers to settle on a hearing date.

Not so, says Richard Drubel, a lawyer representing the customers: “We have been available since December. We call every week to try to get a date, but no results so far.”

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TELEVISION

USA Adds New Shows to Summer Lineup

Anthony Michael Hall and Tony Shalhoub will star in drama series on the USA Network this summer, playing men who have unusual problems.

Hall, the onetime teen star of films such as “Sixteen Candles,” has the lead role in “The Dead Zone,” based on characters from the novel by Stephen King. Premiering June 16, the series features Hall as a man who spends six years in a coma following a car accident, then awakens to find that he has strange psychic powers.

Shalhoub, whose film credits include “Galaxy Quest” and “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” will star in “Monk,” playing a private detective who, as USA describes it, “has developed an abnormal fear of germs, heights, crowds and virtually everything else.” It premieres July 12.

Comedy Central also announced a summer series on Monday: “Crank Yankers,” in which puppets reenact phony phone calls made by comedians. It will begin June 2.

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QUICK TAKES

Eric Stoltz will star as a priest accused of child molestation in the season finale of NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” on Friday night.... Ben Stiller will make his Broadway debut starring with Danny DeVito in next season’s revival of the David Mamet play “Glengarry Glen Ross.”